EA just killed NBA jam :(

I still think that whoever was/were responsible for how Crystal Bearers was released and handled should have been fired the moment that he/she/they came up with the idea(s) that he/she/they did. However, I'm guessing that S-E probably knew that the game was going to fall flat on its face to begin with, so it was no big deal in the end. In any case, I digress. :P

As for EA, they should just go ahead and make the game officially a multi-plat title, instead of trying to convince Wii owners that what they're getting is a "full" NBA Jam experience. No one's going to be buying Jam for what appears to be a campaign mode, so trying to say that alone is worth $50, $30, or whatever the final cost may be is now really silly, and just the possibility of any DLC showing up for the HD versions should REALLY kill the Wii version's bargain for anybody that has a choice in the matter now. And yeah, it's not like the decision to develop Jam for the HD systems and make it a bonus for Elite was something that was completely done today, so EA's clearly just been trying to wait for the ideal time to announce all of this. *shrugs* Oh well. Can't say that this was totally unexpected, especially since the most obvious rumor we've had recently was Jam being a multi-plat after all.

[QUOTE="ASRCSR"]

[QUOTE="KBFloYd"]

it killed its wii sales..me being one of them.

elbert_b_23

So it didn't kill NBA jam it just delivered it to more people

Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff Better Be playable in the Wii Version.

How does a company kill a game by widening its audience while not changing the game's contents in any way?

GabuEx

What he said ^ ...there's no reason to be angry/upset abt TC

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

How does a company kill a game by widening its audience while not changing the game's contents in any way?

superbuuman

What he said ^ ...there's no reason to be angry/upset abt TC

Ouch that does suck...

While I wouldn't say their "killing" the actual game (imo this may help make it stronger) I would say their killing it for Wii only users.

Its gotta sting knowing that others are getting it basically for free with an online mode.

Heres to hoping they include online with the Wii version and cut the price down.

[QUOTE="superbuuman"]

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

How does a company kill a game by widening its audience while not changing the game's contents in any way?

JuarN18

What he said ^ ...there's no reason to be angry/upset abt TC

Well if you only own a Wii then I guess suck it up or buy a 360 or PS3 -> this will certainly cost more than $50...if you already have a PS3 or 360 & a Wii, I don't understand why you're complaining, you obviously get the cheaper one that's available...

You know its funny, if EA though Extraction, they haven't seen anything yet. That was a game that no one wanted and they sold it anyway so it crashed and burned. Now they are trying to sell a game that they are giving away, they'll be lucky if they can make it to 40k. Sepewrath

At the moment, I'm suspect that Jam will do better than Extraction did, if only for Jam's greater mainstream appeal and if EA can stay quiet enough about the game going to the HD systems for free in order to sell the Wii game to those who aren't aware of this info. However, will that make Jam a successful game for EA? This is the part I'm doubting.

Rest assured that if the Wii's Jam sales don't meet EA's expectations, it will hurt the company more than Extraction's bombing could have ever done. NBA Jam is one of those games that should at least have some success because of nostalgia and simplicity, but if the free HD version becomes a factor to the mainstream, it's not going to bode well. There might be some uninformed Wii owners, but as I've said before, most Wii owners aren't as stupid as some publishers/devs/gaming media like to think that they are, and I believe that the Wii userbase will respond accordingly. That, and there is the matter that most sports games haven't exactly sold that great on the Wii to begin with.

At the end of the day, if Wii NBA Jam doesn't do well, EA will have no one but themselves to blame for trying to sell Wii owners something that they gave away on the other systems. Obviously, they're going to point at Wii owners for the game's failures, since publishers can do that these days and not get questioned by it from the rest of the gaming industry. Unlike Extraction, though, there was some actual buzz for Jam at one point, but now it finds itself at the mercy of a very fickle situation that shouldn't have happened.

It is coming to both Ps3 and 360. Why are you mad at a business trying to make as much money as possible?

ASRCSR

EA's sports games overall have been bombing in recent years, Madden and especially Live have been on a steady decline. They find every reason to push the blame away from people simply not finding their product worth buying; the used game market, casual gamers and so on and so forth. That is the reason for this move in the first place, so for that reason they cant hide it. They are using Jam as a free inclusion to re stimulate interest in the Live series, you can only do that by promoting it. Which will only make it more widespread knowledge and at the same time, rub it in the faces of Wii owners who were looking forward to the game. That will not bode well for sales of this game, I assume they know that and their basically cutting Jam in favor of Live which is a big part of their sports portfolio.

They can try and smooth it over by swearing for the first time ever, the other versions compared to the Wii on a multiplat game is stripped down. But like you said, people aren't that dumb, they know that people are buying Jam for multiplayer, both in room and online. That remix mode is probably the most un-important mode in the game, yeah sports games have put a greater emphasis on single player in recent years, but those sims, not arcade games and this game in particular has a legacy built on multiplayer. And that is what the HD consoles are getting, free of charge.

This game will bomb because of that, it would be like Activision removing the MP from CoD and expecting to sale it merely as a 4 hour set piece, its not gonna happen. And yeah your right, when that happens, they will blame the Wii audience. "oh they don't like games" " they don't respond to this and that" "we are going to re-evaluate how we support the console" etc etc. and the media because its EA, will just post the story and instead of tearing them a new one, they will just agree because they don't want to get on EA's blacklist. Its going to be a pathetic scene at the end of the year with this.

[QUOTE="KBFloYd"]

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

How does a company kill a game by widening its audience while not changing the game's contents in any way?

BrunoBRS

it killed its wii sales..me being one of them.

You know its funny, if EA though Extraction, they haven't seen anything yet. That was a game that no one wanted and they sold it anyway so it crashed and burned. Now they are trying to sell a game that they are giving away, they'll be lucky if they can make it to 40k. Sepewrath

EA's sports games overall have been bombing in recent years, Madden and especially Live have been on a steady decline.

Sepewrath

Wrong

Madden got a revamp and has been doing well and the Live/Elite series has been getting better each year

EA also supplies the best hockey and soccer/futbol games on the planet and their sports games that feature fisticuffs are starting to come on strong

So no, I have no idea how you say they've been bombing

EA simply saw that a game aimed exclusively at the Wii audience was a bad idea and are working hard to fix that

[QUOTE="Sepewrath"]

EA's sports games overall have been bombing in recent years, Madden and especially Live have been on a steady decline.

Jaysonguy

Wrong

Madden got a revamp and has been doing well and the Live/Elite series has been getting better each year

EA also supplies the best hockey and soccer/futbol games on the planet and their sports games that feature fisticuffs are starting to come on strong

So no, I have no idea how you say they've been bombing

EA simply saw that a game aimed exclusively at the Wii audience was a bad idea and are working hard to fix that

[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

[QUOTE="Sepewrath"]

EA's sports games overall have been bombing in recent years, Madden and especially Live have been on a steady decline.

Microsoft1234

Wrong

Madden got a revamp and has been doing well and the Live/Elite series has been getting better each year

EA also supplies the best hockey and soccer/futbol games on the planet and their sports games that feature fisticuffs are starting to come on strong

So no, I have no idea how you say they've been bombing

EA simply saw that a game aimed exclusively at the Wii audience was a bad idea and are working hard to fix that

If that is the case, I hope they don't expect people to pay more than $20 for the Wii version of NBA Jam.

Including it as a mere bonus to another title decreases its value almost completely and turns into a ripoff right on release day.

Same thing with Dead Space Extraction. Why buy an on-rails shooter for $50, when EA makes it into a $15 downloadable game? Seems like it should have never been purchased immediately to begin with.

[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

[QUOTE="Sepewrath"]

EA's sports games overall have been bombing in recent years, Madden and especially Live have been on a steady decline.

Microsoft1234

Wrong

Madden got a revamp and has been doing well and the Live/Elite series has been getting better each year

EA also supplies the best hockey and soccer/futbol games on the planet and their sports games that feature fisticuffs are starting to come on strong

So no, I have no idea how you say they've been bombing

EA simply saw that a game aimed exclusively at the Wii audience was a bad idea and are working hard to fix that

Nope, must not follow sports games that much

Madden got an overhaul and was the highest rated Madden this gen then FIFA and NHL are the cream of the crop in any game not just sports games

Live/Elite has been getting better each year while the 2K series has been falling each year

Fight Night is ranked highly and let's not forget Tiger Woods which is another solid game

So no, they're getting better all the time, they have been since the shake up at the top a couple of years back

[QUOTE="Sepewrath"]

EA's sports games overall have been bombing in recent years, Madden and especially Live have been on a steady decline.

Jaysonguy

Wrong

Madden got a revamp and has been doing well and the Live/Elite series has been getting better each year

EA also supplies the best hockey and soccer/futbol games on the planet and their sports games that feature fisticuffs are starting to come on strong

So no, I have no idea how you say they've been bombing

EA simply saw that a game aimed exclusively at the Wii audience was a bad idea and are working hard to fix that

eh? how was that a Bad Idea? Most of the People that have played Jam have a Nintendo Wii and most of the people here say that the Wii is a Nice secondary console making it seem like they have one, and a lot of people complain that their Wii is Collecting Dust and junk, Wouldn't that make NBA JAM on the Wii a Good Idea? or do you just want the game for the 360 and PS3 because of teh HD?

[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

Wrong

Madden got a revamp and has been doing well and the Live/Elite series has been getting better each year

EA also supplies the best hockey and soccer/futbol games on the planet and their sports games that feature fisticuffs are starting to come on strong

So no, I have no idea how you say they've been bombing

EA simply saw that a game aimed exclusively at the Wii audience was a bad idea and are working hard to fix that

LegatoSkyheart

eh? how was that a Bad Idea? Most of the People that have played Jam have a Nintendo Wii and most of the people here say that the Wii is a Nice secondary console making it seem like they have one, and a lot of people complain that their Wii is Collecting Dust and junk, Wouldn't that make NBA JAM on the Wii a Good Idea? or do you just want the game for the 360 and PS3 because of teh HD?

To be honest, I found it odd when EA made Jam a *cough* "Wii exclusive" game, and now looking at what has become of the game being on the other systems, it only makes me ponder about the decision even more. Sure, Jam has the simplicity thing going for it, but being a traditionally-controlled basketball game, there really wasn't anything that made the Wii the best and only fit for the game. If it had more of a Wii Sports [Resort]-like setup going for it, I could understand the original decision. However, it isn't, and given EA's struggles with its sports games on the Wii (and especially with the NBA games; EA actually stopped making the Live games on the Wii and Elite won't be coming, either) and the fact that it didn't seem like the game was built with the Wii system's strengths in mind, I never could get the whole thing to add up properly.

Now that EA has developed Jam for the HD systems and have come up with a way to distribute it, I just don't know why they didn't just make the game multi-plat in the first place and be done with it. At least that way, you wouldn't have had the chaos that has been created from how Jam is being handled now and people wouldn't have to feel like they're in a lose-lose situation when it comes to owning the game. If you ask me, it just feels like EA made a bad decision and then followed it up with a bizarre one. Not exactly the best mix of choices there.

Well I think the move to put Jam on the Wii was for two reasons, like I said Live had been on a steady decline and it definitely wasn't flying on the Wii as the worst version of a mediocre game. So instead putting it on the Wii to die, they decided to capitalize on the fact that nostalgia has seemed to be a big hit on Nintendo platforms, revivals were doing well for themselves. The game wasn't made because of the console, not every game is, it was made for the audience of older gamers that it has; then the audience on the HD consoles started crying "why not us" and their seemed not to be much buzz around the revamped Elite, 2K got Jordan; so they decided to use Jam to get people back into the series.

Selling Jam on the HD consoles wouldn't have helped Elite at all, as a matter of fact it would probably hurt it. And there was no way they could release it on the HD consoles without having to spend a bunch of money making it again so they could sale it at retail, because to release a 50 dollar Wii game for 15 dollars is not much better than giving it away for free. To sell it on PSN/XBL would have doomed Wii sales anyway, and been of no value to Elite, by giving it away for free, they still doom Wii sales, but at least it helps Elite. I would think that would be their logic

[QUOTE="Sepewrath"]

EA's sports games overall have been bombing in recent years, Madden and especially Live have been on a steady decline.

Jaysonguy

Wrong

^I don't know... the whole thing still doesn't come together as fluidly as it probably should, I think. Once again, I understand the whole nostalgia angle EA went with, but I don't find that to be as safe of a move to make Jam a Wii-exclusive game. At the moment, the only major benefactor of the whole "playing the nostalgia card" idea has been with NSMB Wii, and even that game had the establishment of the DS version as something of a 'testing the waters' effect. To be honest, I would just suspect that the average HD console owner would be more interested in an NBA Jam revival than the average Wii owner would, and if you were to look at things from that perspective, you can at least look at how much better sales of NBA games have been on the HD systems than they've been on the Wii as assurance. Even with Elite and 2K11 on the market, I think Jam wouldn't have been too unsafe of a bet on the HD systems, but the strangest thing of all is that EA went with making the game a Wii-exclusive title, which is something that has been anything but safe for the publisher.

The thing about Jam hurting Elite's sales is a good point, but this is also the EA that has had multiple series based off of licensed sports leagues in the past, like the Street series, NFL Head Coach, and who knows what else to go with the more established brands, like Madden and Live. I think as long as EA was seeing revenue from its products, it wouldn't have been too upset about where exactly it came from. I do agree on the matters that giving the game away with Elite will come in handy for that game and that it will deal a pretty significant blow to the Wii version. I'm just find the way EA has handled this particular game to be very unusual, and even as things start to make a bit more sense, there are other things that I find as perplexing as ever. As it stands now, Wii owners are doomed to buying a game that is handed to owners of other systems, HD console owners are unable to buy the game, unless they purchase another game, and the game looks like it might bomb on the Wii and not generate anything from the HD systems to make up for it, even as it's being played on those consoles. It's just all really... odd. :P

A lot of people who own Wii's used to be gamers but got out of it once it became too complicated and then flocked to the Wii because of its simpicity and nostalgia. I know many people who did this. Not only are there games like NSMBW but also Donkey Kong Country Returns, the remake of punchout, A Boy and His Blob, Goldeneye, the Wiiware Konami rebirth games, the new Wiiware Megaman games coming out first on the Wii, the bit.trip series, and many others that seem to bank on the whole nostalgia thing. NBA Jam does seem like a good fit. I think this whole giving it away on the HD consoles is probably just to help out the Elite game. There's no way the game on those systems could be that much better than the Wii version though. Does anyone really think they'll put that much effort into it if it's a free game? It's just going to be a slightly better looking port of the Wii game with less features. Personally I think they should reduce the price of the Wii version a bit, but if you weren't going to get Elite anyway than it's still cheaper to buy the Wii game ($50 vs $60), although of course its a worse value. I guess it really boils down to if the Wii version gets an online mode though.

Yeah EA handled this situation poorly, they basically are cutting off a finger in hopes of saving the hand. And when it comes to the Nostalgia angle, its not just NSMB Wii, though that one game serves as a great incentive, its the one game to take on MW2 with no fear of being crushed. But its all Nintendo games, Mario Kart, Zelda, Metroid, you saw the constant buzz around the rumor of a GoldenEye remake, the first two Resident Evil games, one being a port and the other a psuedo port rail shooter, HOTD 2 and 3, Sonic all being games capitalizing on nostalgia. On the HD consoles, not so much. Sonic at the Olympic games sold more in a week than Bionic Commando on two consoles sold overall, Sonic; Unleashed by far sold better on the Wii, All Star Racing, the Wii version nearly matched the other two combined. Lets not even talk about Golden Axe on the HD consoles, hell the VC probably outsold that lol.

Nostalgia seems to be much more of a sure thing on the Wii than HD consoles, it doesn't seem to really help at all, big reason why I think Activision wen t with the Wii for GoldenEye. On the HD consoles, the games of the last few years like Halo and CoD take precedent, Nintendo fans do nothing but live 20yrs in the past lol. With them not bringing Live to the Wii anymore, Jam made perfect sense, selling that nostalgia and exclusive angle, it could have gotten EA back in good graces with the audience. The sale of sports games on the Wii doesn't matter, like I said before, they are the "same" game, all attempting to be the same sim game, but the HD versions had better graphics, more modes, roster updates, online leagues etc etc. which do you think people really will buy? That's an absolute no contest.

So the sells of sports games on the Wii does not reflect on the decision to bring Jam to the Wii, making it exclusive is kind of the only way you can sale it on the Wii. Its like if Capcom had put SSFIV on the Wii, PS3 would have been first, than the 360 version and way behind the Wii version, Its not that people wouldn't buy a SF game on the Wii, its just that there is a better version to be had. The Wii version would take a hit in visuals, likely not have the same online features, etc. not too many multiplat owners would choose the Wii version. They had to make it exclusive if they had hopes of selling it and history has shown the average Wii consumer is more likely to take to an old franchise than the average HD consumer.

That aspect of what EA did made perfect sense, the numbers were clearly in their favor, Then they just did something incredibly stupid yesterday, they created the MP situation which rarely works in the Wii's favor. Now I don't know if their hoping for a Sonic Unleashed situation here, but their ignoring one big piece of that puzzle, that game wasn't free on the HD consoles.

[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

[QUOTE="Sepewrath"]

EA's sports games overall have been bombing in recent years, Madden and especially Live have been on a steady decline.

LegatoSkyheart

Wrong

Madden got a revamp and has been doing well and the Live/Elite series has been getting better each year

EA also supplies the best hockey and soccer/futbol games on the planet and their sports games that feature fisticuffs are starting to come on strong

So no, I have no idea how you say they've been bombing

EA simply saw that a game aimed exclusively at the Wii audience was a bad idea and are working hard to fix that

eh? how was that a Bad Idea?

Going with a smaller market on the Wii and then being handcuffed with it's hardware limitations

They're aiming the game towards the bigger market that has hardware that allows them what they want to do with the game

neither side is getting the best version... they should have just gave the ps3 and xbox the full version.

[QUOTE="KBFloYd"]

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

How does a company kill a game by widening its audience while not changing the game's contents in any way?

ASRCSR

it killed its wii sales..me being one of them.

So it didn't kill NBA jam it just delivered it to more people

I agree in that I am very upset about this decision. Everyone claims business practice and EA has the right to make money and yadda yadda. Now that is true and I don't have a poblem with that, but I think system exclusives are a necessity in the industry and as a Wii fan we need our love too, s it was nice to know a great game was coming that helped prove the value of a system I love. Now it's multi and it's just sad.

HD versions will have 3 modes

classic campain (which is single player)
Play now
online

the mode missing is remix mode which actually sounds good..might not be so bad for wii owners IF we get online too.

this is remix mode http://www.thekartel.com/thegreatone/blog/2010/07/22/nba_jams_new_remix_tour_adds_street_fighter-like_battles_to_gameplay%20

As my final comment on this one, I'll just say that I know for a fact that the NBA Live series (now Elite) has gone down in popularity and does not compare at all to NBA 2K. Sales for Live were dwindling for years, hence the rebranding.

I know for a fact that this year, PS3/360 owners would never spend money on an NBA Jam alone over NBA 2K. The fact that it is bundled with Elite makes it look like a pathetic afterthought. A few boomshakalakas and gamers will go back to playing Elite.

Multiplat owners and word of mouth will dictate that there is no point to a Wii version with only one or two extra modes when Elite, which is not on the Wii, has the game included already.

Complete marketing failure on EA's part. Then when it fails,....."Wii owners don't want core games".... Idiotic.