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NBA Jam HD Is Coming, But You'll Have To Buy Elite 11 To Get It

It's a voucher dangling from a stick.

By Brad Nicholson  |  Aug. 3, 2010

It's official-official: NBA Jam is coming to the Xbox 360 and PS3, but there are a couple of catches. First, you'll have be the proud owner of NBA Elite 11 in order to play it. Second, it's not the full version that is hitting the Wii this October.

EA has announced this morning that NBA Jam, presented in HD, will be a pack-in with fresh copies of Elite 11, the publishers' promising reboot of the NBA Live franchise. NBA Jam for Xbox 360 and PS3 will be a downloadable on the console's specific services. A download voucher, as you might suspect, is what will come with copies of Elite 11. 
 
EA is saying at the moment that this version of Jam won't be sold over PSN and Xbox Live Marketplace. The only way to get this HD version is to pay the full price--around 60 bones--for Elite 11, which hits on October 5.  (Or wait until EA starts charging for it on XBLM or PSN separately.)
 


This version of NBA Jam won't have all the features of its once-Wii-exclusive brother. It's hitting digital download services with Play Now, Classic Campaign, and Online modes of play, the notable omission being the Remix Tour mode, which includes Jam battles against NBA greats like Dennis Rodman or Magic Johnson. I'll note, though, that Classic Campaign will offer a similar tiered ladder-style mode that Jam fans should be familiar with. And It's still unknown at the moment if the Wii version of the game will support online play, so that might be an exclusive feature for this version of the game.

How much will you pay for a downloadable or a scaled back version of a game? Ask a Halo fan if that Crackdown $60 disc was worth the coin. That might help with the decision if you're on the fence--provided that EA doesn't offer NBA Jam HD on XBLM or PSN at some point in the future. Exclusivity is a funny thing.
Filed under: NBA Elite 11, NBA Jam
219 Comments
fishmicmuffinon Aug. 3, 2010 at 9 a.m.
Sounds pretty good to me.
cap123on Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:02 a.m.
They're fucking idiots for thinking people who like nba jam all like basketball. I would never buy a normal NBA game ever.
Norusdogon Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:04 a.m.
they're pretty stupid to go this route.  And obviously it'll be available seperately at some point.  They're really alienating a number of sales by doing this.  I loved the JAM series, but don't care for BBall games in particular.  Most people aren't going to buy a game they don't want or barely/don't care about just to be able to play JAM HD.  Of course some will bite but this makes no sense..overall they'd get more sales and money if they were both stand-alone.
 
oh well.  Guess I'll wait.  no way am I paying $60 for JAM HD.
StillVictoron Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:05 a.m.
This is unexpected.
RJPeloniaon Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:06 a.m.
Still getting it for the Wii.
WillyFourEyeson Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:06 a.m.
Meh. I was only planning on getting the Wii version anyway. High-def gaming, while nice, isn't all that important to me.
OmegaAmenon Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:07 a.m.
I will wait for NBA Jam HD to be offered on PSN. I doubt this exclusive tie-in with Elite will last long.
heaton Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:07 a.m.
What? Fuck that.
Cirdainon Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:08 a.m.
meh! for jah jam.
adoggzon Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:09 a.m.
well, sports games do depreciate in value very quickly. won't take that long for this to be cheep enough to buy just for Jam.
Rayethon Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:10 a.m.
LAME.   I don't want to buy a Wii for NBA Jam, and I certainly don't want to buy some basketball game for it either.  If they don't offer it as a standalone product they won't get any money from me.
bhhawks78on Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:10 a.m.
Too bad nba live/elite has been AWFUL for over a decade and even buggy as hell 2k makes it look like total garbage. 
Tetleyon Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:12 a.m.
This is disappointing to say the least.
RIVERSIDERon Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:12 a.m.
Bad move EA
Budkinon Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:13 a.m.
This is a bunch of bullshit. I'm a 2K guy and don't have any desire to play Elite but I would have gladly given EA money for NBA Jam HD. But not through this con. I'll stick to the Wii edition.
VWGTIon Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:13 a.m.
No thanks!
CowboyBebopperon Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:14 a.m.
Ouch, my balls. This one hurts big time...
scarace360on Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:14 a.m.
GOD DAMB IT AND I WANTED THIS. O well time to go buy the cabnet.
flamingBurritoon Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:14 a.m.
Bullshit. I'm just going to get the wii version.
PAPI_D_187on Aug. 3, 2010 at 9:15 a.m.
This business is getting ridiculous

Dig Deeper into NBA Elite 11

EA's renamed basketball simulation originally set for an October 2010 release, it was cancelled at the last minute due to concerns over quality. The game was intended to introduce brand new control concepts and mechanics meant to innovate on the simulation basketball genre.

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