Thats NBA JAM in all of its glory, on an iPhone. It looks really smooth, and pretty slick- I can't wait to pick it up. It's also some super supreme bullshit. The article (found here.) at touchArcade sums up my frustration:
According to the info EA has also sent our way regarding the game, it's coming packed with all 30 NBA teams including favorite NBA stars. But what would an NBA Jam game be without unlockables and secret characters? Well, the iOS version is coming packed with those too. They've even teased big head mode. Currently, two modes of play are being discussed: An instant game mode where you select a team and are thrown in to a basketball game as well as a campaign more where you defeat other teams to unlock various goodies.
I'll try not to go all Angry Video Game Nerd, whilst explaining it, but I'll give it a shot...James, help me out.
First a little history (as you may already know): NBA JAM was going to be released alongside (at no extra cost) NBA Elite 11 in 2010, but the entire project was delayed and ultimately cancelled when this video was released:
Though the real gem of the video, 10-15 seconds of video that ultimately nailed the game in its coffin, is around the 3 minute mark, the entire video is a testament to how bad the game was. Oh yeah, incase you didn't know- what he's playing is an officially released demo...meaning that the game is technically still being worked on at this point. Regardless of that fact, EA ultimately chose to cancel the game ENTIRELY, about 2 weeks after word circulated on the game breaking bugs, meaning that countless production man-hours were paid for with zero to show, and the deficit was massive.
That begins me down the path to my main point: the monetization of NBA JAM. Despite any troubles Elite 11 was having, the NBA JAM team was moving right along, and even finished the game, without a hitch. When disaster befell the Elite 11 team, NBA JAM was left hanging in the breeze. Nintendo fans would already have the chance to play JAM, because Elite 11 wasn't going to be release on the Wii, so the discs were pressed already.
But, as history has shown, nothing stops commerce. EA chose to take a game, that was originally touted as "bonus", and tack a SIXTY DOLLAR price tag onto it. Let me reiterate: a free game went from $0 to $60 in the span of a fucking week. Amazingly, no one really seemed to have a problem with this- and honestly: I would have paid money for JAM, maybe $25 at the most...as downloadable content. But $60?
Well anyways, NBA JAM is ready to be released on your iPhone/iPad within a day or so of this posting, I'm going to take a stab at the price and call it an $8 to $9 price-point. Don't get me wrong, I love NBA JAM and I will eventually pick it up for my iphone- but the parallel of a nearly identical game being released on an iOS platform, for less than $20 (hopefully), after being charged $60 for a disc based game...is no one out there going to say something?
My main problem is that lately pricing vs. game content is way out of left field- and there are plenty of examples to mention, (Limbo is a great game, one of my favorite- but $15?...too short), but I feel like I'm getting away from the point.
So, am I completely insane? Am I completely missing the point? Did I spell it out for you? Am I trollin your face? What games do you feel were completely overpriced for the amount of content you played through? Say it!
-Chris M
http://5footblog.blogspot.com/
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