NBA Jam Returning to Wii, Puts Up a Brick?

Because no story on NBA Jam being remake for the Wii would be complete without recounting all those classic comments from the announcer, let’s get them all out of the way: “He’s heating up!” “He’s on fire!” “Boomshakalaka!” “Oooh Myyy!” “Is it the shoes?” “Razzle dazzle!” “From downtown!” “Jams it in!” “Can’t buy a bucket!” “Kaboom!” “Ugly shot!” “The nail in the coffin!”

Phew, now for the story: Electronic Arts confirmed that its EA Canada studio will attempt to revive the classic two-on-two basketball game in a Wii exclusive.

Originally released in 1993 as an outrageously expensive four-player arcade game (some machines demanded 50 cents for a quarter of game time, or $2 per game, per player), NBA Jam really hit its stride when released at home for Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. The game stripped basketball down to its bare essentials, and then amplified them, leaving only superstars who performed impossible jams and could literally set the ball on fire after making three unanswered baskets. With the exception of Wii Sports, I don’t think we’ve seen a sports game match that level of accessibility since NBA Jam, so EA Canada has a tall order on their hands. We know very little about the game, but hopefully it’ll have some cheat codes for Big Head mode and my personal favorite secret character, P-Funk. [CVG via Kombo]