Topic: NBA JAM - BOOOOOOM-SHAKA-LAKA - He's... stopped, dropped and rolled!!!!!

[nickmitch]

No doubt that it's a little suspect.  Later in the article is the following quote:

"Today's gamer might be a hard-core teen-ager playing games online with his friends, a 40-something female playing Farmville on Facebook, or everything on either side of that spectrum," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

A 40-something female playing Farmville on Facebook is considered a gamer but there's a pretty good chance she doesn't own a gaming console.

I just posted the link because it shows that the download market isn't as large as the retail market.  Even if you triple or quadruple the 6% figure, it's still a small fraction of the market you'd be able to sell to if the game were on a disc.

I dunno. Nintendo has said time and again that a large portion of Wiis are online, and I couldn't imagine that less than 50% of console owning gamers have never downloaded a game. Furthermore, I doubt it cuts the market for the HD consoles because the game appeals more towards the crowd who would be in online forums talking about the game (like us) and more likely than not have their console(s) online and have downloaded a game.

[Mop it up]

Mario Sports Mix has a Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection logo on the box. If it turns out the game has online play, will that turn anyone away from this game to it?

[SixthAngel]

I'm glad to see Jam isn't getting pushed into the wood chipper anymore.

That's kind of sad.  Originally this was going to be a Wii exclusive and now the bright side of the situation is that at least Wii owners have the option of getting it.  There's just this melancholy defeatism in the whole thing.  Being treated like dirt by third parties is expected.

They should have just announced it as a multiplat from the beginning.  I don't care that its not exclusive but I don't like it when they pretend something is so awesome for the Wii and then slowly announce other versions with extra features or sometimes even a better price.  Just stop the act and release it for all the consoles right away.  Wii only owners like myself will pick it up if I like it, just don't tell me its something special when its obviously not.

How messed up must EA be right now?  They announce a game for Wii with huge hype, they then say its a free downloadable title and then they change their minds a few weeks later and make it retail.  If this game didn't have the Jam license it would be dead in the water.  There aren't many reboots(much less new games) that people would still have faith in after this stuff happened.  They even apparently canceled Elite.  There has to be a lot of fighting, blaming and scapegoating in that company right now.

[BeautifulShy]

Mario Sports Mix has a Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection logo on the box. If it turns out the game has online play, will that turn anyone away from this game to it?

I would get both. They are different enough.

[broodwars]

They even apparently canceled Elite.  There has to be a lot of fighting, blaming and scapegoating in that company right now.

As far as I can tell searching the internet, they haven't officially canceled Elite yet, though at this point I have to wonder what the benefit of releasing Elite will be if the delay's more than a month.  They've essentially handed the 2010-2011 basketball gamer market over to Take-Two with this delay.

As for retail vs. download for the HD JAM, meh...whatever.  The price really isn't an issue either way, so whatever happens...happens.  I just want all the content from the Wii version on the HD version if this is going to be a paid release now.  If anything, I'd hope for EA to add more content to the HD JAM to try and garner sales to make up for the loss of Elite.

[UncleBob]

From Kotaku:

Asked for a crystal ball projection, Pachter thinks it will be a disc release.

"A $50 Wii game will likely not command a $60 price point on PS3 or 360 if it's a port," Pachter told Kotaku. "Because they intend to sell the game for $50 on the Wii, they can't really cut price below $50 on the PS3 or 360. And if they offer it as a download, it will be tough to command a $50 price point, even if the file is small enough to download."

"My educated opinion is $50 on all platforms, disc only, with a download offered whenever NBA Elite ships," he concluded.

[broodwars]

From Kotaku:

Asked for a crystal ball projection, Pachter thinks it will be a disc release.

"A $50 Wii game will likely not command a $60 price point on PS3 or 360 if it's a port," Pachter told Kotaku. "Because they intend to sell the game for $50 on the Wii, they can't really cut price below $50 on the PS3 or 360. And if they offer it as a download, it will be tough to command a $50 price point, even if the file is small enough to download."

"My educated opinion is $50 on all platforms, disc only, with a download offered whenever NBA Elite ships," he concluded.

You don't say...

[TJ Spyke]

It's Michael Pachter, that is reason enough to ignore it. The guy is rarely ever right, but people still seem to care about his predictions.

[nickmitch]

EA would still have to add the modes from the Wii version to justfy such similar pricing. Unless they think the online mode is a fair trade-off.

[BlackNMild2k1]

The HD version is the superior version CONFIRMED (most likely for $60 though)

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=23655746&postcount=1

I'll tell you, we're doing everything in our power to get as much on there as possible. I mean, we had online up. It was a really basic online feature set. We're trying to blow that out. And then you get Remix. We're trying to throw it all in there. Right now, I mean, we got this bomb dropped on us just a couple of days ago as well. So, we're shuffling to get everything together, but we got a great team. We got a lot of stuff up and working. We're going to polish it up, and we're gonna get it out there before holidays. And its really up to you. If you want to hang out with your friends and use gesture controls, you got it on the Wii. If you want to go online and you want that HD experience, you go on the PS3/360.

[nickmitch]

Well ain't that a kick in the pants.

[Sarail]

There ya go. PS3 version it is for me. I don't care about waggle for Jam, and I'd rather the game look as sharp as can possibly be on my LCD tv.

Way to eff over Wii owners EA. Way to go, indeed.

[Mop it up]

EA have done a pretty poor job of handling this game. How have they become such a large company?

[DAaaMan64]

Just gonna wait for my 360 & PS3 friends to buy it, this is fail.

[broodwars]

Just gonna wait for my 360 & PS3 friends to buy it, this is fail.

You and me both.  There are just too many problems with the Wii version and too many things worth having on the HD versions.

[TJ Spyke]

Just gonna wait for my 360 & PS3 friends to buy it, this is fail.

You and me both. There are just too many problems with the Wii version and too many things worth having on the HD versions.

Like what? Other than online play, they are the same game.

[broodwars]

Just gonna wait for my 360 & PS3 friends to buy it, this is fail.

You and me both. There are just too many problems with the Wii version and too many things worth having on the HD versions.

Like what? Other than online play, they are the same game.

....................................................... 

Suffice to say, from what EA has announced, we have trophies/achievements; online play; HD visuals; and updated rosters.  That's pretty significant to me.
 

[TJ Spyke]

You say there are many problems with the Wii version, but the only problem we know of is that it won't have online play. If you think there are others, I would like to hear them.

[broodwars]

You say there are many problems with the Wii version, but the only problem we know of is that it won't have online play. If you think there are others, I would like to hear them.

The lack of online play and the out-of-date rosters are pretty significant problems with the Wii version, IMO.  Also, while not an issue that can be helped, the visuals are in SD and won't look very good on my TV (a problem most Wii games have on my setup).  I'm also curious what kind of longevity this game will have with just the classic and Remix modes.  JAM wasn't exactly the most in-depth game to begin with.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I'm hoping for a 3DS version with online. That will be the definitive version. Jam on the go FTW. Too bad that won't be a possibility until sometime next year.

[Adrock]

That will be the definitive version.

Yeah, apparently, it's on PS3 and 360.

[DAaaMan64]

You say there are many problems with the Wii version, but the only problem we know of is that it won't have online play. If you think there are others, I would like to hear them.

We have a 55" Samsung LED TV. I'm getting the HD version. Period.

[Mop it up]

Just wait for the 2011 edition, we all know there's going to be one.

[nickmitch]

Why bother? I can get it for my 360 now and just update the roster next summer.

[BeautifulShy]

Well I figure that most people don't really care much about the Wii version coming out today but I thought I would mention that there was some hidden characters leaked so I'm going to post them.

Beastie Boys,
President Obama,Joe Biden,Bill and Hillary Clinton, Al Gore.
George W Bush,Sarah Palin,John McCain,Dick Cheney

I'm just going to say that Black N Mild will be happy with one of the choices.