The Evolution of the Basketball Video Game
Without even thinking about it for more than a few seconds it is very clear that basketball games have greatly evolved. From the earliest games on the Atari to the critically acclaimed NBA2K11 that we now have. We went from generic pixels that somewhat resembled the human form being able to shoot in one way to the complex style where it is important to know how to run offensive plays for a team. This is a look at where we have come.
The Atari is really where basketball video games as we know them today can be traced back to, the Atari 2600 that is. A game called "Basketball" had two figures going one on one, shooting the ball at what resembled a basketball hoop. There really was no way to direct where you were shooting from, there was no character to the players. All you had were two totally equal figures throwing a dot towards a hoop. The simplicity went beyond just the name. Recently rereleased along with 49 other Atari games on the Nintendo DS, this is one that can still be fun to play in short spurts when looking for simple fun, but at the same time it's no wonder that the video game industry nearly died before Super Mario Brothers came along some years later. It just wasn't something that had lasting fun.
With the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Master System came a huge step forwards in basketball video games. Some of the big games of that era include Jordan vs. Bird, Tecmo NBA Basketball, Double Dribble, and Arch Rivals. Jordan vs. Bird finally put names to the characters who you controlled. The abilities of Michael Jordan and Larry Bird in the game were still very similar, and the camera view was one that very few fans would be able to tolerate today, but at the same time it was a huge step forward. Double Dribble and Tecmo NBA Basketball really brought a more modern camera angle to the game, as it was more of a side scrolling type of game with those two. Arch Rivals changed things in that it was one of the first games ever to feature more of a physical style of game, one that hasn't stuck on as much, but that has had its own place as far as basketball games go, and one that will still be mentioned as we go on.
The next step, with the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis systems being the major players, brought possibly the steepest incline in innovation with basketball video games. You had actual abilities thrown in with player names in games like Bulls vs. Blazers. NCAA Basketball brought not only the player abilities, but it also was the first true 3-D basketball game. The idea as a whole never stuck, as the camera angle was more vertical with the court rather than horizontal, but it still took a major step forward for the evolution of basketball video games. Games like Tecmo Super NBA Basketball continued with what Bulls vs. Blazers started up. However, two games had more of an impact than any of these other games. The first to mention is NBA Jam. It took where Arch Rivals left off and took it to a whole new level. The game wasn't really combat based, but with fouls not being called and the ball not able to go out of bounds, it still had that no rules type of feel to it. It also was the first game that really featured the score as it would have appeared on a televised game at the time. When it was coming out people could not believe how life like it really was as far as the graphics went. The other game was the start of what may be the most successful franchise of basketball video games to date, NBA Live '95. It was a game that took the innovations by Bulls vs. Blazers and Tecmo Super NBA Basketball and took them to a whole new level, offering different game types, and having rosters of actual NBA teams with abilities. It looked to build on what the Madden NFL franchise had started building at the time. One more game that cannot be forgotten in that period is NBA All-Star Challenge. It didn't feature actual full out games of one team against another, and actually, it really only would feature one player from each team. However, it offered a variety of skills competitions, something which would be built into later games.You could have one on one games, you could have a three point shootout, a free throw shooting contest, and other competitions. It sounds very primitive today, but at the time this was something very new.
As time goes on, the line becomes more blurred. You used to be able to tell the innovation by the generation of video game systems. However, this started to not be the case. The next level went with systems like the Nintendo 64, Nintendo Gamecube, XBox, Sony Playstation, and the Playstation 2. The main player started with the NBA Live Franchise. There was some competition from the continuing of the NBA Jam franchise and NBA Courtside, but NBA Live continued to grow through the 90's. By the time it had gone to the Gamecube, Playstation 2, and XBox it was a three dimensional game that offered plenty of options for exhibition games, regular season games, and was starting to move towards franchise mode as we know it today. When the new millennium came along the NBA Live Franchise was fully in charge. By 2002 the NBA2K series started to rise up though. It really wasn't a major rival until 2004 or so. NBA Live 2003 is still one of the best basketball games to ever be made, but in that series, it was the last great game. While they made great moves in trying to add on further from just the basketball games by adding some skills competitions, most notably a dunk contest, it just wasn't enough.
The NBA2K series took full control of the hardships of the NBA Live series. While the games took a while to stack up to what NBA Live 2003 was, the NBA2K series was better than the NBA Live series from there on out. It wasn't totally smooth sailing for the NBA2K series though. There was a transition period that resembled an adolescent's growth growth for basketball video games in that it was bad enough that it was almost awkward. They were trying to cram in so many more complex elements to the games which really made for great ideas not being executed well. The NBA Live series continued to fight, and to their credit, they were not very far behind, but the NBA2K games were just better. However, none of the games were very good until just recently. NBA2K11 seemed to finally iron out all of the wrinkles. It's a game that is far from perfect, but it really allows the player to feel like they're playing something great for the first time in 8 years. The NBA Live series has since been renamed NBA Elite, and after trying to rush their 2011 game after some major changes, they finally decided to scrap it until 2012, which is probably best. Back to NBA2K11 though, it not only featured the best controls, graphics, and just overall feel of any NBA based game since NBA Live 2003, but at the same time it also featured the Jordan Challenges, something that people who have been watching the game for 20+ years like myself (or even 15+ years) can reall appreciate. Putting yourself in the shoes of the greatest player to ever put on an NBA uniform in some of his toughest situations.
Not to be left out is the spirit of Arch Rivals. It's almost another branch of the basketball video game evolution. After the fourth generation (Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis), it was far from dying off. Games other than NBA Jam in that generation include Bill Laimbeer Combat Basketball and Charles Barkley's Shut Up and Jam. Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball was a completely different thing with landmines on the court among other obstacles with a simplistic overhead view. Shut Up and Jam was pretty much like a street version of NBA Jam. However, that led into the next step almost perfectly with the NBA Street series, featuring three games. All of them were in vein of NBA Jam, and all of them had their own charm, being those types of games with very few rules and eventually incorporating stunt points. Recently the newest NBA Jam game has come out for all of the major systems. I have yet to play it, but from reports, it is true to the original while adding a modern feel to it. The success that these games have seen shows that people still love their novelty basketball games.
What does the future hold? It's hard to say. The NBA Elite series has yet to show itself, and with some of the changes they plan on making, they may have something up their sleeves at EA to take things to yet another level. Maybe it will be better for the NBA2K series to stick with the formula they've finally perfected with NBA2K11. Also, how will novelty games continue to evolve? It's very hard to say at this point, but with where things are now, there really should be no worry.
