When NBA Jam dunked its way into arcades in 1993, players discovered
just how fun basketball can be when freed from rules, refs, and gravity
itself. But just a few years after the billion-dollar hit conquered the
world, developer Midway, publisher Acclaim, and video arcades themselves
fell off the map. How did a simple two-on-two basketball game become MVP
of the arcade, and how did this champ lose its title? Journalist Reyan
Ali dives deep into the saga, tracking the people and decisions that
shaped the series. You'll get to know mischievous Jam architect Mark
Turmell, go inside Midway's Chicago office where hungry young talent
tapped into cutting-edge tech, and explore the sequels, spin-offs, and
tributes that came in the game's wake. Built out of exhaustive research
and original interviews with a star-studded cast --including Turmell and
his original development team, iconic commentator Tim Kitzrow,
businessmen and developers at Midway and Acclaim alike, secret
characters George Clinton and DJ Jazzy Jeff, Doom co-creator John
Romero, and 1990s NBA demigods Glen Rice and Shaq--Ali's NBA Jam returns
you to an era when coin-op was king.
