The RetroBeat: NBA Jam’s big anniversary should be a celebration, not a reboot

NBA Jam is going to celebrate its 25th anniversary this year. ESPN wrote earlier this month that a reboot may be in the works. I think that this is bad idea.

Don’t get me wrong: NBA Jam is great. I don’t want to say it was great. That would insinuate that the game has aged poorly. I believe it hasn’t. I could play the Genesis version right now and have a great time. I just don’t think that NBA Jam has much a place in 2018.  Everything that made it so memorable was heavily intertwined with the ’90s. We actually thought that saying “boom shakalaka” was cool then.

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Mike Minotti

Mike Minotti has been with GamesBeat since 2012, starting as an intern. Based near Youngstown, Ohio, he now manages GamesBeat's editorial team. He's also a prolific podcaster, appearing on multiple shows covering the gaming industry.