NBA Jam

Name: NBA Jam
Rating: 5 (3 reviews)

Reyan Ali

Oct 2019 · Boss Fight Books Book 21 · Boss Fight Books

5.0

3 reviews

Ebook

256

Pages

Eligible

Ratings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More

Switch to the audiobook

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

5.0

3 reviews

MacBlayne

May 27, 2020

An incredible account of a video game developer managed to capture lightning in a bottle. Ali's book charts the rise and fall of a gaming juggernaut, and also explores culture that defined the game, and how the game shaped the culture in return. Choc-a-bloc with great interviews, and juicy gossip, NBA JAM is an addictive chronicle through an era of video-game history that has sadly passed. I highly recommend it.

arcade thomas

February 16, 2020

Baseline leaner!

About the author

Reyan Ali is a writer from Columbus, Ohio. His work has been published by Wired, Spin, The Atlantic, The A.V. Club, and alt-weekly papers across the country. Born in Dallas, he grew up in Karachi, Pakistan, where he devoured '90s NBA action almost exclusively through trading cards, Beckett Basketball magazine, and NBA Jam: Tournament Edition on the Sega Mega Drive II.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets

Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.

Laptops and computers

You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.

eReaders and other devices

To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.

Report illegal content