NBA Jam's critical success has led EA Sports to resurrect the beloved NFL Blitz series as well, Jeff Gerstmann reports over on Giant Bomb. Development is rumored to be underway, and the multiplatform game wouldn't release until 2012.
Gerstmann attributes the news to an industry insider and also his previous report that EA Sports, in acquiring the NBA Jam franchise from the remnants of Midway, also picked up "multiple Midway sports franchises," which includes NFL Blitz.
"It sounds like the game is going to be developed at EA's Tiburon studio," Gerstmann writes, "which makes sense both because it's where EA makes its football games and it's also where one of the creators of the Blitz series, Mark Turmell, is currently serving as the Senior Creative Director."
Over-the-top football gameplay, with powerups and special moves were a hallmark of Blitz, and featured in last year's downloadable title Madden NFL Arcade. That was hardly a flop but it wasn't a craze, either. EA Sports is probably banking on tons more Jam-style nostalgia for the Blitz brand, which had its heyday in the late 1990s as an arcade and console hit.
EA Sports told Gerstmann it doesn't comment on rumor or speculation. I reached out to them, too. If they say anything, I'll run it here.
Update: "We do not comment on speculation or rumors," an EA spokesman told Kotaku.
Rumor: EA Sports Working On New NFL Blitz [GiantBomb]