The creative director for NBA Jam has said the Xbox 360 and PS3 version of the game will now have as much of the Wii version's content as possible. Previously, 360/PS3 Jam was to lack the "Remix Tour" mode.
Trey Smith, speaking to the Toronto sports radio station FAN 590, said his development team was caught off guard by last week's last minute postponement of NBA Elite 11 for the PS3 and 360, which would have shipped with a code for a free download of NBA Jam for those two consoles. That version would have featured the same roster as the Wii version, but lacked the "Remix Tour," which features boss battles, unique game modes and other challenges. Remix Tour is estimated to provide about 20 hours of singleplayer and co-operative offline gameplay on the Wii.
Now, EA Sports has said that NBA Jam for the 360 and PS3 will ship by the holidays, but has not specified its price, whether it would be a disc or digital download, or any other details.
"I'll tell you, we're doing everything in our power to get as much on there as possible. I mean, we had online up. It was a really basic online feature set. We're trying to blow that out. And then you get Remix. We're trying to throw it all in there," Smith told FAN 590, according to Nintendo World Report.
Update: You may hear audio of the entire segment here. [mp3, via NeoGAF user infinityBCRT] The relevant comments begin at 25:50.
Smith said EA Sports Canada is "shuffling to get everything together." He did not specify a release date or whether this would be a retail or download release.
Kotaku has contacted an EA Sports Canada representative for comment.
This development would seem to point to a retail disc release and a price commensurate with the Wii title's $49.99 tag. And that, combined with EA Sports' continued full, seasonlong roster update support for last year's NBA Live 10, points squarely to an outright cancellation of NBA Elite 11. EA Sports has yet to announce its plans for that title, only that it is delayed indefinitely.
NBA Jam To Be Fully Featured On 360, PS3 [Nintendo World Report]