NBA Superstars Shoots for Arcade Nostalgia From Way Downtown

Many would-be contenders have failed to recapture the arcade classic magic of NBA Jam. Midway's NBA Hoopz added a third player but lost the frantic fun. NBA Playgrounds added Ultimate Team style card collecting but missed the mark. Even a new version of NBA Jam didn't land after EA took over the vaunted license. Is the answer a return to arcades the Midway classic once dominated? NBA Superstars, a new arcade basketball offering, is betting on it.

NBA Superstars, from Play Mechanix and Raw Thrills, is landing on the arcade hardwood for a shot at the title. Players can choose from 120 NBA stars including LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, and Luka Doncic in 3-on-3 matches. The arcade cabinet is ready to assault your senses with a fully-animated LED stadium scoreboard, 75-inch screen, marquee lights, and RGB LED lights color-coordinated to match the NBA squads players are using. Each cabinet supports up to four players. I have three kids, the squad is ready to assemble.

The arcade game industry faces some of the same problems the movies do. People have massive home entertainment systems in their bedrooms now. To get our hard-earned quarters, games need to create an experience we can't get at home. The flashing LED lights and loud sounds are gaming's version of CGI explosions and Tom Cruise running.

NBA Superstars makes no secret of its NBA Jam influence, even bringing legendary voice Tim Kitzrow back for a dose of "Boomshakalaka." Players light up as they make physically impossible ally-oops. Three-pointers fire in from parking-lot distance with comet trails attached. Players are encouraged to forcefully shove, ahem, I mean play tough defense against opponents.

The game's press materials tout Superstar Mode, which appears to be its answer to a campaign. This is good because arcades don't cover the landscape as they did in the 90s. In their place are restaurants such as Dave and Buster's that offer eats and entertainment for the whole family. A growing category of adult arcades encourages players to have a beer or two while gaming.

Players can scan QR codes in the game to track their records. That will hit those who still remember their Tecmo Bowl passwords right in the retro feels. NBA Superstars is releasing this summer, and some cabinets have already been spotted in the wild.