From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NBA Showtime is a basketball video game by Midway. A descendant of NBA Jam and NBA Hangtime, Showtime is modeled after the NBA presentations on NBC. The original arcade version features team rosters from the beginning of the 1998-99 NBA season, while the console versions features team rosters that were accurate prior to the 1999-2000 NBA season. A newer "Gold" version for arcades features another roster update from later in the 1999-2000 season.
[edit] Overview
Rather than 5 on 5 action like professional play, this game features 2 on 2 play with the ability to pick two players from any NBA team's starting line-up for the first half and can choose again for the second. In addition, after a player makes 3 consecutive shots he becomes "on fire", which allows him to easily make shots from almost anywhere, as well as goaltend without penalty and push opponents without being charged a foul. Play otherwise is similar to NBA rules. The arcade version accommodates up to 4 players, as do the home versions produced for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation and Sega Dreamcast.
Players featured in the game included Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, Shaquille O'Neal, Antoine Walker, Kobe Bryant, Chris Webber, Vince Carter, the late Bison Dele, Anthony Mason, Matt Geiger, Muggsy Bogues, Vlade Divac, Karl Malone, John Stockton, and Greg Ostertag
[edit] Trivia
- The arcade version features the Universal Monsters Frankenstein's Monster, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Wolf Man and The Creature from the Black Lagoon as secret characters.
- Several Midway Games employees are also playable characters. Some of the available players include Mark Turmell, Rob Gatson, Mark Guidarelli, Dan Thompson, Jeff Johnson, Jason Skiles, Sal DiVita, Jennifer Hedrick, Eugene Greer, Matt Gilmore, Tim Bryant, Jim Gentile, John Root, Jon Hey, Andy Eloff, Mike Lynch, Dave Grossman, Larry Wotman, Tim Moran, Willie Morris, Greg Cutler, and Chad Edmunds.
- The "on-fire" feature in this game was featured in NBA Ballers as a special move that allowed the exact same feature.
- This game is known for it's insane difficulty. Even on the lowest of difficulty, if the player wins, it will only be by a few points.
- This game was the first in the Midway NBA series to charge fouls to players.
- In the N64 and Dreamcast version, every button acts as "OK"
- Due to copyright restrictions, Michael Jordan is exempt from the game.
- The game-time commentary is particularly varied and colorful for basketball games of that period, featuring such phrases as "The dejection of the rejection!" "He just flat-out leveled him!" as well as "With the silky smooth move!" and "Look Ma, no rim!"
[edit] External links
