Updated NBA Jam, Basketball Sim in Development

A revamped and ultra-sparkle version of the arcade reboot NBA Jam is in the works for the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Titled NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, the game boasts all of the content from the retail release as well as better AI, new unlockable characters, a competitive online mode called JAM Arena, and an online co-op campaign called Road Trip.

It’s great that they’re making the move to the downloadable space for NBA Jam, but it does put the original game in a funky mental space considering an improved version of it is now being sold as an XBLA / PSN title.

Another basketball title will survive past 2011 as well. Electronic Arts announced the next game in their sim series will release in Fall 2012, though they didn’t say the game will continue the NBA Elite series. Given that NBA Elite 11 was wrecked enough to be canceled outright, it may be time to put that brand to pasture.

Personally, I love the idea of NBA Jam, but something about buying it on a physical disk just felt wrong. Buying it through XBLA rocks, though I just realized it’ll cut the achievement points…