NBA Street
North American PlayStation 2 cover art featuring Stretch
Developer(s)NuFX
EA Canada
Publisher(s)EA Sports BIG
Producer(s)Patrick Quinn
Wil Mozell
Designer(s)Josh Holmes
Programmer(s)Lou Haehn
Artist(s)Lisa Clarizio
Daryl Anselmo
Composer(s)Jason Ross
SeriesNBA Street
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, GameCube
ReleasePlayStation 2
  • WW: June 19, 2001
  • JP: August 23, 2001
GameCube
  • NA: February 5, 2002
  • JP: March 22, 2002
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

NBA Street is a basketball video game developed by NuFX and EA Canada. It was released in 2001 by EA Sports BIG for the PlayStation 2 and in 2002 for the GameCube. It combines the talent and big names of the National Basketball Association with the attitude and atmosphere of streetball. NBA Street is the first game in the NBA Street series and was followed by NBA Street Vol. 2, NBA Street V3, and NBA Street Homecourt.

Gameplay

NBA Street is based on three-on-three street basketball. Aside from the basic structure of basketball, players try to collect trick points, which are scored through the use of almost every basketball game maneuver such as doing fancy dribble moves, faking out defenders, shot blocking, diving for the ball, and dunking. If a team fills their trick meter, they get to perform a Gamebreaker, which is a special shot that not only adds to their score, but it subtracts an amount from their opponents' score.

The single player mode "City Circuit" involves making a user-created player, touring famous American locations and picking up teammates from NBA rosters along the way.

The game has "arcade" style gameplay, similar to the NBA Jam series. Games are scored not by traditional standards, as two-point field goals are worth one point, while made shots behind the 3-point line are worth two. Instead of a time limit, the first team to score 21 points are deemed the winner. However, the winner must win by 2.

Cast and characters

Twenty-nine NBA teams are playable, with rosters from around 2000 and 2001. However, only 5 players are available from each team. Michael Jordan, who announced his comeback from his second retirement with the Washington Wizards a few months after the PlayStation 2 release, is available on both the Gamecube and PlayStation 2 versions. He was however removed as the "Final Challenge" in the Gamecube version as he now played for the Washington Wizards in the game. Instead, the City Circuit ended once a player beat the Street Legend "Stretch".

The game introduced several recurring characters called Street Legends, fictional basketball players who served as the series' bosses, each masterful in a particular aspect of basketball and representing a specific area of the United States. Their personalities and appearances were loosely inspired by real players, such as Stretch, the "cover athlete" who resembles Julius Erving in looks and abilities.

Development

With the game being based on a street ball style of basketball, EA invited Vancouver-based streetball group The Notic to do motion capture.[1][2] The most notable member of the group was Joel Haywood, nicknamed "the King Handles".[3]

Reception

In the United States, NBA Street's PlayStation 2 version sold 1.7 million copies and earned $57 million by August 2006. Between January 2000 and August 2006, this release was the 18th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube consoles in the United States. Combined sales for all NBA Street games released between January 2000 and August 2006, across the three game systems, reached 5.5 million units in the United States by the latter date.[29]

Kevin Toyama reviewed the PlayStation 2 version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Despite a few small imperfections, NBA Street delivers a basketball experience even sports game cynics can't help but love."[23]

The game received "favorable" reviews on both platforms according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[4][5] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 31 out of 40 for the PS2 version,[10] and 30 out of 40 for the GameCube version.[9] It was a runner-up in GameSpot's annual award category for the best alternative sports console game, which went to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.[30]

With the success of the NBA Street series, EA Sports BIG expanded to the format to football with NFL Street and soccer with FIFA Street.

References

  1. ↑ Wong, Alex (2020-04-28). "The legend of King Handles and The Notic". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  2. ↑ Faris, Nick (2020-04-11). "The unique career of the streetball icon who played with Air Bud and impressed KD". theScore.com. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  3. ↑ Adams, J (March 18, 2020). "The legend of Vancouver streetball 'king' Joey Haywood endures". The Province. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "NBA Street for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "NBA Street for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  6. ↑ Barnes, J.C. "NBA Street (PS2) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  7. ↑ EGM staff (May 2002). "NBA Street (GC)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 154. p. 112.
  8. ↑ EGM staff (September 2001). "NBA Street (PS2)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. p. 141.
  9. 1 2 "ニンテンドーゲームキューブ - NBAストリート". Famitsu. Vol. 915. June 30, 2006. p. 102.
  10. 1 2 "プレイステーション2 - NBA STREET". Famitsu. Vol. 915. June 30, 2006. p. 89.
  11. ↑ "NBA Street (GC)". Game Informer. No. 109. May 2002. p. 84.
  12. ↑ Leeper, Justin (August 2001). "NBA Street (PS2)". Game Informer. No. 100. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  13. ↑ Air Hendrix (February 19, 2002). "NBA Street Review for GameCube on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  14. ↑ Air Hendrix (June 20, 2001). "NBA Street Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  15. ↑ Dr. Moo (June 2001). "NBA Street Review (PS2)". Game Revolution. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  16. ↑ Varanini, Giancarlo (February 27, 2002). "NBA Street Review (GC)". GameSpot. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  17. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (June 20, 2001). "NBA Street Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  18. ↑ Sabine, Mike (April 26, 2002). "NBA Street (GCN)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on January 12, 2005. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  19. ↑ Kocher, Dave (July 5, 2001). "NBA Street (PS2)". SportPlanet. Archived from the original on December 28, 2004. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  20. ↑ Bedigian, Louis (May 5, 2002). "NBA Street - GC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on June 4, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  21. ↑ Mirabella III, Fran (February 25, 2002). "NBA Street (GCN)". IGN. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  22. ↑ Zdyrko, David (June 19, 2001). "NBA Street (PS2)". IGN. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  23. 1 2 Toyama, Kevin (September 2001). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 4, no. 9. Imagine Media. p. 66.
  24. ↑ "NBA Street". Nintendo Power. Vol. 154. March 2002. p. 133.
  25. ↑ "NBA Street". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. August 2001.
  26. ↑ Weigel, Ray (July 5, 2001). "TechTV Vault: NBA Street (PS2) Review". X-Play. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  27. ↑ Gibbon, David (July 13, 2001). "Let's Play...NBA Street (PS2)". BBC Sport. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  28. ↑ Boyce, Ryan (June 12, 2001). "NBA Street (PS2)". Maxim. Archived from the original on August 7, 2001. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  29. ↑ Campbell, Colin; Keiser, Joe (July 29, 2006). "The Top 100 Games of the 21st Century". Next Generation. Archived from the original on October 28, 2007.
  30. ↑ GameSpot VG Staff (February 23, 2002). "GameSpot's Best and Worst Video Games of 2001". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 3, 2002.
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