• NBA Playgrounds Coming May 2017

    Today, Saber Interactive announced that next month (May), they will be releasing NBA Playgrounds, an arcade-style basketball game in the mold of NBA JAM and NBA Street. Utilizing current players as well as legends, NBA Playgrounds features over-the-top moves and dunks in offline, online, and co-op modes in (based on the trailer, at least) 2-on-2 action.

    Retailing for $20, NBA Playgrounds will be available on PS4, XB1, PC, and the Nintendo Switch. This helps give the Switch a sorely needed sports title, but appears to be Saber Interactive's first foray into the sports realm. Other titles recently developed by the company include Halo Online, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and the upcoming Quake Champions.

    Due to his prevalence in the game trailer and social media profiles, it would appear that Allen Iverson will be the game's digital cover athlete. It will be his first time on the cover of a basketball game since gracing the cover of NBA 2K, 2K1, 2K3, and ESPN NBA Basketball (1999-2003). However, since then he has been featured as a playable legend in basketball titles developed by both EA SPORTS and 2K Sports.

    Continue on to see the trailer and also some of the first info on the game courtesy IGN.


    The game is a return to the arcade-style basketball games of yesterday, like NBA Street and NBA Jam. Officially licensed by the NBA, the game features players both active and retired, with Allen Iverson facing off against modern ballers Steph Curry and George Hill in the opening of the trailer.

    Every NBA team is featured in NBA Playgrounds, and the "roster of current and retired" players can be leveled-up. Keeping inline with its arcade-style roots, Playgrounds features "hundreds of over-the-top dunks and moves."

    Playgrounds can be played solo, local-multiplayer, or "against the world" online.

    Developed by Saber Interactive, CEO Matt Karch calls it accessible enough for anyone to pick up and play, but it still has "a lot of depth for hardcore pros who’ve mastered their game."

    The return of high-flying, cartoonish arcade basketball hits Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4 and Xbox One next month as a digital-download for $20 USD.

    Courtesy: IGN
    This article was originally published in forum thread: NBA Playgrounds (PS4, XB1, Switch, PC) - May 2017 started by cdj View original post
    Comments 47 Comments
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -


      The PlayStation Blog has the first info on how gameplay works in NBA Playgrounds. An excerpt:

      NBA Playgrounds is weeks away from its May launch, and we couldn’t be more excited. This is arcade NBA action with over the top dunks, wicked crossovers, and 3-point marksmen — a perfect pick up and play basketball game on PlayStation 4. When you take the 200+ current and retired players in our roster to playgrounds across the globe, these new tips and tricks should help you master the game.
    1. Rudy's Avatar
      Rudy -
      For $20 that's not bad.
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      Quote Originally Posted by Rudy View Post
      For $20 that's not bad.
      I'm looking forward to it and hope it will be fun.


      It's way too early to make this statement, but I will anyways.....should this game be a hit, the next question should/will be: Why the heck didn't EA or 2K make something like this first? (Especially EA after they made two versions of NBA JAM in 2010 & 2011 respectively, but have apparently since abandoned the IP.)
    1. Rudy's Avatar
      Rudy -
      I may surprised we haven't seen an NFL street or arcade type game either. Those games were popular in the past. And with no competition in sports games anymore a nice change of pace could be fun.
    1. bdoughty's Avatar
      bdoughty -
      Not really surprised at the absence of an NFL Street type game. EA tried to bring back NFL Blitz and it was nothing remarkable and did not even have late hits. You could tell they had their hands strapped by the NFL and it would only be worse nowadays.

      There are a couple arcade based football games in the works, like Mutant League Sequel and whatever Joe Montana 14 15 16 17 18 19? is doing.
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nb.../1100-6449467/ Roster (via Gamespot):
      Spoiler: show
      • Aaron Gordon
      • Al Horford
      • Al Jefferson
      • Alex English
      • Allen Iverson
      • Alonzo Mourning
      • Andre Drummond
      • Andrew Wiggins
      • Anfernee Hardaway
      • Anthony Davis
      • Ben McLemore
      • Ben Simmons
      • Bill Laimbeer
      • Bill Russell
      • Bill Walton
      • Billy Cunningham
      • Blake Griffin
      • Bradley Beal
      • Brandon Ingram
      • Brook Lopez
      • Buddy Hield
      • CJ McCollum
      • Carmelo Anthony
      • Chandler Parsons
      • Chauncey Billups
      • Chris Bosh
      • Chris Mullin
      • Chris Paul
      • Chris Webber
      • Clyde Drexler
      • Damian Lillard
      • Danilo Gallinari
      • Danny Ainge
      • David Robinson
      • DeAndre Jordan
      • DeMar DeRozan
      • DeMarcus Cousins
      • DeMarre Carroll
      • Dell Curry
      • Derrick Rose
      • Dikembe Mutombo
      • Dirk Nowitzki
      • Dominique Wilkins
      • Dragan Bender
      • Draymond Green
      • Dwight Howard
      • Dwyane Wade
      • Elfrid Payton
      • Emmanuel Mudiay
      • Enes Kanter
      • Eric Bledsoe
      • Evan Turner
      • Frank Kaminsky
      • George Gervin
      • George Hill
      • George Mikan
      • Goran Dragic
      • Gordon Hayward
      • Grant Hill
      • Greg Monroe
      • Hakeem Olajuwon
      • Harrison Barnes
      • Hassan Whiteside
      • Ian Mahinmi
      • Jabari Parker
      • Jahlil Okafor
      • Jakob Poeltl
      • Jamal Crawford
      • Jamal Murray
      • James Harden
      • James Worthy
      • Jason Kidd
      • Jaylen Brown
      • Jeff Teague
      • Jeremy Lin
      • Jimmy Butler
      • Joel Embiid
      • John Stockton
      • John Wall
      • Jonas Valanciunas
      • Jordan Clarkson
      • Jrue Holiday
      • Karl Anthony Towns
      • Karl Malone
      • Kawhi Leonard
      • Kevin Durant
      • Kevin Johnson
      • Kevin Love
      • Kris Dunn
      • Kris Humphries
      • Kristaps Porzingis
      • Kyle Lowry
      • Kyrie Irving
      • LaMarcus Aldridge
      • Larry Johnson
      • LeBron James
      • Luis Scola
      • Luol Deng
      • Magic Johnson
      • Marc Gasol
      • Marcus Morris
      • Marcus Smart
      • Marquese Chriss
      • Mason Plumlee
      • Matt Barnes
      • Maurice Cheeks
      • Michael Beasley
      • Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
      • Mike Conley Jr.
      • Mitch Richmond
      • Monta Ellis
      • Nenê
      • Nerlens Noel
      • Nicolas Batum
      • Nikola Jokic
      • Nikola Vucevic
      • Oscar Robertson
      • Otto Porter Jr.
      • Patrick Beverley
      • Patrick Ewing
      • Pau Gasol
      • Paul George
      • Paul Millsap
      • Paul Westphal
      • Rajon Rondo
      • Ray Allen
      • Reggie Jackson
      • Ricky Rubio
      • Robert Parish
      • Roy Hibbert
      • Rudy ***
      • Rudy Gobert
      • Russell Westbrook
      • Scottie Pippen
      • Shaquille O'Neal
      • Shawn Kemp
      • Shawn Marion
      • Spud Webb
      • Stephen Curry
      • Steven Adams
      • Thon Maker
      • Tim Hardaway
      • Trey Burke
      • Ty Lawson
      • Tyreke Evans
      • Victor Oladipo
      • Vince Carter
      • Walt Frazier
      • Willis Reed
      • Wilt Chamberlain
      • Zach LaVine
      • Zach Randolph

    1. bdoughty's Avatar
      bdoughty -
      Crl-F George Gervin found. Excellent.

      They have shelled out some money for old-timers. I was not expecting that, outside some stars from the 80's-90's.
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      Quote Originally Posted by bdoughty View Post
      Crl-F George Gervin found. Excellent.

      They have shelled out some money for old-timers. I was not expecting that, outside some stars from the 80's-90's.
      At quick glance, it looks like they have the same pool of legends that NBA Live & NBA 2K both have, so I wonder if the rights to most former players are available as one group relatively cheap.

      Some people have noticed current stars such as Isaiah Thomas (BOS), Giannis A. (MIL), and Klay Thompson (GS) are not listed. However, their tweet to the released roster indicates 'hundreds' more after launch. My personal guess is that they are still building/modeling these guys since they aren't face-scanned like Live/2K, but rather look like sculpted California Raisin-style caricatures of players, and will be added after launch.
    1. CLW's Avatar
      CLW -
      I'm intrigued but I'm really enjoying the free to play 3on3 freestyle which is obviously a bit more sim of a title than this will be. Any word on if you can mix/match players to create teams from your favorite schools?
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      Quote Originally Posted by CLW View Post
      I'm intrigued but I'm really enjoying the free to play 3on3 freestyle which is obviously a bit more sim of a title than this will be. Any word on if you can mix/match players to create teams from your favorite schools?
      Based on screenshots, it appears users can select their team from the entire roster.



    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      Nintendo's European eShop lists May 9 for the release date. Here's hoping it's the same for all versions.
    1. bdoughty's Avatar
      bdoughty -
      Quote Originally Posted by cdj View Post
      Nintendo's European eShop lists May 9 for the release date. Here's hoping it's the same for all versions.
      I realize that it may not be as accurate as Nintendo's European eShop but...

      Developer Saber Interactive has announced that its NBA Street and NBA Jam love-baby, NBA Playgrounds, is set to launch on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on May 9th.
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      Quote Originally Posted by bdoughty View Post
      I realize that it may not be as accurate as Nintendo's European eShop but...
      Where did you find that at? I did a search last night and never found a definitive statement, at least not prior to the eShop info/leak surfacing. (It doesn't help the game's website is sub-par in terms of news/info.)
    1. bdoughty's Avatar
      bdoughty -
      Quote Originally Posted by cdj View Post
      Where did you find that at? I did a search last night and never found a definitive statement, at least not prior to the eShop info/leak surfacing. (It doesn't help the game's website is sub-par in terms of news/info.)

      http://www.dualshockers.com/2017/04/...h-xbox-one-pc/

      https://www.gamespot.com/nba-playgrounds/news/
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      - I was really hoping this would show up for pre-order (and eventual pre-loading) in the store today, but no dice.

      - Looking at the game's sub-reddit (27 subscribers), they don't believe the May 9 date has been made official....however, another member claims he talked to a dev on Facebook (yeah, I know) and that the game is 'coming soon' with news tomorrow. If true, I'm hoping that means confirming 5/9 and pre-order/pre-loading via PSN, et al.
    1. bdoughty's Avatar
      bdoughty -
      Posted today

      http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/05/...e-pc-announced

      Developer Saber Interactive announced today that NBA Playgrounds will launch for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC on May 9 for $19.99.
    1. bdoughty's Avatar
      bdoughty -
      also..

      Saber promises that hundreds more NBA Players will be added post-launch.

      IGN can confirm that the initial DLC adding those hundreds of players will be free. There are currently no plans to add more pro players via paid DLC at this time.
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      - Gameplay & Pack Opening via Polygon:



      - Polygon preview. I thought this excerpt was interesting/funny:

      As a game that was tucked into a Nintendo Direct presentation for the Switch in mid-January, NBA Playgrounds caught a lot of people by surprise — including NBA 2K publisher 2K Sports, which was not necessarily thrilled to hear about an NBA-licensed product coming to consoles. Karch and the Saber team flew out to 2K’s headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area to reassure the company.

      “We sat with him, and [...] he thought it was really cool,” said Karch of Greg Thomas, president of NBA 2K developer Visual Concepts. “And when he saw it, he said, ‘You know what? There’s a place in the market for a game like this.’ And this certainly is not a threat to what they’re doing on 2K.”
    1. bdoughty's Avatar
      bdoughty -
      Just a few thoughts from that video.

      Who are the people playing? I claim to be no expert gamer but it just seems off.
      Commentary. Snooze.
      Why do you have to wait for a whistle to blow before inbounding after a made shot? That little delay is annoying for a fast paced game like this.