The Year is 1993, President Clinton has been sworn in, Buffalo Bills lost their third consecutive Super Bowl and NBA Jam released in Arcades and Home Consoles; but did you know there is a secret code in the game when you play with one of the most competitive rivalries in NBA history?
NBA Jam: A Brief History
For those unfamiliar, NBA Jam is an arcade game known for its photorealistic digitized graphics and over-the-top gameplay. You could do the usual movements in basketball plus jump unusually high, shove and elbow opponents, and contain countless features like secret characters and more. One of its gimmicks was the on-fire mechanic. It would trigger when a player made three shots in a row. It would cause the ball to be on fire and scorch the net when a shot was made or cause a player to jump sky-high for a dunk.
In 2009, EA acquired the rights to NBA Jam and released NBA Jam: On Fire Edition for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The core qualities are the same, just modernized with modern players.
A Rivalry in Code
Around the game’s release, one of the biggest rivalries of that time was Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons. Early in his career, Jordan could not get past the Bad Boy Pistons, headed by Isiah Thomas. Once they did, it started one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history.
NBA Jam Lead designer and programmer Mark Turmell was a big Pistons fan. To stick it to the Bulls, Turmell put in a special code whenever the Bulls and Pistons would play each other. The code was to make any Bulls last last-second shot automatically miss. This was revealed in a “War Stories” interview where he talked about the developmental process of NBA Jam. It almost makes you wonder if the game cheating is a valid reason for losing.
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