The Creator Of NBA JAM Has Admitted He Put A Code In The Game That Didn't Allow The Chicago Bulls To EVER Make A Game-Winning Shot Against Detroit Pistons
Fadeaway World - The Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons had one of the most intense rivalries during the 1980s. The two Eastern Conference powerhouses were going toe-to-toe with each other on a yearly basis during the late 80s, with the Pistons always getting the better of the Bulls.
That rivalry even made it to the video game world, unbeknownst to many. NBA Jam was a wildly successful arcade game that came out in 1993. The game was created in Chicago during the height of the Bulls dynasty. But the creator made sure that they wouldn't steamroll the other team in the game.
While Jordan wasn't in the game, the creator took revenge on the rest of the Chicago Bulls.
NBA Jam creator Mark Turmell revealed that he was a lifelong Detroit Pistons fan. In an effort to get some revenge on the Bulls, he put a code in the game that made sure that the Chicago Bulls could not win a game against the Pistons with the last shot.
"Making this game in Chicago during the height of the Michael Jordan era, there was a big rivalry between the Pistons and the Bulls, but the one way I could get back at the Bulls once they got over the hump was to affect their skills against the Pistons in 'NBA Jam. And so I put in special code that if the Bulls were taking last-second shots against the Pistons, they would always miss those shots. And so, if you're ever playing the game, make sure you pick the Pistons over the Bulls."
Remember this guy?
Well this is him now.
Gabe Ginsberg. Getty Images.And he is the reason we children of the '90s have major trust issues.
We knew, we fucking knew, the video games were screwing with us, but nobody wanted to believe us. Our parents scoffed at us. Our sisters called us losers. But deep down, our gut told us the deck was stacked against us.
And we were right!
The twisted and conniving video game creators over at Midway and the other gaming companies were sitting there playing God with our impressionable young minds.
All because Mark here fucking hated the Bulls, he built it into the game that when it came down to crunch time and you were playing against Chicago against his beloved Pistons, unless you were up double digits, you were not winning that game. If it was shot for shot, or you were trying to come back, no chance amigo.
And don't think it stopped at NBA Jam either.
Remember "Friday The 13th" for Nintendo? Absolutely impossible to beat. Jason was more invincible than Tecmo Bo Jackson. Anytime he appeared, which was often, you and everybody else on the screen were fucked. There was nothing you could do.
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Or how about every kid's absolute favorite, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"? You would think that it would occur to the brand that every kid on the planet was obsessed with that every kid would want, ask for, and receive the video game. So maybe making it actually possible to get past the third level might be a good thing. Nope. Literally impossible.
This shit left scars that decades of therapy will probably never be able to address.
But back to NBA Jam and our boy Mark Turmell.
Didn't the Bulls already have their work cut out for them without flat-out fixing the game?
1st off you couldn't play as Michael Jordan in the game.
Why?
NBC Sports - NBA Jam was already extremely popular by the mid-90s but the most notable absence was Bulls superstar Michael Jordan. 'His Airness' had an exclusive rights deal with Nike that caused him to opt-out of the NBA Players Association group license
Sidebar - What's crazy though is that Jordan, being Michael Jordan and all, and his buddies Gary Payton and Ken Griffey Jr. all wanted a version with him (and Payton) in it. So Midway complied and made a special version and sent them to them.
Payton wasn't in the game with the Seattle Supersonics right away, Griffey due to his being an MLB player and MJ due to his licensing deal, so the NBA Jam crew whipped up special copies of the game with playable versions of themselves.
So we got a call from their agents and I came back in the studio and recorded their voices. The artists put together the visuals and we sent them each individual a large NBA Jam package……There’s only four to five cabinets in the world that exist. I’d love to ask Michael Jordan if he still has his.
2nd - Ho Grant sucked. He played decent defense in the game but defense was useless when there were no fouls. He was absolutely useless on the offensive end.
I think more video game developers should take note of Mark Turmell's admission and come clean. Start telling the world how you fucked with our heads so we can finally have some closure.
p.s. - luckily they fucking NAILED the sequel to the first Ninja Turtles with the one for SNES and in the arcades. Nina Turtles the arcade version was one of the greatest arcade/video games of all time. I remember the first time seeing it, and seeing 4 joysticks that allowed you to run the whole squad - Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael, at once with your buddies. It was life-changing. If I could have popped a boner back then my dick would have shot through my Bugle Boys.
(sidebar - April O'neil made it move)
p.p.s. - the only games better than Ninja Turtles the arcade game were of course NBA Jam Tournament Edition, and the 4 player X-Men arcade game.