An Unlikely Cover Star


I'm in need of focus this week, as the work-from-home marathon enters its second month. So I'm going to use some of the time I'd usually spend commuting to write a short post every day, Monday-Friday.

During the 1994-1995 season, Sam Cassell appeared in all 82 regular season games for the NBA Champion Houston Rockets. A key role player, he came off the bench in all but one of them. He was good, and would later become very good, but he was never a star nor a household name. He was certainly not someone you would expect to find on the front cover of an NBA video game.

Yet there he is, gracing the sleeve of the US and Japanese versions of Total NBA '96 (Japan and EU) / NBA ShootOut (America land). He is immortalized mid-layup, presumably about to notch up two more points. Exciting stuff for fans of layups and/or Sam Cassell.

The Total NBA series was generally well received, before fizzling out in the early-mid 2000s. It was developed in-house by Sony as an alternative to the then-dominant NBA Live franchise. Wikipedia tells us a great deal about the '96 entry, including, but not limited to this gem: "NBA ShootOut is a game using polygon players and motion-captured animation". As if that weren't enough, we also learn that Gamepro's Scary Larry strongly recommended it. Furthermore, EGM's Video Cowboy succeeded in saying nothing of value when he proclaimed that "the game has solid gameplay and a big-league look." A treasure trove of information from writers ashamed to share their real names, but nary a clue as to why Sam Cassell was on the cover.

I don't mean to disparage Sam, as he was genuinely a very good NBA player. While he was relatively unknown in '96, he blossomed into a borderline All-star from the late-90s to the mid-00s, and is the proud owner of some very large balls. It's just that I haven't been able to get this cover out of my head the last few weeks, after spotting a copy for sale online.

Did Sam know someone on the dev team who pushed for his appearance? Did he know something incriminating about someone on the dev team? Was he the favourite player of a decision-maker, or was his appearance the result of an in-joke between two Sony humans? Or did the people at Team Soho know fuck all about the NBA, and picked the first image they found of a man playing the basket balls.

London, circa 1996
Steve: This is Michael Jordan, right?
Another Steve: Probably.

However, I will give the Soho Team a lot of credit for the follow-up. Total NBA 97 featured a patch of basketball-like rubber plastered across the front cover. Must've cost a fortune to produce, but I can absolutely get behind this kind of foolish commitment to aesthetics.

Team Soho were not alone in their odd approach to NBA covers. The picture below is the Japanese version of Tecmo Super NBA Basketball. It features a non-star (Loy Vaught) of the league's most pathetic franchise (Clippers), taking the most vanilla shot in basketball (a layup). The fact that he appears to be missing the shot further cements its position as an all-time head-scratcher.

As you may have gathered, I'm really missing the NBA.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TGS 2019 - PC Engine Mini Hands-on

Image
"Push run button" Run button? Does it mean press forward? That must be what it means. Hang on, no there is a Run button - how weird. I'd best press that then. I had never played a PC Engine until three days ago, when I spent some time messing about with the Japanese Mini at Konami's booth at Tokyo Game Show. I am assured that the emulation is excellent, being that it comes from developer M2. I can confirm that the games run smoothly, but I have no frame of reference for comparing them to the originals. The system looks tidy, the controller is solid, and the audio, experienced through headphones, is crisp. Despite there being 57 games available, the interface is uncluttered and the option menus are easy to navigate. Now we've got all that out the way, let's get back to my never having played a PC Engine, TurboGrafx-16 or whatever you prefer to call it. The original console has long been a mystery to me. I have no history with it, and don't recall
Read more

It's 2024 and I'm Buying a Nintendo GameCube

Image
Buying a new-to-you retro console is a lovely thing. A complete and well-appraised library ready to be experienced, an array of affordable games, and a wealth of written features, histories and buyer's guides to delve into. You're getting a new piece of hardware to explore, an unfamiliar startup screen to gawk at, and controllers to get to grips with. A new medium via which you can experience, or relive, a time past. A new box to pour some of your passion into. While the Nintendo GameCube isn't quite brand new to me, I've never owned one myself. However, I'm planning on changing that very soon.  Aside from chasing the new-console high, the decision to buy a GameCube was partially inspired by talk of Eternal Darkness a few weeks ago on The Back Page pod. I'm a sucker for historical-timeline-switching, and being that it's only playable on GameCube, Eternal Darkness is the perfect excuse for a console purchase. I was semi-familiar with it beforehand, but not o
Read more

The Massacre at Guthrie Farm

Image
I just wanted to say hello. I was out on my horse, exploring Red Dead Redemption 2 for the first time. I was overwhelmed, unsure of the controls and equally unsure of where to go. I'd just skinned a bison and was combing my horse when I spotted a small farm on the horizon. There will be people there, I thought, and perhaps they'll have some important information for me. At the very least, they'll have something entertaining to say. I slung the bison pelt on the back of my horse, made sure my guns were holstered and headed straight for the farmstead in search of conversation and companionship. I spotted a farmhand working the field a stone's throw from the house. "Howdy partner", I said in my head, in a silly cowboy voice. The middle-aged man took one look at me, shouted something unpleasant, and drew his weapon. What a dick. Turns out Arthur (me) is a wanted man. Earlier that day, I'd unintentionally murdered a travelling salesman. I just wanted
Read more