NBA Street is a basketball video game of 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 faking out defenders, shot blocking, diving for the ball, and dunking. If a team fills a special meter through flashy and effective gameplay, 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. Single player options included a user-created player touring famous American locations, picking up teammates from NBA rosters along the way. The gameplay could be considered an "arcade" style of basketball in that it is not a true simulation, similar to the NBA Jam series. For instance, in-game players are able to jump high enough to grab three-point shots mid-arc. 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 resembled Julius Erving in looks and abilities. The Street Legends are, in order, Biggs, Bonafide, Drake, DJ, Takashi, and Stretch. Commentator Joe "The Show" Jackson is voiced by Bob Elliott.
Reception
In the United States, NBA Streets 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. 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 spots game cynics can't help but love." The game received "favorable" reviews on both platforms according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 31 out of 40 for the PS2 version, and 30 out of 40 for the GameCube version. 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.
