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EA Canada racing to add features to NBA Jam on PS3, Xbox 360

"We got this bomb dropped on us just a couple days ago, as well," NBA Jam creative director Trey Smith told Toronto sports radio show Got Game (interview begins as 00:15:38 mark), about EA's last-minute decision to turn the HD console version of the game into a standalone retail product. "So we're shuffling to get everything together, but we got a great team; we got a lot of stuff up and working; we're gonna polish it up; we're gonna get it out there before holidays."

Smith and his team at EA Canada have completed the full-featured Wii version of NBA Jam (which will be released tomorrow) and "had online up" -- Smith characterized it as a "really basic online feature set" -- for the planned stripped-down, digital release of Jam on PS3 and Xbox 360. This bonus downloadable version, which was to be included with new copies of the now delayed NBA Elite 11, was to include just the Play Now, Classic Campaign and Online Vs. modes -- "we're trying to blow that out," Smith stressed.

The Wii game includes the Remix Tour, which encompasses a number of new modes and takes EA Canada's "best testers" 38 hours to complete, according to Smith, who also confirmed "you get Remix" in the PS3 and Xbox 360 version, as well. At least, that's the new plan. "We're doing everything in our power to get as much on there as possible," Smith assured. "We're trying to throw it all in there."