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NBA Inside Drive

Video game series

NBA Inside Drive is a series of video games based on National Basketball Association, published by Microsoft Studios. Its main competition was NBA Live, a series from Electronic Arts.

01Games

NameRelease dateSystemsCover athleteTeam
NBA Inside Drive 2000 August 26, 1999 Microsoft Windows Ray Allen Milwaukee Bucks
NBA Inside Drive 2002 January 23, 2002 Xbox Vince Carter Toronto Raptors
NBA Inside Drive 2003 October 15, 2002 Paul Pierce Boston Celtics
NBA Inside Drive 2004 November 18, 2003 Shaquille O'Neal Los Angeles Lakers

NBA Inside Drive 2000

NBA Inside Drive 2000
DeveloperHigh Voltage Software
PublisherMicrosoft
PlatformMicrosoft Windows
Release
  • NA: August 26, 1999
GenresSports, Simulation
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer

The first game in the series, NBA Inside Drive 2000, was released for Microsoft Windows on August 26, 1999.

Reception

NBA Inside Drive 2000
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings75%

NBA Inside Drive 2000 received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.

NBA Inside Drive 2002

NBA Inside Drive 2002
DeveloperHigh Voltage Software
PublisherMicrosoft Studios
PlatformXbox
Release
  • NA: January 23, 2002
  • EU: May 17, 2002
GenresSports, Simulation
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer

After an almost two-and-a-half-year hiatus, NBA Inside Drive was brought back as NBA Inside Drive 2002 and was released in 2002 for Xbox. The game's development time was 18 months.

Reception

NBA Inside Drive 2002
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic76/100
Review scores
PublicationScore
Electronic Gaming Monthly7.5/10
EP Daily7.5/10
Game Informer8.25/10
GameRevolutionB−
GamesMaster76%
GameSpot6.2/10
GameSpy83%
GameZone9.3/10
IGN8.7/10
Official Xbox Magazine (US)7.9/10

NBA Inside Drive 2002 received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. GamePro said that the game was "good for a first try on the Xbox, but it's not as good as 2K2 or Live on the same system, and at the end of the day, that's what really matters."

NBA Inside Drive 2003

NBA Inside Drive 2003
DeveloperHigh Voltage Software
PublisherMicrosoft Studios
PlatformXbox
Release
  • NA: October 15, 2002
  • EU: December 6, 2002
GenresSports, Simulation
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer

Less than one year after the 2002 installment, NBA Inside Drive 2003 was released for Xbox.

Reception

NBA Inside Drive 2003
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic72/100
Review scores
PublicationScore
Electronic Gaming Monthly7/10
EP Daily7.5/10
Game Informer7.5/10
GamesMaster77%
GameSpot7.6/10
GameSpy
GameZone8/10
IGN8.2/10
Jeuxvideo.com15/20
Official Xbox Magazine (US)7.9/10

NBA Inside Drive 2003 received "average" reviews according to Metacritic. GamePro called it "a slightly better value than 2002 with tweaked gameplay and a few new features. The problem is that the competition has jumped ahead substantially within the same time frame."

NBA Inside Drive 2004

NBA Inside Drive 2004
DeveloperHigh Voltage Software
PublisherMicrosoft Studios
PlatformXbox
Release
  • NA: November 18, 2003
  • EU: November 28, 2003
GenresSports, Simulation
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer

The last entry in the series, NBA Inside Drive 2004, was released in 2003. It launched with other XSN Sports titles that featured a website where players could organize their own tournaments, seasons, or games.

Reception

NBA Inside Drive 2004
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic71/100
Review scores
PublicationScore
Electronic Gaming Monthly6.67/10
Famitsu27/40
Game Informer6.5/10
GameRevolutionC+
GameSpot6.8/10
GameSpy
GameZone7.8/10
IGN8.4/10
Jeuxvideo.com14/20
Official Xbox Magazine (US)7.9/10
X-Play

Inside Drive 2004 received "average" reviews according to Metacritic. In Japan, where the game was ported for release on January 22, 2004, Famitsu gave it a score of two sevens, one six, and one seven for a total of 27 out of 40. GamePro called it "a decent basketball game with an excellent online tie-in. Still, this series needs a serious wake-up call if it hopes to compete with the likes of EA and ESPN next year." (Sadly, it was not to be, as the following article section demonstrates.)

02Discontinuation

Following Microsoft's release of their 2004 professional sports titles, all of them were discontinued including NFL Fever and NHL Rivals 2004. In February 2005, Microsoft sold NBA Inside Drive and its other sports franchises to Ubisoft.

Watch videos about NBA Inside DriveExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article NBA Inside Drive, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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