When you have an idea and you are seeking a goal like funding or further approval, the pitch is an important part of the development process. A bad pitch can sink a project early, a good pitch will keep the game moving on (sometimes even when the game itself isn’t very good). Back when Midway decided that they wanted to develop a new basketball arcade title there was one pitch that was going to make or break the eventual project, the pitch to the NBA to convince them that the title was worthy to get the coveted NBA license put on the game. Chris Bieniek of Video Game Ephemera has some interesting details on the development period of the hugely popular NBA Jam and has uploaded this pitch video Youtube. Shown are some features that were not included in the final game, such as first person perspective at certain points, coach feedback and instant replay. The game as seen below was about a quarter of the way complete and they probably saved themselves a lot of time by not focusing on those other features. More details on the prototype can be found here.
[Via GameSetWatch]
