NBA Showdown
NBA Showdown — frequently asked questions
- What platforms is NBA Showdown on?
- NBA Showdown was released on Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive.
- When did NBA Showdown release?
- NBA Showdown was first released on October 1, 1993.
About NBA Showdown
The final entry in Electronic Arts' basketball series based on the old NBA playoffs engine before the NBA Live series took over. For the first time, the game features all 27 NBA teams from the 1993-1994 season. You can now play a full season with 82 games in addition to playoffs and exhibition games.
Summary via IGDB.
Game details
- Platforms
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive
- Developer
- Electronic Arts
- Publisher
- Electronic Arts
- Game modes
- Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
- Themes
- Non-fiction
- Series
- NBA
Details via IGDB.
Every version compared
Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release
| Platform | Year | Loose | Complete | Sealed | Period reviews | Fake risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sega Genesis | 1994 | $6 | $8 | $33 | 2 reviews | Low |
Also released on: Super Nintendo Entertainment System · Sega Mega Drive/Genesis · Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.
Collector value & authenticity
Sega Genesis · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-29
Other releases and variants
| Release | Loose | Complete | Sealed |
|---|---|---|---|
| European (PAL) release | $8 | $17 | — |
What it needs to play
- Some modesSave battery (inside the cartridge) — saves to memory kept alive by a battery inside the cartridge; if that battery has died, saves are lost (MAME cartridge records).
How often it sells
- Loose: about once a month
- Complete: about once a week
- Sealed: about 2 times a year
Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-29.
Price over time
- Loose
- Complete
A loose copy sold for about $0.38 in Oct 2007, $3.17 five years ago, and $5.69 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2008 | $0.38 | — |
| Jan 2009 | $0.01 | — |
| Jan 2010 | $0.83 | — |
| Jan 2011 | $0.75 | — |
| Jan 2012 | $0.87 | — |
| Jan 2013 | $0.84 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $2.70 | $2.97 |
| Jan 2015 | — | — |
| Jan 2016 | — | — |
| Jan 2017 | $2.50 | $4.99 |
| Jan 2018 | $4.72 | $5.62 |
| Jan 2019 | $2.51 | $5.64 |
| Jan 2020 | $3.22 | $5.74 |
| Jan 2021 | $3.39 | $7.99 |
| Jan 2022 | $5.06 | $7.38 |
| Jan 2023 | $4.20 | $6.12 |
| Jan 2024 | $3.42 | $6.84 |
| Jan 2025 | $3.52 | $8.01 |
| Jan 2026 | $4.02 | $10.51 |
| Oct 2026 | $5.69 | $7.77 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
Release record
| Territory | Date | Barcode |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 1994 | 014633072143 |
| Europe / PAL | 29 March 1994 | — |
| Japan | 1 July 1994 | — |
- Region
- NA+EU+JP
- Released
- 1994
- Authenticity
- Low
A basketball game from EA's pre-NBA Live days, cheap and with a battery save.
NBA Showdown '94 is the Genesis version of EA's basketball game, made by EA Creative Development. It reached Europe as NBA Showdown on 29 March 1994, Japan on 1 July 1994 through Electronic Arts Victor and North America in 1994. It is the fifth and last game in EA's NBA Playoffs series before the series was renamed NBA Live.
What the press said at the time
| Electronic Gaming Monthly Issue 58 | May 1994 | 7, 5, 6, 6, 6 |
| Sega Pro Issue 36 | September 1994 | 80% |
“Overall, NBA Showdown makes it to the Genesis playoffs. Although it doesn't have NBA Jam’s Fun- Factor, it has better realism, which alone makes it worthy.”
“NBA Showdown has all the ingredients of a promising title, … Still, everybody’s favorite team is here and sports fans will probably enjoy it.”
“At the more strategic end of the basketball spectrum this suffers from a slight lack of polish. Plenty of options and a tough league will make this appeal to hardened basketball fans.”
Electronic Gaming Monthly's average rating is the mean of its Review Crew's scores, each given on a 1 to 10 scale "in relation to other titles available for the same system."
How the Sega Genesis version differs
This is a re-release for the Genesis of EA's 1993 Super NES game.
Also on other platforms
Super NES · Sega Genesis/Mega Drive
| Super NES | EA Creative Development |
- Super NES. The Super NES version was the last NBA game to feature Michael Jordan until NBA Live 2000.
Before you buy
Among US carts it is on the cheap side, well below the middle. The European cart usually costs somewhat more than the US one when loose and about twice as much when complete. The cartridge saves to a battery inside it, so check that a save holds; a replaced battery is a normal repair, not a sign of a fake. Sega Retro lists it as working with both Sega's Team Player and EA's 4 Way Play.
NBA Showdown screenshots
Watch on YouTube
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