The National Basketball Association is no closer to working out its labor issues. Instead, things have actually taken a major turn for the worse.

NBA players are planning to dissolve their union which will pave the way for an antitrust lawsuit. Going to court not only jeopardizes the current season but could possibly drag into 2012 and endanger next year’s licensed basketball games.

NBA Jam games have long given us unique secret characters. The selection has included everyone from game designers such as Mark Turmell to political figures including Bill Clinton and Sarah Palin. NBA Jam:On Fire Edition is continuing the trend and has revealed a secret team: The Honey Badgers.

EA’s exodus of big name talent for the green pastures of social gaming shows no signs of slowing down.

Senior Creative Director Mark Turmell has departed EA to join Zynga, according to Kotaku. Turmell is best known for creating arcade basketball classic NBA Jam, and oversaw the development of its 2010 reboot. He joins three senior level Madden NFL staffers and the company’s former COO John Schappert in leaving the company. Schappert landed at Zynga as well, along with NBA Elite producer Jeremy Strauser.

EA Sports’ basketball simulation reboot is having a harder time getting onto the court than oft-injured Portland Trail Blazers draft pick Greg Oden.

Mixed in with EA’s press release about NBA Jam On Fire Edition was a “we hope you don’t notice this” quote about EA’s basketball simulation franchise. EA Sports President Peter Moore confirmed that EA will release its next basketball sim in 2012. That means EA is taking a two-year hiatus from releasing an NBA sim.

EA’s NBA Jam remake had a tough go of it in 2010.

EA initially announced it as a free download for those who purchased NBA Elite 11, the company’s new basketball simulation. NBA Elite 11 never saw the light of day, so EA opted to release NBA Jam as a full-fledged standalone retail game. After subpar sales for that effort, EA has announced the next NBA Jam will be a downloadable arcade game.

The honeymoon is over for NBA Jam. As nice as it was to see the game make a return on the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3, I think we all knew deep down inside the excitement for the game wouldn’t last. Electronic Arts has confirmed that NBA Jam will not receive updates to address roster changes or new features.

NBA Jam enjoyed a brief resurrection in 2010 on PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii. It was one of those games that we were generally happy to see come back, but was sort of shooed out of the way not too long after it debuted. I suppose that’s what happens when the success of a brand is left to nostalgia. EA is still going to give NBA Jam another try this year when it brings the game to iOS devices.

The time for gorging on delicious foods has come to an end. The energy obtained from turkey was used by many to brave the crowds and cold weather during Black Friday a couple days ago. A lot of the sales have diminished with only a few still holding on through the weekend. You can’t quite rest yet because Cyber Monday is less than 12 hours away. Cyber Monday is the busiest online shopping event of the year, and retailers will once again be nipping at the bit for your cash.

Midway Games had several lucrative licenses in its coffers when it entered the chill grip of corporate bankruptcy. EA quickly snapped up NBA Jam to remake that arcade classic. Giant Bomb is reporting on the rumor that EA also purchased the rights to NFL Blitz with EA Tiburon, the studio that delivers Madden NFL annually, rumored to be developing the game.

Just when you thought you’d hate going to the mall to shop for the holidays, Nintendo decides to actually make the experience fun. From November 22nd to December 19th 2010, the company will set up demo stations at 23 malls across the country for you (and of course, your kids) to check out some games that you may or may not want to buy for Christmas…or as a present to yourself.