When you grew up throughout the ’90s and performed NBA Jam, then you understand the voice of Tim Kitzrow. His memorable commentary on the sport turned a part of NBA Jam’s blockbuster success in arcades. Nonetheless, Kitzrow has revealed that he was paid a really small quantity for his work within the first sport.
Whereas talking with The Escapist, Kitzrow disclosed that he was paid $50 an hour for his work on NBA Jam, which was the identical amount of cash he made recording traces for Bally Halfway’s pinball machines. It wasn’t till after the sport was launched that Kitzrow realized that he ought to have charged extra.
“I would go in, do a few classes, perhaps 15 hours complete, and that was it,” recalled Kitzrow. “I wasn’t sensible sufficient, savvy sufficient to know the enterprise, to go, ‘Gee, these video games make some huge cash, perhaps I ought to make greater than $50 an hour.’ I did not have an agent on the time … When the sport got here out and I discovered it made a billion {dollars}, that is once I realized I would made like $800 and alter … I believed, ‘Properly, I am in all probability being underpaid, I’d need to increase my charge.'”
Kitzrow returned for the sequel, NBA Jam Event Version, and he turned Halfway’s go-to man for commentary on NFL Blitz, NBA Showtime, and MLB Slugfest. Kitzrow additionally recorded traces for EA’s NBA Jam reboot and he was the featured announcer in a more moderen arcade sport, NBA Superstars. At the moment, Kitzrow is offering commentary for Mutant Soccer League 2, which is scheduled to be launched in early entry on Steam on December 10.
In 2021, director Sean Menard signed a deal to helm an NBA Jam documentary, which was optioned from writer Reyan Ali’s 2019 book NBA Jam. Within the 4 years since, the mission has but to be accomplished.