Just before E3, EA BIG confirmed that it would be bringing NBA Street (among other titles) to GameCube. Now, Gaming Age has posted an exclusive interview with EA Big about the game. GA’s Tim Lewinson spoke with NBA Street’s Associate Producer Josh Holmes.

Here are some highlights:

GA: Midway has had the NBA Jam series for years now, and recently released NBA Hoopz for PS2. What does NBA Street bring to the table that other 'extreme' versions of bouncy-ball haven't already done?

JH: Defense, and long-term play depth. In every other arcade basketball game out there, the balance is tipped entirely in favor of the offense. Defense is a frustrating chore. In NBA Street, there is a much greater sense of balance between the two parts of the game. It's just as much fun to send a guy's shot back with a huge swat as it is to dunk the ball. In Street, you can swat shots, rip the ball out of a dunker's hands or send a smaller guy sprawling after a mid-air collision. Defense is easier and more exciting to play than ever before, and it leads to some really big moments in the game. It's not uncommon for people watching a game of Street to yell, scream and cheer out loud.

GA: Many developers have expressed difficulty in creating games for the PS2 hardware - has this been the case during the development of NBA Street?

JH: The PS2 hardware poses some definite challenges in unleashing the full potential of the platform. Once you've negotiated some of these initial obstacles, there's a lot of power there to work with. Throughout the development of Street we learned a great deal about the system, and we are very pleased with the results.

GA: Josh, are there any plans to bring NBA Street to other next-generation platforms, namely Gamecube and Xbox? If so, will online connectivity be included as a feature?

JH: We will be developing a Gamecube version of Street next. There are no plans for Internet connectivity at this point.

Check out the full interview at Gaming Age!