After an almost two-and-a-half-year hiatus, NBA Inside Drive was brought back as NBA Inside Drive 2002 and was released in 2002 for Xbox. The game's development time was 18 months.[15]
NBA Inside Drive 2002 received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[16]GamePro said that the game was "good for a first try on the Xbox, but it's not as good as 2K2 or Live on the same system—and at the end of the day, that's what really matters."[27][b]
NBA Inside Drive 2003 received "average" reviews according to Metacritic.[29]GamePro called it "a slightly better value than 2002 with tweaked gameplay and a few new features. The problem is that the competition has jumped ahead substantially within the same time frame."[40][c]
The last entry in the series, NBA Inside Drive 2004, was released in 2003. It launched with other XSN Sports titles that featured a website where players could organize their own tournaments, seasons, or games.
Inside Drive 2004 received "average" reviews according to Metacritic.[42] In Japan, where the game was ported for release on January 22, 2004,[54]Famitsu gave it a score of two sevens, one six, and one seven for a total of 27 out of 40.[44]GamePro called it "a decent basketball game with an excellent online tie-in. Still, this series needs a serious wake-up call if it hopes to compete with the likes of EA and ESPN next year."[55][e] (Sadly, it was not to be, as the following article section demonstrates.)
Following Microsoft's release of their 2004 professional sports titles, all of them were discontinued including NFL Fever and NHL Rivals 2004. In February 2005, Microsoft sold NBA Inside Drive and its other sports franchises to Ubisoft.[56]
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^Haggarty, Mark (September 21, 1999). "NBA Inside Drive 2000". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^Goble, Gordon (December 1999). "NBA Inside Drive 2000". PC Gamer. Vol. 6, no. 12. Imagine Media. p. 138. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^Dr. Moo (February 2002). "NBA Inside Drive 2002". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
^"Review: NBA Inside Drive 2002". GamesMaster. Future plc. 2002.
^Boulding, Aaron (January 24, 2002). "NBA Inside Drive 2002". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^Goldstein, Hilary (September 27, 2002). "NBA Inside Drive Interview". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^"NBA Inside Drive 2003". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 162. Ziff Davis. January 2003. p. 210.
^Grant, Jules (November 19, 2002). "NBA Inside Drive 2003". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on February 28, 2003. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^Leeper, Justin (November 2002). "NBA Inside Drive 2003". Game Informer. No. 115. GameStop. p. 142. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^"Review: NBA Inside Drive 2003". GamesMaster. Future plc. 2003.
^Varanini, Giancarlo (November 5, 2002). "NBA Inside Drive 2003 Review". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^Goldstein, Hilary (October 10, 2002). "NBA Inside Drive 2003 Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^"NBA Inside Drive 2003". Official Xbox Magazine. Future US. December 2002. p. 108.
^Tokyo Drifter (December 2002). "NBA Drive 2003"(PDF). GamePro. No. 171. IDG. p. 192. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^Scott, Jonathan (November 19, 2003). "NBA Inside Drive On Sale". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^Intihar, Bryan; Ricciardi, John; Mauro, Patrick (January 2004). "NBA Inside Drive 2004"(PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 174. Ziff Davis. p. 152. Archived from the original on December 20, 2003. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
^ ab"NBA インサイド ドライブ 2004". Famitsu (in Japanese). Vol. 788. Enterbrain. January 23, 2004.
^Leeper, Justin (December 2003). "NBA Inside Drive 2004". Game Informer. No. 128. GameStop. p. 172. Archived from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^Dr. Moo (December 2003). "NBA Inside Drive 2004 Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
^Colayco, Bob (November 21, 2003). "NBA Inside Drive 2004 Review". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^Robinson, Jon (December 5, 2003). "[NBA] Inside Drive 2004". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^Logan (December 1, 2003). "Test: NBA Inside Drive 2004". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
^"NBA Inside Drive 2004". Official Xbox Magazine. Future US. December 2003. p. 94.
^Tokyo Drifter (January 2004). "NBA Inside Drive 2004"(PDF). GamePro. No. 184. IGN. p. 138. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. Retrieved February 7, 2025.