Developed by California-based Left Field Productions, Courtside marked the beginning of Nintendo's short-lived sports division, which also includes Angel Studios' Ken Griffey Baseball. Nintendo acquired the endorsement of Los Angeles Lakers star guard Kobe Bryant. Courtside plays moderately fast, has a number of signature and special moves and a finely tuned combo-system. Players can, for example, spin, dribble under the leg and then shoot with a relatively simple combo. Likewise, players can call picks, alley-oops or change positions on the fly. Controls are intuitive (B for shooting, A for passing, L/R and camera buttons for positioning and specials), and logical. All of this comes together for the best basketball gaming experience yet seen on Nintendo 64.