“Right! Try and get your heads round this, okay? Imagine the sun setting on the vast waters of Lake Victoria... A hundred thousand wildebeest grazing on the Masai Steppe, yeah? A misty, sleepy dawn rises to reveal Kilimanjaro in all its hypnotic majesty…”
Lovely stuff. Those are the poetic, naturalistic witterings of Steven. An investment banker. A yuppy. A character in legendary British television supercomedy Only Fools & Horses, Steven states that he has “gotta be up early in the morning, playing baseball” to which fellow dinner guest and comedy legend Derek Trotter chips in, “Oh, baseball! Yeah! No... I love it. I always watch it on Channel Four”.
Originally screened on Christmas Day 1989, the mere mention of baseball to the millions watching is crucial because in the UK at the time, television station Channel 4 had exclusive rights to screen several US sports, including NFL football and baseball. Channel 4 had only broadcast in colour since 1982, so the platform was relatively new. Not only that, but this was one of the first times these sports had been beamed live, on a semi-regular basis, on a terrestrial television network. It meant that the popularity of NFL football and MLB baseball had soared and US sports were very much ‘in’ with the traditionally insular British public.
And I should know; the mid-'80s was around the time word began to filter around the school playground about which team you supported. Who is good? Who is bad? Who stayed up all night to the flicker of a 13” Matsui in their bedroom on the quietest volume in order to catch a glimpse of the Superbowl or the World Series? Purely for housekeeping purposes, I selected the LA Rams and New York Giants and the New York Mets respectively (though today I have a soft spot for the Oakland A’s, Seattle Mariners and LA Dodgers, too). On Christmas Day 1987 I received a Giants jersey, an NFL rule book and copies of 4th and Inches and Hardball for my Commodore 64. That was it. I was hooked.
The Games They Cometh Fast
Baseball computer games have been around far longer than you think. In May 1963 (a mere 6 months before the assassination of JFK) The Ledger Star ran an article about a newly-developed ‘computer program’ for the IBM 1620. The first ever baseball simulation game. Work on the simulator began in 1961, but by the time of its demonstration in 1963 the game was polished and magnificent in both its simplicity for the end user to install, and its sheer complexity under the hood. Once loaded, the game would ask for a set of variables (player choice of batters, team name and so on). Once ‘locked in’ the program generates its own variables and begins to eerily mash the keys itself, automating the play by play. If you saw that in 1963 you’d likely be in need of a stiff drink to recover from the shock.
Fast forward 20 years to 1983, and Nintendo releases the aptly-named Baseball for its new Famicom console. A small, but perfectly crafted (albeit heavily dated now) video game interpretation of the sport of baseball. I’ve always thought that baseball should be reasonably simple to translate across any video game platform. At the core is a straightforward game. Nintendo's Baseball welded together enough quality components to translate in to a solid, enjoyable game of baseball. Nothing more. And that was likely what gamers craved at the time.
According to official Famitsu Japan sales data, Baseball has sold 2.35 million copies (LTD). Compare that to Famitsu Japan sales for Super Mario World, which shifted 3.55 million copies (LTD) and you can see, when compared to a video game hailed as one of the very best ever made, it put in a solid performance at the tills. That is not all, for if we delve into the vaults of till rolls and ledgers for the past three decades, you will find that cheeky Konami PlayStation slugger Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu '99 Kaimakuban is the 106th fastest-selling video game of all-time in Japan. 106th. I can hear you choking on your cup of tea by the way. Yes.
When you look at the list of other fast sellers, this plucky slugfest is right in there amongst the titans of gaming history. Final Fantasy, Mario, Dragon Quest, Pokémon and so on. And right there in 106th place, selling 324,721 copies by July 22nd 1999, is the first game to break the procession. No, not GTA or some other AAA hyper-blockbuster, but a piddly baseball game.
Designated Hitters
Back to the 1980s and '90s and as the (golden?) age of the video game began, like Reggie Jackson's bell bottom trousers worn to his trade to the Yankees in 1977, to hit a fuller, richer stride. Along with the rare polished diamonds came the glut of garbage. And boy was there a lot of garbage when it came to baseball titles. From the dreadful ESPN Baseball Tonight, Hatayama Hatch no Pro Yakyuu News! Jitsumei Han and Human Baseball to the exquisite Ken Griffey Jr Presents MLB and Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu series, Nintendo sure gave their ‘seal of quality’ to some gems and absolute stinkers.
I loved this period of video game history. Everything was fresh, new, exciting. Developers could set up shop overnight, take a risk and produce something extraordinary. The rules were few and laissez-faire, and that lead to some beautifully original ideas that would seep into the pores of the Super Famicom in particular. Baseball games became more than just a simple bat and ball game, the concept would mutate into a puzzler, with the awesome Puyo Puyo-esque game Pro Yakyuu Nettou: Puzzle Stadium. Think NPB mascots battling with baseball's and catchers mitts for play pieces and you are pretty much there. This was a fun, addictive puzzler with some lovely combo mechanics chucked in for good measure.
Lest we forget the best-selling Family Stadium (aka 'Famista’) series that has proved for decades to be a huge hit across multiple Nintendo platforms, including the 3DS. However, as time marched on ever forward, the breadth of baseball titles began to shrivel to a mere handful of tried and trusted titles. Looking at software sales figures for the GameCube for example, it’s no wonder publishers moved these games away from Nintendo and over to the house of Sony. THE BASEBALL 2003 バトルボールパーク宣言 パーフェクトプレープロ野球, released on the GameCube in 2003, sold a mere 2,463 copies and charted for just one week.
What began with a cutting-edge simulation in 1961 progressed to a full-colour, highly detailed game of baseball by 1983. Since then, baseball games weathered stormy seas both on and off the pitch in both the glut of poor quality games but also the players strike, the loss of the Montreal Expos and the steroid scandal (Aaron > Bonds, btw). Today, we’re left with not so much a mere trickle of titles but a full-on drought of baseball games. In the past decade alone we're only seen about three games released on a regular basis - one of which is Japan-only.
Think Like The Dock
What happened? Where has the creativity gone? Where gridiron, football, golf, NHL and so forth have gone on and flourished, baseball appears to have been left to rot in a ditch. Dock Ellis (who will feature in MLB 18: The Show) was a great player who pushed many exploratory boundaries. On June 12th, 1970 The Dock famously pitched a ‘no-hitter’ while completely off his face on LSD. A no-hitter is one of the rarest things you’ll see in baseball bar a triple play, taking into account a regular season comprises 2,430 games and there have only been 296 no-hitters since 1875. Quite an accomplishment. Why can't a development studio out there perform a similar feat? Get a team together to start producing baseball titles that offer something new? Explore new boundaries. Carve a legacy through non-conformity. Be original.
I refer you to the wonderful Super Famicom port of steely Neo Geo big hitter Super Baseball 2020. A game that takes the bare bones of baseball but tweaks the rules just a smidgen to make a wonderful new game. The Famicom had hefty bat and brawl chubster Cyber Stadium Series: Base Wars, the only baseball game I've seen where you're actively encouraged to come off the bench and rip a man's head off. Or, looking toward the arcade, the delightful club 'em up Ninja Baseball Bat Man. Within the madcap Wario Ware a surprise for the eagle-eyed is available to nourish your joyless souls. Nintendo featured an old toy they produced in the 1960s entitled the Nintendo Ultra Machine as a mini game! Even the Satellaview got a Kirby take on America’s pastime with Kirby no Omocha Hako. Why have developers lost their sense of adventure these days, compared to these zany, left-field moments?
With the Catcus and Grapefruit spring training leagues (that wouldn’t sound out of place at all in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe!) literally days away, it is a huge bat signal (pun intended) that the the new MLB season is just around the corner. What we have to look forward to this year is the (admittedly incredible, and one of my favourite games of 2017) AAA title MLB 18: The Show alongside the shaping-up-to-be-a-stinky-crapfest (if it's anything like last year's version, anyway) R.B.I. Baseball ‘18. Then it’s a long wait until April for the latest 2018 Powerful Pro title. Two of those games are PS4 exclusives (Powerful Pro 2018 is also available on Vita), which mean the Switch is left with R.B.I. Baseball ‘18 and...that’s it. Unless of course you count the aforementioned 2020 Baseball, which is available on the Switch eShop.
Nintendo is a company that, until as recently as 2016, owned major league club the Seattle Mariners for crying out loud! Baseball is in its blood (and no, Mario Sports Superstars doesn’t count). The fact that Switch-owning baseball fans are so poorly served is borderline criminal, and I long for a day when the sport returns to the spotlight and we get a quality title worthy of our attention. If you feel the same way, be sure to take a swing in the comments section below.
Comments 121
Two thumbs fresh for the Only Fools and Horses mentions.
The only baseball game I've played (except for the almighty better 'Rounders' in real life - come at me yankees) is the mini game in Wii Sports. Seemed pretty fun but never taken notice of the recent baseball ones. Know we got some stinkers on Switch with the RBI(?) stuff.
Great column Ian.
Would love to see some baseball on Switch.
I was really hoping Rusty's Real Deal Baseball om 3DS would make it's way to the UK but alas no
Great column indeed. We really should get many more baseball videogames than we do these days. My hopes for the near future hang with the next Super Mega Baseball and the possibility of a new (dedicated) Mario Sports title. Also, that we never got a 3rd The Bigs game is great shame.
I like simple baseball games. That's why "Great Baseball" for the Sega Master System will always be my favorite.
Give me a cricket game and we’ll talk.
We’ll talk in language utterly incomprehensible to anyone who doesn’t understand cricket.
My siblings and I played the hell out of Ken Griffey's MLB on the Nintendo 64.
What a great game.
So... absolutely no mention of Wii Sports, eh?
I understand it had its shortcomings (which I too am disappointed about, along with not being able to choose who my Mii teammates are), but surely Nintendo could flesh out the concept for a future "Mii Sports" game...?
I LOVED The Bigs 2 on 360. Played that one endlessly. Shame the series apparently has died
Fabrique Belgique
I think a newer updated version of Wii Sports Baseball would be fantastic with the new Joy Con Controllers
Baseball is a very boring sport, likewise Cricket. They're not world sports, they've hotbeds in certain countries but more countries have no interest than do. I wonder if that has any part to play in it. Like Rugby Union is another example, no decent computer game versions of it just like baseball and cricket. Though I do like rugby myself. But you could then ask how come Madden and the NHL games are good.
Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū a.k.a Power Pros is actually a fun arcade style baseball game. I would love for them to release the a new and update MLB power pros in the west. ^^
I’d love a good baseball game. I’m a Reds Fan but honestly I think I’d almost enjoy a more fun casual experience more than anything though If my past is any indication. I love the Mario Baseball games.
Props for voluntarily becoming a Mets fan. For those of us born into it (myself included), it’s been a rough life, haha!
Hmm, baseball games used to be one of the simplest kinds of games to make - something the nineties and 3D saw undone forever.
Right now people would probably sneer at any sports game that wasn't close to EA Sports quality - and needless to say most studios just can't make that...
I could go low and remind you "baseball isn't a popular sport anymore" but that would be an absolute moot point as niche games is exactly what we need more of - on the switch and otherwise. And in that realm what stronger niche to fill eh
A baseball game as arcadey as Windjammers' spiritual sequel Disc Jam would be a day 1 buy for me
@klingki thanks! How can you not love a man who 's hair alone puts the fear of God in to Timotei?
I refer of course to the mighty Noah Syndergaard. Hopefully he will play an actual season this year.
Go Mets!
I feel the same way. As a sport fan it's hard to own a Nintendo system. I wish Nintendo was making real sports games again. Maybe, RBI will be good. Last year's version seemed too vanilla.
Nintendo and Namco needs to work on a new Mario Baseball.
Baseball games are about as horrible as Madden and those Olympics games.
@Rubbercookie SEGA's Clutch Hitter or perhaps Super Baseball 2020 are as good an arcade fit as I can think of alas.
@Winklebottom Powerful Pro Baseball Heroes was available on the 3DS but Japan only. It's criminal the new one isn't coming to Switch.
@Balladeer as long as there's a good lunch and tea sim during a 5 day test.
@Captain_Gonru totally agree on several points though in all honesty, MLB XX: The Show just nails absolutely everything you'd want in a sterile baseball game. There is no better game right now. '18 is shaping up to be an absolute WHOPPER game.
There's nothing else though. Powerful Pro aside. Fingers crossed someone with boules d'oro will come good and feed Nintendo sluggers the big meal we crave!
There are fewer sports games across the board. In large part because the majority of the audience for those games is particularly responsive to something (& only something) that looks as close to the TV product as possible. Other sports have multiple markets and multiple potential licenses but with baseball if you can’t get the MLB license you have no game that can sell enough to justify a large budget.
Of course baseball has another big issue - the demographics of support in the US has changed in the last 20 years. It’s simply not got the hold on America’s youth as it once did. Kids and teenagers drive the sale of sports games so as the potential audience for baseball games has withered.
Amen! It's really sad that the best baseball game on the Wii was arguably "Nicktoons MLB" for cying out loud! As for the Wii U, did it even receive a baseball game outside of 1/5 of "Wii Sports Club"? For us MLB simulation fans, we haven't had a really good baseball sim on a Nintendo console since "MVP Baseball 2005" on GameCube! Nintendo hasn't even given a Mario baseball game on any system in nearly a decade. Where's the love for America's National Pasttime on Nintendo, people?!
Go Cardinals!
@Balladeer Raphael: Nobody understands cricket! You've gotta know what a crumpet is to understand cricket!
@klingki Didn't the Mets win the NL Pennant just three years ago?
@BulbasaurusRex It’s true, and crumpets are delicious.
As my weekly pleas to Hamster for Baseball Stars Professional indicate, I love arcade baseball games. To this day, I will argue that Baseball Stars (NES), with its rapid gameplay and player creator/upgrade system, remains the best we have ever seen on a Nintendo console. So I hear ya, Ian.
BTW, a perfect game is even more rare than a no-hitter. It means the pitcher threw a complete game without allowing anyone to reach base. 27 up, 27 down. Only 23 ever thrown in more than a century. Unless you count mine on Baseball Stars, lol.
@bluedogrulez yes, but I've yet to read about any player doing it while off their tits!
I think in an interview in later years The Dock said he was annoyed he let a couple of players make base. What a character he was though!
I prefer the NPB rule that a perfect game is a solo effort. Whereas in MLB you can use a combination of SP, RP, CP and so on. Hence for me I prefer a no-no.
@BulbasaurusRex They did, but plummeted all the way to a 70-92 record last season due to a ridiculous rash of injuries, horrible management of said injuries, and a general unwillingness to spend money to improve the team despite residing in the New York market.
I hate to say it, but your Cardinals are a pretty good example of how to run a baseball team well.
Although not a serious sim, Mario Baseball on the GameCube was pretty cool (though I pretty much sucked and relied on luck), but it must have sold poorly in Europe since the Wii sequel never came to PAL (shame they never gave it a test run in the EU Wii U eshop, it might have fared well at the lower price point, and avoided all the production / distribution costs of the original retail version).
Only other proper game (not counting Wii Sports) I’ve played was Baseball for the Game Boy, which was terrible.
Also: mmmm, crumpets...
WHAT IS BASEBALL???
@stuffiwrote No, MLB also requires a Perfect Game to be thrown by a single pitcher. Although, I'm pretty sure that there's never been a combined case, anyway.
Please Konami! Give me another Base Wars game!
@SLIGEACH_EIRE To be fair, soccer/football is the only team sport that does have a mostly worldwide following. Baseball still has a wider international reach than most.
What happened to all the great baseball games on Nintendo consoles gone???? More like what happened to all the great baseball games in general. They are few and fare in between on any system as a whole. The whole authentic and realism games are a huge turnoff. Long gone are the fun games like Base Wars, Baseball Simulator 1.000, and the Mutant League series (too bad they only had football and hockey back then. I don't count the new one that released recently since it doesn't have that classic feel to me). Now what we get, which basically plagues all sports games, are the bare bones "realism". In most cases those said games are slow and sluggish when played at best.
Sadly I see little hope in ever seeing "fun" games for sports being made anymore. Such a missed opportunity to add new elements to a stagnant genre.
It's not just a lack of baseball games on Nintendo systems, it's a lack of baseball games in general. Go back and look at the heyday of the sixth generation and the options you had. Triple Play/MVP, High Heat, All-Star, MLB the Show, and World Series/MLB 2K. Nevermind all the spinoffs and arcade style games. Each console had at least a few choices each spring.
Then publishers like 3DO and Acclaim went belly up or others stopped making baseball games like 2K did. If you would have told me back in 2003 that 15 years later, we'd only have one legitimate baseball sim being made yearly and it was a console exclusive, I honestly wouldn't have believed you.
It comes down to publishers like EA monopolizing sports licenses and increased development costs. RBI Baseball might be a fun little occasional distraction, but it's not a meat and potatoes sim like The Show is.
Think about yearly sports games these days.
NFL - Madden is your only choice because EA has NFL exclusivity. Even NCAA is dead because of the lawsuit that was settled a few years ago.
NBA - NBA 2K and Live technically, but Live is still an after thought at best.
MLB - The Show is PS exclusive. RBI Baseball is a fun little arcade style game, but it's very bare bones.
NHL - EA is your only option. 2K stopped after 2010.
Soccer - At least here both FIFA and Pro Evolution are decent sims most years.
Only basketball and soccer get two choices. Every other sport is essentially only one game to choose from.
Just put Extra Innings on the Switch eShop and we're sorted. Played that on my SNES so much over the years.
It isn’t as popular as it was back in 1990s?
That’s a good reason.
Also, as some mentioned, it isn’t played worldwide or has a massive appeal in other countries.
I spent many hours playing Ken Griffey baseball on the SNES. It was likely one of my most played games. Spent many hours editing rosters to reflect real live teams. Game was a blast and probably my favorite baseball game ever. Would love something similar on the Switch.
@BulbasaurusRex Golf has worldwide reach as well.
I love baseball games and haven't had a real one available to me in years. I would love more sports games for the Switch in general. NFL and NHL games for this system would be massive for me.
Imagine if Baseball related games on Switch could talk.
R.B.I. Baseball 18: I'm not even out yet.
2020 Super Baseball: Well at least I got a mention.
Baseball Riot: WTF nobody even knows me?
I want something like Little League series Baseball 2009 Wii, with better Customize, HD Rendering, Card System, More places to choose.
Thanks for writing this. I wholeheartedly agree! For me, MLB The Show is the one exclusive that actually hurts not having.
I'd be happy with a new Mario Baseball. Still play it for the GameCube all the time. That being said, a quick Google search of RBI 18 would do you good, as they have changed developers and completely rebuilt the game from the ground up, those who have previewed it are optimistic.
@Reignmaker The Show is extraordinary. It has so much packed in to it I think all it's missing is a groundskeeper simulation. No doubt it's included in this years edition.
Imagine The Show on Switch though, it would have to be peeled back so much to just get it to work there'd be nothing left.
Powerful Pro 2018 would be exospherically good though but oh no Bandai Namco took it away from us after the 3DS version. Disgraceful behaviour.
@Darthroseman I remain optimistic but if it's like last year's equivalent of holding in a fart only to let it go and in the process slightly moisten your trolleys with a smattering of wet, mucusy poop then there really is no hope for a good slugger on Switch.
To put it bluntly, its mostly because baseball is boring.
And currently, most fans of the sport are of the older variety (50 and over mostly). Which means that they're well beyond the videogame optimal demographic.
Doesn't help that ticket prices have gone up but player's performance has gone down. Nobody exciting on any field.
Maybe Nintendo will port Wii Sports to the Switch, tho.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE I said among team sports. Individual sports have built-in advantages for gaining widespread popularity.
Recipe for success:
Ingredients :
-Baseball Stars
-Super Mario Baseball
Preheat oven to 375.
Combine Baseball Stars and Super Mario baseball in glass pan. Stir together.
Cover with aluminum foil and cook on center rack for 45 minutes.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Serve.
Not a fan of realistic sports sims personally.
But arcade-like sports like the Mario sports and NBA Jam on SNES/Genesis, though? Sign me up.
@GC-161 I almost smacked my monitor because of your bug picture lol but while I'm here, I can't say I agree with your analysis. Unless you have stats to back up your "50 and older", I'm pretty much gonna call that straight bs. It's the 3rd largest sport in America, and massive in Central America and Japan. And where is "player's performance has gone down" coming from? Were you aware the MLB just had the most home runs they've ever had in any season by over 400?
I don't mind if you think baseball is boring, there's plenty of people that do, but let's not spout false facts about it
Baseball is a broad audience game, but consoles have a narrow audience.
So they don't sell well, and if they don't sell well, there is no reason to make one.
Honestly I thought Wii sports baseball on the WiiU was great. Loved the controller framing for catching.
I think RBI baseball is closer to mass market than the Show.
The Wii had:
. 2K Baseball
. Power Pros
. Mario Baseball
All of them sold poorly.
The reality is, people won't pay for baseball on a console outside of the Show.
I'm happier with RBI Baseball than most people, so I actually don't fully agree with the complaints, but what I do agree with I blame on us.
We didn't buy the games, so what did we expect?
Football 🏈 killed baseball. EA Sports killed football 🏈 games.
The disconnect between what the hobby (and the hobbyists who love and support it) want and what the mega-corporations (that our hobby and support helped to build) actually prioritize always comes down to one simple thing: MONEY. And right now gamers (at least those who don't happen to own a Sony console) are learning why monopolies are a very bad thing.
All of the lamentations of this article can be traced to one game franchise: MLB The Show. Nobody out there has a game that even comes remotely close in terms of production values, nor do they have the pockets to keep up with the budget necessary for it. Once upon a time Sega had some great baseball games that went toe-to-toe with Sony's MLB franchise (pre-Show era), but since they abandoned console-making they've also pretty much abandoned everything not named Sonic, so now videogame baseball fans have only one MLB game in town that anyone wants to play...and unfortunately it's exclusive to one platform.
RBI Baseball is the only current series that I'm aware of which offers gamers another option, but to say it looks "retro" by comparison (that isn't a compliment) would be an understatement. Until a publisher has the deep pockets and the willingness (not to mention passion) for baseball necessary to bring a true competitor for MLB The Show to the market, Sony's annual cash cow is the only baseball game in town...and in the long run that doesn't even benefit fans of that series because monopolies inevitably tend to rest on their laurels and phone in incremental improvements if any at all. Again, money is the driving force here, and with all of it funneling straight to them, why should Sony/San Diego Studios bother to really change anything? You can hide a lot of apathy behind pretty visuals, and sadly gamers will still snap it up.
You took the thoughts right out of my brain. I’ve always pined for the NES era type of baseball games. Now, it seems, nobody cares unless it’s a licensed game.
It’s not on Switch ( how I wish it was), but SuperMega Baseball is amazing. I am dreaming that 2 will be, but I know better.
Put me in the Baseball Stars camp as far as best baseball game ever. Loved the Simulator series, High Heat on PC, and various other NES games (Dusty Diamond, Base Wars, Little League come to mind).
It would be so possible to make a Baseball Stars style game that I just hope an Indy studio pulls it off one day. My great wish has always been a stadium creator, even a rudimentary one.
When I win the powerball, I’ll make the company that makes my perfect baseball game.
mario baseball or bust
Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers were amazing. The amount of variety and roster selection in thise games are incredible!!! Im hoping that Hamster releases Baseball Stars 2 soon. Now thats a good game. In the mean time the switch has 2020 Super Baseball. Thats a good one!!!
R.B.I. baseball is not as terrible as everyone saying. It’s definetly not the best, but I have no trouble playing it occasionally. Just seems like a 360 port more then a new game. And it is an arcade game, not a baseball simulator like other games are.
Great topic, I have been asking the same thing. We desperately need a return of Mario Baseball.
Honestly, I never really liked the Baseball games that try to be realistic like MLB The Show and MLB 2K, it was always the more arcade style baseball games that I enjoyed. A good exception was Baseball Advance, but then again that was a pretty simple game that wasn't trying to be very realistic.
@GC-161, I resent that, I am in my late forties, and I still played video games. Nobody mentioned that 2k had good baseball games as well as jaleco also had good baseball games.
Everyone forgets that there was a baseball game tucked away in Wii Party U. It was very simple and loads of fun!
Baseball is a great sport, but baseball sim video games have often struck out. Mario baseball on GCN was fun, though.
Great article! It was great to see & play Baseball Simulator 1.000 again on Wii U's virtual console.
That's a baseball game that's simple, fun, & very creative.
Good stuff! I should write one about Ice Hockey...
Its a shame they did not take the opportunity to release that Mario Baseball Wii game on the Wii U VC. That and Excitebots would have easily made a decent earning in download sales in Europe at least....
I’d definitely buy a new Mario baseball.
I loved Ken Griffey Jr. Presents MLB growing up. Since they gave all the players different names, but kept in all the official stats from the previous year ('92?) and allowed the player to rename the players too, I remember painstakingly going through the entire MLB roster, matching up players with stats and giving them their real names. I would then play full 162 game seasons with the Yankees. Man, those were some good times...
My absolute favorite baseball games, though, were the All-Star Baseball games on the N64. The last installment I had, ASB 2001, was my all-time favorite. (I really wish that - or at least one of the ASB games - had been released on the Wii or Wii U Virtual Console.)
@Nygiantz17 The stats are real. Studies were made just last year about it. They found out most active & dedicated fans are generally around age 55+.
So the solution would be to get more young people involved in the sport. Unfortunately, there isn't a big draw for that at the moment. No huge star or something making headlines. And playing the sport as a kid requires having a certain amount of peeps and field (big enough area). By comparison, basketball is easy af to pick up and play. You only need 2 people to have a decent session. Even playing alone is fun. But baseball? Not as easy.
A good way to introduce young ppl inti baseball would be video games. But devs probably look at the numbers and go: "baseball is only popular with old decrepit fossils". So they instead do something else that they think kids would like.
@ekwcll Ok let me take that back about baseball being boring. But only in part. Its boring to watch. But it's a joy to play for real.
In regards to the age thing. Those numbers are real. But that's not to say younger ppl don't like baseball.
@Shiryu That would be a pretty cool article! I say that because hockey video games are like NBA video games, more fun than the real thing.
It's a shame baseball games are hardly made nowadays. You could argue that back in the 90s there were too many baseball games, but nowadays you only have RBI Baseball and The Show. The former being terrible and the latter being exclusive. I'd like to see EA revive the MVP series, 2K could possibly start making baseball games again. As for Nintendo I've been wanting a comeback to the Ken Griffey games for a while now.
Honest if you have MLB: The Show, you don't need any other baseball game.
@Balladeer You've made a silly point there.
@BionicDodo That pun clean bowled me over!
Baseball Stars is the best baseball game on the NES!
I would rather have Powerful Pro on the Switch Over the PS4. That is a shame. Always get The Show - great game to have during the MLB season.
“the dreadful ESPN Baseball Tonight”
Pffft. That game was the poo. Rotoscoped players. Audio commentary. I must have rented it 20 times.
“Back, back, back, BACK and it’s GONE!”
Ken Griffy Presents is my favorite baseball game of all time followed by MVP05 on game cube and Baseball Stars on NES. RBI 87 on NES was pretty good as was the Power Pro series on Wii. I wish Nintendo would do an updated version of Ken Griffy keeping the cartoon graphics and difficulty.......because you were pretty much destined to lose every 4th game no matter how good you were. I think in my best season I went 120-42 and most sport games once you get good it is rare to lose to the AI.
Great piece. The last great baseball game I played was MVP on the cube. But Acclaim's All Star Baseball 2000 on the N64 was my pinnacle of baseball games. Polygon did a feature on the upcoming RBI baseball, and it sounds like they may have figured it out. NBA 2K18 may have opened the door for sports games moving forward. I bet we hear about Madden and Fire Pro Wrestling later this year.
@Captain_Gonru I played the hell out of MVP Baseball 2005 on the Gamecube. If I remember correctly, that was the one with Manny (Ramirez) on the cover. My wife (who was then my girlfriend) every once in awhile mentions how she can still hear the soundtrack in her head, I would play it so much (and what a heck of a soundtrack)
MVP on the Cube!! What a great game! Totally forgot about that, but I put an incredible amount of time into that title. That was one of those games where the GameCube controller was just perfect. Good lord did I ever love it.
@GC-161 Ever heard of Mike Trout or Clayton Kershaw? They're just as big of stars these days as the ones in the past.
Most of the current baseball games I have played (my buddy had The Show 15' I think) are too complicated for me, as I am a casual Dodgers fan. I've never played in the real world, but I like to watch and understand it enough to follow whats going on.
The most fun I had playing the games were the MLB Slugfest series on the GameCube, and even then whenever my buddy and I would play together it always ended the same way. We would be at a stalemate 0-0 in the first 2 or 3 innings, then one of us would get a good groove sometimes making as many as 7 or 8 runs before the end of the inning, and the other never recovers resulting in one of us being grumpy and annoyed and the other cautiously trying to slack off and let the other get a few points. The computers also always take both of us down without much resistance.
I'm in the minority, I know. I stink at most sports games as they rarely ever explain how everything works so I gravitate to more arcade styles which are hard to distinguish if I'll like them in a baseball title. Pity as I would really enjoy having as much intensity in a baseball game as I do for the racing games I am actually good at.
I think there's an overall perception of baseball's popularity. And certainly, there is some truth to the numbers. I will also I do attend maybe one or two Sox games a year (Red Sox that is). I grew up in Boston and got to see first hand what a typical gameday looked like as far as the type of people who attend. And there are quite a bit of young people who do still go to baseball games at least. I can't speak for other cities with major league teams (or even minor league for that matter ). I know I've attended a few Yankees games and the crowd is a good mix of variety of age ranges. Probably no different than any other sporting even I've attended.
I also will point out that I do believe part of the issue of their being a bit of disconnect with professional baseball here in the states for some is (as someone pointed out above) the lack of investment in some areas and demographics to help draw interest in the sport. And with the NFL being a very precarious position right now with all its issues, there really isn't no better time for baseball to take some of that thunder back.
How does this translate to baseball and its place in video game? I think a lot of these things play a part in its decline on that front. I think the major one being the rules of exclusivity.
I would be really surprised if Super Mega Baseball 2 wasn't ported to Switch this summer. The first game was one of the best baseball games I've ever played. It was the right mix of light simulation with arcade-style accessibility.
I would love to see a “Mario Baseball” full game for the Switch. That would be awesome. Football would be cool too, I can’t remem the last time Madden popped up on switch.
Why so little mention of Konami's Pro Yakyuu Spirits?
It is considered superior to The Show, with better ball physics and defense mechanics. May be a bit daunting due to Japanese and language, but there's a site up with menu and in-game translations. I'm not as familiar with the Japanese teams and players, but prefer gameplay over license. Way it used to be before EA took over.
I noticed 2015 is the last iteration. Konami did a mobile version after that. Don't know what they're up to. I imported the 2013 version and bought a PS3 just to play it. Not really a sim guy, but it's good. Pro Spirits, Jikkyou and Super Mega on Switch would make its baseball offerings pretty stellar.
Not a massive fan of Baseball, fun to play on gaming systems tho!
I wouldn't mind a new baseball game, the last one I played was World Series Baseball on the Saturn which was a great game. I also remember Extra Innings on the SNES, that was pretty decent too. You'd think with it being one of the biggest sports in Japan there would be more titles around...
Surprise! Baseball is the most pathetic boring crap sport on the go!
@BulbasaurusRex Naw. Ever heard of Mr. October? FERNANDOMANIA? Even Canseco had a bigger impact than those two (before he fell from grace)
Nothing has come close to that.
@F-ZeroX I did mention the series, which is excellent. I could only cram in so much, else it would just turn in to one big list of games.
@SethNintendo I said as recently as 2016 they 'owned' the Seattle Mariners.
Unfortunately the lack or baseball, or other sports, has been on Nintendo basically dropping studios inside the US outside of Retro over the years. So instead they've focused on a narrow segment of niche JRPGs that are a dime a dozen and aren't expanding the userbase at all. People can trash baseball, but you don't have to look far to see MLB The Show is a heck of a lot more popular and sells better than some creepy half clothed anime JRPGs on Switch.
It's sad because there's a legitimate huge gap in sports games right now, and games like Waverace, 1080, MLB, etc would reach more than the typical audience on Nintendo systems. And Nintendo could do well by them, because the typical sports model today has turned into a ton of microtransactions and super hardcore simulation style games. A game in the style of Ken Griffey Jr in the past, with straightforward controls but deep gameplay would be great in the era of up-selling to people who already bought the game.
Unfortunately, I don't see this changing, because there's more reluctance than ever to use licensed games these days because of the greed of the ones granting the license. The same reason we don't see any 007 games, and Marvel vs Capcom Infinite are bombing, etc. It's just become an economy of how much can we monetize our fanbase instead of trying to bring new fans in, and its a recipe for disaster.
Culture Brain's Baseball Simulator 1000 is one of my favorite games EVER, and on Super Nintendo I played SO MUCH Ken Griffey Jr. (The 1st one, for some reason liked it a lot better than the 2nd). I like the arcady games better than the super simulators. I just want to have fun. There's a game on mobile Baseball Superstars by Gameville that I loved as well. Great article.
I do not see why Nintendo does't buy or create a studio to make games like Griffey, or Kobe Bryant any more. My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE Nintendo Sports Game was the original Ice Hockey. I think they should re-launch that as an online game. They could even do a store for it to buy different skates, or jerseys. It would be a huge money maker.
Some baseball favorites of mine include Realsports Baseball (Atari’s 5200) Great Baseball & Reggie Jackson Baseball On the Master system, Tommy Lasorda Baseball & Sports Talk Baseball on the Genesis....which evolved into World Series Baseball on the Genesis and later on (which blew my mind) was World Series Baseball on the Sega Saturn!!! Would love to see some arcade quality baseball action on the Switch this year!!
World Series Baseball 95 on Sega Saturn was my favorite baseball game...
It's kind of crazy but for my baseball fix I still go back to my Nintendo 64 and play it to this day All Star Baseball. It is one of the most enjoyable baseball games that I've ever played.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE
Okay I agree with you and disagree with you as well, baseball is definitely a strange sport.
To me it breaks down like this:
Play baseball: fun
Goto a baseball game: fun
Watch baseball on tv: so slow and boring.
Play baseball on video game: for me it has to be somewhere between simulation and arcade I always thought that All Star Baseball that I play on 64 is the best I have found.
Amen Ian. I would break down a Switch tomorrow if you gave me an amazing MLB game like MLB The Show on Playstation consoles. It's so sad nobody even comes close. I love the Indians, but having Francisco Lindor on the cover of RBI Baseball doesn't make me want to buy that crapfest anymore. Doubt they improved it anyway.
I'll take a Mario Baseball game at this point on my 3DS or Switch. I bought the Wii game just so I had SOMETHING.
Just give us NHL!!
@XCWarrior I honestly don't think you could cram all of MLB The Show in to a Switch cart and make it run nicely. It would need features removed and/or visuals stripping back.
Powerful Pro 2018 should be on Switch. It's bloody criminal Bandai Namco are shunning it in favour of the PS4 and Vita. Though it is cross platform which is a bonus.
I think the real issue is the emphasis today on realistic everything. Even Mario's getting realistic in his own way. You either have the league licenses or the game doesn't matter, and while EA and 2K have almost all sports on multiplat lockdown, Sony secured the MLB license, and thus locked the entire sport itself as a platform exclusive in the public eye.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE True, though American football even gets significant attention, and that has a smaller audience than baseball. Part of it is indeed that it's slow and boring, and doesn't really pique the interest of action oriented gaming. I'm betting its audience skews older as well in general.
What's the Japanese Pro series? Maybe made by Konami? ... Professional Baseball Spirits. I think this looks great and I'd definitely get down into it. Companies underestimate the appeal that exists for gamers to manage a fictional league if the physics and simulation are done well. Gamers love management sims! Add in great gameplay and you'll sell copies. No need for a pro license although I'd learn about the overseas leagues — sure.
@NEStalgia No one's even tried to give gamers a fleshed out realistic sports sim. There was the pure physics based Backbreaker but it had a woeful season mode and no franchise mode. 2K released All-Pro Football but it had a limited roster, again a weak season mode and NO franchise mode. If you give gamers the tools to customize uniforms, players, stadiums, league rules, all these things — you don't need the license. Players LOVE sandboxes. But you need to provide the tools.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE Yet, baseball is huge in Nintendo's two largest markets! Does it matter if it's not huge in the other markets? I mean, games come out in Japan every year that never make it off the island. At least with a baseball game, you could still get good numbers from NA too.
I wouldn't call it a true baseball game by any means but I really enjoyed Rusty's Real Deal Baseball on the 3DS. I would buy a more developed sequel if Nintendo decided to do another Rusty's.
Also, who says that a Mario Baseball game would need to be as arcadie as they usually are. Couldn't Nintendo make a baseball game using Nintendo characters that is right down the middle between sim and arcade?
@mister_magnus I question how marketable (or even fun) a truly realistic sports simulator would be. The whole thrill of playing sports video games is to relatively easily do things proficiently you could never actually do without the complications involved (A basketball game, obviously letting you dunk even if you can't jump worth anything, a golf game simplifying the absolutely maddening physics of wind and terrain to be easily manageable.) Once you start adding all the real world physics limitations and challenges into a 20 button simulation it might actually become easier and more enjoyable to go play the actual sport with the real equipment.
Steep is a fun, though largely oversimplified much too far, extreme sports game. Imagine having to ACTUALLY deal with falloff angles from windsheer, snow density, humidity, sublimation in sunlight, etc, etc. A niche of enthusiasts would rave for years about how amazing it is, sure, but the game has to make actual money at some point.
@NEStalgia If you gave gamers Madden or NBA2k but with a full suite of customization options and the ability to construct a league (number of games, frequency of games — be the commissioner as well as a GM/Owner, player, etc.) it'd be amazing. Players already create custom rosters to mirror certain anime. Sure, the license goes a long way toward recreating the NBA, obviously, but I can see the limitless fun in letting someone create the Midwest Great Lakes League — a 14 team, 30-something game season with 40 minute games — or anything. The possibilities, given a dependable simulation engine, are endless. And we have those engines!!
Out Of The Park Baseball 2019 might be worth considering if you want to drown to death in full-fat, full beans total and utter statistics annihilation.
At least the Switch does have R.B.I. Baseball '17 and '18. With real players, teams, stadiums etc. As a Hockey fan I'd KILL for an NHL and NHLPA licensed hockey game on the go! Sadly only EA Sports has the exclusive rights for NHL games now and they've stated there are no plans to port NHL '18 to the Switch. Fingers crossed for NHL '19...
@mister_magnus Oh, you mean the rosters and programs and such. Well, yes, but how could you sell the same exact game every year if not for changing the jerseys and brackets?
without paying for the license I'm sure it would free up funds to actually advance the gameplay and other features. It might even allow the publisher to come out ahead on an every-other year cycle. TBH, gamers don't need too much arm twisting to buy an annual release if the product is good.
We need Baseball Stars and I assume its coming our way at some point. Now that was a great baseball game.
And the reasons you don't see too many more is they don't sell well and MLB's license is too costly for any publisher, beyond The Show, to make money.
RBI Baseball is literally made by MLB to fill the void...the actual league makes that game. If you truly love the sport, than you need to buy a PS4. Its that simple.
The problem with sports games is that they are sports games. There is only so much you can do before it is no longer that sport. Its for this reason I am shocked that games like Madden and the 2K games remain popular. Baseball is baseball. It is hard to expand on that.
@stuffiwrote I just need a competent MLB game. Stripped down the graphics of The Show, that doesn't matter to me at all. It's the crisp gameplay. It's by far thegame on my PS3 that I sunk the most hours on, whichever year I have.
@Heavyarms55 Wow, with your logic:
"Puzzle games are just puzzle games, it's hard to expand on that."
"First person shooters are just FPS, it's hard to expand on that (and there's plenty of proof by the 1 million COD clones out there)"
"Mario Kart games are Mario Kart games, hard to expand on that."
If you love something, you want to play it. You don't need it to be "expanded." I've put more than 2K, probably 3K hours into many baseball games over the years. I just need it to be a good baseball sim.
@XCWarrior Totally different. In puzzle games or FPS games developers have total freedom to change the rules, add or take away things, be as creative as they like.
Not so with sports games. How much can you change baseball and have it still be baseball? Not much. If it is gonna be a baseball sim, there really is not much you can do there. Play ball.
I am not saying we shouldn't get a good baseball game on a system. Not at all. We need good sports games. But we don't need MLB 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021... We don't need Madden 18, 19, 20, 21... Just give us Madden PS4, Madden Switch, MLB PS4 and MLB Switch. Make them great games, then just update them each season.
@stuffiwrote So strip back the graphics. That's what we've wanted all along in order to get AAA ports on Nintendo hardware. Developers used to do it all the time for the Wii while taking advantage of the Wii's unique features to provide a better selling point (not always done very well, but done quite well many times as well). Now that Nintendo has a console that's once again selling well and is also now compatible with most major gaming engines, there's no reason we can't see a return of this process.
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