Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called Puro Yakyū (プロ野球), meaning simply Professional Baseball; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball."
The Japan Series, also the Nippon Series, is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League, and is played in October or November. The first team to win four games is the overall winner and is declared the Japan Series Champion each year. The Japan Series uses a 2–3–2 format.
Bases Loaded II: Second Season, known in Japan as Moero!! Pro Yakyū '88 Kettei Ban, is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System released in 1988. It is the sequel to Bases Loaded and is continued by Bases Loaded 3. The game is the second installment of the Bases Loaded series. The game was novelized by Peter Lerangis, as part of the Worlds of Power series published by Scholastic Books.
Bases Loaded is a baseball video game by Jaleco that was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was first released in 1987 in Japan and in 1988 in North America, and a Game Boy port was released in July of 1990. A mobile phone version exists as well. For the Virtual Console, Bases Loaded was released on September 11, 2007, in Japan and on April 7, 2008, in North America for the Wii, at the cost of 500 Wii Points and on May 15, 2013, in Japan and on July 10, 2014, in North America for Nintendo 3DS. The Wii U version in North America was also released at the same time as the Nintendo 3DS version. A port by Mebius and Clarice Games for the PlayStation 4 was released in Japan in 2015.
Bad News Baseball, originally released as Gekitō!! Stadium in Japan, is a baseball game released by Tecmo for the Japanese Family Computer in 1989, and North America in 1990 for the NES. The goal for players is to defeat every other team in the game. Gameplay can continue indefinitely until this occurs.
Baseball Mogul is a series of career baseball management computer games created by game designer Clay Dreslough. The product was first published in 1997. The 27th and latest installment is Baseball Mogul 2024. A proprietary database, included with the game, permits play in any season of historical baseball from 1901 to the present. The early Baseball Mogul games are considered to be influential works within the baseball management simulation genre.
eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball, previously known as Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū and marketed internationally as Power Pros, is a Japanese baseball video game series created by Konami. The game is known for its super deformed characters, and fast-paced but deep game play. Most games in the series are developed under license from the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association (JPBPA), letting them use the league's team names, stadiums, colors, and players' names and likenesses. There are also six games in the series with the Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) license, two with the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and Korea Professional Baseball Players Association (KPBPA), and one with the World Baseball Classic license. It is long running in Japan, starting out in 1994 for the Super Famicom, and appearing on many different consoles: Saturn (1995–1997), PlayStation (1994–2003), Nintendo 64 (1997–2001), PlayStation 2 (2000–2009), Dreamcast (2000), GameCube (2002–2006), Wii (2007–2009), PlayStation 3 (2010–2016), PlayStation 4 as well as PlayStation Portable (2007–2013) and Vita (2012-2018).
Virtual League Baseball is a 1995 baseball video game developed and published by Kemco for the Virtual Boy. A sequel, Virtual League Baseball 2, was planned, but later canceled due to the Virtual Boy console's poor sales.
Baseball Advance is a sports game for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, developed by Smilebit and released by THQ in March 2002. It was generally praised by critics upon its release. The game is the final entry in the Greatest Nine series.
MLB Power Pros is a baseball video game developed by Power Pros Production and published by 2K in North America and Konami in Japan for the Wii and PlayStation 2 video game consoles. It is part of the traditionally Japan-only Power Pros series of video games, and is the first game in the series to be released outside Japan, which serves as the sequel to the first game, released only in Japan. It was released in October 2007, and is published by 2K. A sequel, MLB Power Pros 2008, came out in 2008. Another sequel, MLB Power Pros 2010, came out on iOS and Android devices in 2010.
The Climax Series is the current annual playoff system implemented by Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It determines which team from the Central League (CL) and from the Pacific League (PL) will advance to compete for the championship in the Japan Series. After the creation of the NPB's two-league system in 1950, the PL experimented with three different playoff systems. In 2004, it implemented the postseason structure from which the Climax Series is based. After three seasons, the CL adopted the same system in 2007, creating the current, unified playoff format.
Simulation Pro Yakyuu is a Japan-exclusive video game for the Super Famicom that uses the actual ball players and teams of the 1995 Nippon Professional Baseball league and combines them into a full-blown simulator.
eBaseball Pro Yakyū Spirits is a Japanese baseball sports simulation game series, developed by Power Pros Production and published by Konami. It is a spin-off series of the Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū franchise.
Yuki Yanagita, nicknamed "Gita (ギータ)", is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He is a nine-time All-Star and a two-time Pacific League MVP, earning those honors in 2015 and 2020.
Kodai Senga is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) debut in 2012 for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and played for them until 2022. He is a three-time NPB All-Star and a one-time MLB All-Star.
Seiya Suzuki is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Suzuki is a five-time NPB All-Star, six-time NPB Best Nine Award winner, and a five-time winner of the NPB Golden Glove Award.
Yūya Yanagi is a professional Japanese baseball player. He pitches for the Chunichi Dragons.
Diceball! is a board game in which two players roll dice to simulate a baseball game, one representing the visiting team and the other the home team. Both players use the dice to throw the baseball from the mound to the plate and field the ball on defense. Diceball! was designed to mirror the statistical reality of baseball. A regular game of Diceball! without extra innings lasts about 45 minutes.
Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū '95 is a video game developed by Diamond Head and published by Konami for the PlayStation. It is part of the Power Pros series. In 1995 an updated version titled Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū '95 Kaimaku-ban was released for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn.
Pro Baseball: Family Stadium, released as Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium in Japan and R.B.I. Baseball in North America, is a 1986 baseball video game developed and published by Namco for the Nintendo Entertainment System. In North America, it was published by Tengen as R.B.I. Baseball. It was also released in arcades through the Nintendo VS. System. It is the first game in the Family Stadium and R.B.I. Baseball franchises. The game was a critical and commercial success in Japan and North America.
