MLB Slugfest is a series of baseball games developed by Sports Mogul, Gratuitous Games and Midway Games, and released by Midway Games for major console systems such as PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. The game bills itself as a more "street" style baseball game, including more mature / aggressive themes, the ability to attack other players, and urban-styled in-game commentary.
The series' emphasis on exaggerated, arcade-style gameplay as opposed to realistic simulations, can be compared to Midway's own NFL Blitz and NHL Hitz games, which were also having entries released around the same time.
Loaded is the only baseball game in history to receive a Teen rating from the ESRB.
Slugfest 2006, the newest version of the four, has inspired a cult-following based on its glitches and overall hijinks.
The announcers in the game are Tim Kitzrow, who also voiced the announcer in the NHL Hitz, NBA Jam, and the NFL Blitz series and Jimmy Shorts who is voiced by Kevin Matthews.
NBA Jam is a basketball video game developed and published by Midway for arcades in 1993. It is the first entry in the NBA Jam series. The project leader for this game was Mark Turmell.
A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with video games, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize playing the sport, whilst others emphasize strategy and sport management. Some, such as Need for Speed, Arch Rivals and Punch-Out!!, satirize the sport for comic effect. This genre has been popular throughout the history of video games and is competitive, just like real-world sports. A number of game series feature the names and characteristics of real teams and players, and are updated annually to reflect real-world changes. The sports genre is one of the oldest genres in gaming history.
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) with pictures or endorsements, it soon grew up to become a sub-label on its own, releasing game series such as EA Sports FC, PGA Tour, NHL, NBA Live, and Madden NFL.
Joseph Francis Buck is an American sportscaster for ESPN.
Vincent Edward Scully was an American sportscaster, best known for his broadcast work in Major League Baseball. Scully was the play-by-play announcer for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for sixty-seven years, beginning in 1950 and ending in 2016. He is considered by many to be the greatest sports broadcaster of all time.
Richard Alan Enberg was an American sportscaster. Over the course of an approximately 60-year career, he provided play-by-play of various sports for several radio and television networks, including NBC (1975–1999), CBS (2000–2014), and ESPN (2004–2011), as well as for individual teams, such as UCLA Bruins basketball, Los Angeles Rams football, and California Angels and San Diego Padres baseball.
Kenneth Gary Albert is an American sportscaster, the son of NBA sportscaster Marv Albert and nephew of sportscasters Al Albert and Steve Albert. He is the only sportscaster who currently does play-by-play for all four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.
Sean McDonough is an American sportscaster, currently employed by ESPN and the WEEI Boston Red Sox Radio Network. McDonough has play-by-play experience for all four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.
Matt Vasgersian is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is a play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels, as well as a studio host for MLB Network and FOX Sports. In the past, he has served as an announcer for Fox Sports' National Football League and Major League Baseball coverage, ESPN's coverage of Major League Baseball, NBC Sports' coverage of the Olympic Games, and NBC Sports' coverage of the original XFL. He formerly called play-by-play for the Milwaukee Brewers and the San Diego Padres.
NFL Blitz is a series of American football themed video games originally released by Midway featuring National Football League (NFL) teams. It began as a 1997 arcade game NFL Blitz that was ported to home consoles and spawned a series of sequels. Rather than being designed as a realistic interpretation of the sport of football, like Madden NFL or NFL 2K, the Blitz series was created as an over-the-top, exaggerated version of the sport, inspired by Midway's own NBA Jam basketball games.
Thomas Wade Brennaman is an American television sportscaster, currently the lead announcer for CW Sports college football games. He is the son of former Cincinnati Reds radio sportscaster Marty Brennaman. He served as a play-by-play commentator for Fox Sports since its inception in 1994 through 2020, the television voice of the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1998 to 2006, and as the voice of the Cincinnati Reds from 2007 through 2020. His career with the Reds and Fox Sports ended abruptly when he was caught on a hot mic making a homophobic statement during a game broadcast. His on-air apology, in which he interrupted himself to call "a drive into deep left field by Castellanos", became an internet meme. Since leaving the Reds, he has served as a commentator for the Roberto Clemente League and for Chatterbox Sports.
Gary Francis Thorne is an American sportscaster. He was the lead play-by-play announcer for Baltimore Orioles games on MASN from 2007 to 2020. He has also worked for ESPN and ABC, including National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, college football, and the Frozen Four hockey tournament. He also worked for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he was the narrator for the WrestleMania Rewind program on its WWE Network streaming video service.
MLB on Fox is an American presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by Fox Sports, the sports division of the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox), since June 1, 1996. The broadcaster has aired the World Series in 1996, 1998, and every edition since 2000, and the All-Star Game in 1997, 1999, and every year since 2001. It has also aired the National League Championship Series (NLCS) and American League Championship Series (ALCS) in alternate years from 1996 to 2000 and since 2007, with the NLCS in even years and the ALCS in odd years.
NHL Hitz 2002 is an arcade-style ice hockey video game released by Midway. It is the first game of the NHL Hitz series. Midway launched this game along with NFL Blitz.
Tom McCarthy is an American sports broadcaster. He is the television play-by-play announcer for Philadelphia Phillies television broadcasts and also calls National Football League games on radio for Westwood One. He calls select NFL and college basketball games on CBS. McCarthy previously served as the play-by-play voice of Saint Joseph's University men's and women's basketball teams.
Point of View, Inc. was a privately held developer of video games headquartered in Irvine, California. The company was dissolved in 2010. The company is known for working with Midway Games on many titles including NFL Blitz, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, and MLB Slugfest 2004.
Kelly James Burnham, known professionally as Alan Roach, is an American sports announcer and radio personality. He currently is the public address announcer for the Minnesota Vikings, Colorado Avalanche, and Colorado Rapids. Roach is also the official public address announcer of the Super Bowl, the voice of NFL events worldwide, and a public address announcer at 5 Olympic Games. He is one of the current voices of the underground train system in Denver International Airport. His announcing credits include 13 Super Bowls, 5 Olympic gold medal hockey games, and multiple All-Star games for the National Football League, National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball. He also serves as the announcer in EA Sports' since Madden NFL 21, as well as the FIFA series.
MLB SlugFest: Loaded is a baseball video game developed by Point of View and published by Midway Sports in 2004. It is the third game in the MLB Slugfest series. Sammy Sosa from the Chicago Cubs is the cover athlete.
Joseph Daniel Davis is an American television sportscaster who serves as the lead play-by-play broadcast announcer for Los Angeles Dodgers telecasts on Spectrum SportsNet LA. He also calls national MLB, NFL, and college basketball telecasts for Fox Sports, and has broadcast other pro and college sports for various teams and networks during his career. In addition, he is the main play-by-play broadcaster for the annual World Series and MLB All-Star Game on Fox.
When the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, all major professional and collegiate organizations responded by suspending operations indefinitely. This effect was passed down to the world of sports broadcasting, which includes live coverage of thousands of events on an annual basis through stations and network available over the air, through cable, satellite, and IPTV companies, and via streaming and over-the-top services.
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