MVP Baseball series

Last updated

MVP Baseball was a baseball game series published by EA Sports, running from 2003 to 2007 with five games produced. In 2003, MVP became the official successor to EA's long-running Triple Play Baseball series, and it simulated Major League Baseball from 2003 to 2005. However, an exclusive licensing deal between Major League Baseball and Take-Two Interactive in 2005 prohibited EA Sports from making another MLB game until 2012. In response, EA made NCAA college baseball games in 2006 and 2007, but discontinued the series in 2008 because of poor sales.

Contents

History

MVP Baseball 2003

MVP Baseball 2003 was released in 2003 as the successor to EA's Triple Play games, though it bore little more than a graphical similarity to its predecessors, which had been heavily maligned by critics in the series' final years. [1]

Introducing an innovative pitch meter and zone-based hitting system (see below), MVP 2003 was well received by critics, most of whom considered the game's overhaul to be a major improvement over Triple Play′s last entry. [2] At the review-aggregation site Metacritic, MVP 2003 was given a score of 81/100 for the PlayStation 2 [3] and 82/100 for the Xbox. [4]

Randy Johnson and Miguel Tejada were the cover players.

The 2003 game is the last game that uses a points system for player's salary, starting with the 2004 game an actual dollar amount is used for salaries. The 2003 game does not penalize a user for releasing a player during the season in franchise mode, whereas the 2004 and 2005 games invoke a salary penalty for releasing a player under contract.

MVP Baseball 2004 & 2005

Building on MVP 2003's surprisingly successful rookie effort, the 2004 edition made major refinements to both the game's control scheme and its dynasty mode. In a baseball gaming first, MVP 2004 was licensed by both the MLB and Minor League Baseball, featuring real minor-league teams at the Class AA & AAA levels. These improvements netted the PS2 and Xbox versions of MVP 2004 twin scores of 90/100 at Metacritic, [5] far outpacing the competing All-Star Baseball 2005 [6] and ESPN Major League Baseball . [7]

Albert Pujols was the cover player for the 2004 installment of the series.

MVP Baseball 2005 brought subtle changes to the MVP 2004 formula, including a "hitter's eye" system with color codes that helped players identify pitch types out of the pitcher's hand, as well as an owner mode, the addition of Class A minor-league teams to dynasty mode, and spring training minigames. Reviewers continued to rate MVP highly, with Metacritic scores of 86 and 87 for the Xbox and PS2 versions, respectively, [8] [9] though MVP 2005′s marks were slightly lower than those of its predecessor. Even so, the game still edged out 2k Sports' Major League Baseball 2K5 among critics. [10]

Reigning World Series MVP Manny Ramirez was featured on the cover of the 2005 installment of the series.

In 2005, MVP Baseball released for PlayStation Portable.

Exclusive licensing deal

In 2005, in response to EA Sports' exclusive license with the National Football League and ESPN, Take-Two Interactive signed an exclusive third-party licensing contract with Major League Baseball (MLB), MLBPA and MLBAM to produce MLB games in its 2K Sports series, making MVP Baseball 2005 the last MLB game in the series. The agreement, which ran from Spring 2006 to 2012, allowed only Take-Two Interactive and the console manufacturers Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo to produce MLB titles for their respective platforms, but bared other third party developers such as EA Sports from continuing or developing their own MLB games.

MVP Baseball 2005 was the last official MLB release from EA Sports, also official support for the game ended. Despite that, a very active modding community exists for the PC version of the game, who kept the game up-to-date the last decade. [11] [12] [13] Modders have added much to the game, including roster updates, uniforms, players, and stadiums, as well as total conversions for foreign and classic teams.

MVP: NCAA Baseball

Barred from making MLB games, EA Sports made college baseball games for 2006 and 2007. Both editions of MVP: NCAA Baseball were officially licensed by the NCAA and released for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. The games featured actual NCAA teams and stadiums, though there were no real players. [14]

A new "load and fire" batting system was integrated in 2006, to be followed by the addition of a "rock and fire" pitching system in 2007, both features that would later be emulated by MLB 11: The Show and Major League Baseball 2K11 on seventh-generation consoles. The 2007 installment also featured online integration with ESPN, including commentary from Mike Patrick and former Stanford All-American Kyle Peterson. Former University of Texas star David Maroul was featured on the cover of MVP 06, while MVP 07′s cover athlete was former Long Beach State pitcher Jered Weaver.

MVP Baseball Online

In South Korea, EA has released 3 games called MVP Baseball Online 2012–2014. [15]

Possible revival

In March 2011, EA Sports released an MLB-licensed game for Facebook called World Series Superstars, which simulates team management, [16] leading to speculation that MVP Baseball would return to consoles after the 2K Sports licensing deal expired in 2012. [17]

In June 2013, EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson told video game blog Polygon "there is an inherent passion for baseball inside EA Sports," but that there were three barriers to EA's willingness to develop a new MLB title: the need for a modern game engine to power the game; EA's focus on other sports titles like NBA Live ; and that the status of MLB's licensing agreement with 2K Sports was unclear to them. [18] In April 2015, an EA Sports spokesman told Grantland that Wilson's comments were "still 'the most accurate reflection' of the company’s position on getting back into baseball: Maybe later, but not now." [19]

Features

Players

Until 2005, the game featured all players in the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), as well as fictionalized counterparts for players who are not in the union. Barry Bonds, while an MLBPA member, did not sign the common MLBPA licensing agreement and was replaced by the fictional Jon Dowd. Some players who are not members of the MLBPA were omitted completely. For example, Kevin Millar, who is not a member of the MLBPA, was omitted completely from the 2004 edition, with David Ortiz leaving his real-life Designated hitter spot and filling at first base for the Boston Red Sox. In MVP Baseball 2005, he was replaced by the fictional Anthony Friese.

MVP Baseball 2004 featured a unique addition to any baseball game, allowing users to play as the Minor League affiliations of Major League teams, a feature that was expanded in the following year. Various editions of the game have featured Randy Johnson, Miguel Tejada, Albert Pujols, and Manny Ramírez on its cover. Of those four, Tejada and Pujols have won Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards during their careers, and the other two have been named MVPs of the World series. Randy Johnson has also won the Cy Young Award five times.

Innovations

Upon its release in 2003, one of the game's most inventive aspects was its pitch/throw meter. Until then, most baseball games' pitching schemes required players simply to press the button corresponding to the pitch they wanted to throw, and hold the button down for a certain length of time to determine how hard the pitch was thrown. In MVP Baseball, the player first holds down the pitch button (or throw button) to judge the power; once the desired power level is attained, the player must release the button and attempt to tap the same button within a target area. The closer the player gets to the target area, the more accurate the pitch or throw will be. While innovative within the field of baseball games, EA in fact adapted this feature from golf games, which often feature a moving meter to determine the power and accuracy of shots (golf games largely abandoned shot meters around the time that MVP Baseball introduced it).

The game also incorporated a strike zone divided into nine areas of the plate designed as "hot and cold zones". The feature uses color-coding with the colors red, white, and blue to represent the player's ability to hit pitches in the given area; red, white, and blue indicate whether the player hits well, neutrally, or poorly, respectively, in the given segment of the strike zone.

Soundtracks

Like all recent EA Sports games, the soundtrack to each MVP Baseball title contains licensed songs, called EA Trax. The MVP Baseball series typically featured alternative rock, ranging from mainstream artists like Sum 41 to indie acts like stellastarr*. The games featured several minor hits before they became popular such as "C'mon C'mon" by The Von Bondies which is also used as the theme song for the TV show Rescue Me .

2003 Soundtrack:

2004 Soundtrack:

2005 Soundtrack:

2006 Soundtrack:

See also

Related Research Articles

A sports game is a video game genre that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports and combat sports. Some games emphasize actually 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. Sports genre is one of the oldest genres in gaming history.

Vladimir Guerrero Dominican baseball player

Vladimir Alvino Guerrero Sr., is a Dominican former professional baseball player and Hall of Famer, who spent 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right fielder and designated hitter. He played for the Montreal Expos (1996–2003), Anaheim Angels / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004–2009), Texas Rangers (2010), and Baltimore Orioles (2011).

EA Sports brand of Electronic Arts

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 tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) with pictures or endorsements with real commentators such as John Madden, it soon grew up to become a sub-label on its own, releasing game series such as FIFA, NHL, NBA Live and Madden NFL.

Don Baylor American baseball player and manager

Don Edward Baylor was an American professional baseball player and manager. During his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), Baylor was a power hitter known for standing very close to home plate and was a first baseman, left fielder, and designated hitter. He played for six different American League (AL) teams, primarily the Baltimore Orioles and California Angels, but he also played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and Boston Red Sox. In 1979, Baylor was an All-Star and won the AL Most Valuable Player Award. He won three Silver Slugger Awards, the Roberto Clemente Award, and was a member of the 1987 World Series champion Minnesota Twins.

Tim Hudson American baseball player

Timothy Adam Hudson is an American former professional baseball pitcher of Major League Baseball (MLB). After spending his college years at Chattahoochee Valley Community College and Auburn University, Hudson played in the major leagues for the Oakland Athletics (1999–2004), the Atlanta Braves (2005–13) and the San Francisco Giants (2014–15). With the Giants, he won the 2014 World Series over the Kansas City Royals.

<i>R.B.I. Baseball</i> (series) Baseball video game series

R.B.I. Baseball is a baseball video game series. R.B.I. is an initialism for "run batted in". Initially launched in 1987, the series initially ran through 1995. In 2014, the series was rebooted as a competitor to MLB: The Show, with releases each year since.

<i>MVP Baseball 2005</i> 2005 video game

MVP Baseball 2005 is a baseball video game developed and published by Electronic Arts. It features then-Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez on its cover. The game features full Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, and Major League Baseball Players Association licenses. It holds the 98th spot on IGN's reader's choice top 100 games ever as of 2006. As with previous versions of the game, the announcers are Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow, real-life announcers for the San Francisco Giants.

Gary Thorne American sportscaster

Gary F. Thorne is an American sports executive. He is the lead play-by-play announcer for MASN. 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 works for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he is the narrator for the WrestleMania Rewind program on its WWE Network streaming video service.

Troy Tulowitzki American baseball player

Troy Trevor Tulowitzki, nicknamed "Tulo", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Colorado Rockies. He also played for the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees.

<i>MVP 06: NCAA Baseball</i> video game

MVP 06: NCAA Baseball is the fourth edition of the baseball video game series developed by Electronic Arts. Because of Electronic Arts' loss of the Major League Baseball (MLB) license to Take Two Interactive in 2005, which now has the exclusive MLB license, the publishers decided to transition the MVP series to feature NCAA baseball, joining the publisher's NCAA football and basketball lines. MVP 06 was released on January 18, 2006 for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 consoles. The athlete on the cover is former Texas Longhorn David Maroul.

MLB 2K was a series of Major League Baseball video games that was developed by Visual Concepts and Kush Games, and published by 2K Sports. There were nine games in the series: 2K5, 2K6, 2K7, 2K8, 2K9, 2K10, 2K11, 2K12 and 2K13. All games were created for each MLB season. The series was created in 2005 after Visual Concepts teamed up with 2K Sports. Visual Concepts called the series World Series and ESPN Major League Baseball in years prior to 2005. In 2014, 2K Games announced that the series had been discontinued, following the release of 2K13.

<i>Major League Baseball 2K7</i> 2007 video game

Major League Baseball 2K7 is a Major League Baseball licensed baseball simulation video game developed by Kush Games and published by 2K Sports. Released on February 27, 2007, it is the only 2007 MLB licensed game available for the Xbox 360 and Xbox. It is also available for the PlayStation Portable, the PlayStation 2 and, for the first time, the PlayStation 3, though its competition came in the form of MLB 07: The Show from 989 Sports. Portable versions for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and Game Boy Advance were released. It is the first baseball game to be released for the Nintendo DS and the last major release for the Xbox game console.

<i>Major League Baseball 2K8</i> 2008 video game

Major League Baseball 2K8, or, in shorter terms, MLB 2K8, is an MLB licensed baseball simulation video game developed by Kush Games and published by 2K Sports for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, and Xbox 360. It was released on March 4, 2008. A demo was released on Xbox Live Marketplace the next day on March 5 for Canada, United States and Asian markets.

Out of the Park Baseball, abbreviated as OOTP, is a text-based baseball simulation for career, historical, and fictional play. OOTP was originally written in 1998, when lead developer Markus Heinsohn sought to combine realistic replay baseball simulation with career play to satisfy hardcore fans and casual gamers alike. "A friend of mine brought home a bat and a glove from a trip to Miami, so we started hitting tennis balls into the neighbor's gardens. That was in 1991," Heinsohn told Inside Mac Games in a July 2012 interview. "We then formed a baseball club and started playing in organized baseball leagues in 1994. In the meantime I played all sorts of baseball computer games, but there was no management-related game that I liked, so in 1998 I decided to simply develop my own game, just for fun. When it was done in 1999, I figured it was probably good enough to earn some money with it, and that's when it all started."

<i>MLB Power Pros</i> 2007 video game

MLB Power Pros is a baseball video game developed by Konami 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. It was released in October 2007, and is published by 2K Sports. 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.

<i>Major League Baseball 2K11</i> video game

Major League Baseball 2K11 or, in short, MLB 2K11, is an MLB licensed baseball simulation video game published by 2K Sports. MLB 2K11 is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and Wii.

<i>Major League Baseball 2K12</i> video game

Major League Baseball 2K12 or, in short, MLB 2K12, is a Major League Baseball licensed baseball simulation video game published by 2K Sports that was released for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, Wii and Xbox 360 on March 6, 2012. The commentary is delivered by the trio of Steve Phillips, Gary Thorne, and John Kruk.

<i>Major League Baseball 2K5</i> 2005 video game

Major League Baseball 2K5 is an MLB licensed baseball simulation video game published by 2K Sports. MLB 2K5 is available for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The first edition of the series, powered by ESPN. Unlike the other "2K5" branded sports games, This was published by 2K Sports, making it the first Visual Concepts-developed sports game not to be published by Sega, though Sega's logos are still seen in the background of menus and ballparks. The game included Web Gems instant replays, K-Zone pitching, Slam Zone hitting, and baserunner mode. The game was released in late February 2005 on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles. The cover baseball player was New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. Later that year, an upgraded version titled Major League Baseball 2K5: World Series Edition was released during the 2005 MLB postseason.

Pitch clock A pitch clock is used in various levels of baseball to limit the amount of time a pitcher uses before he throws the ball to the hitter

A pitch clock is used in college baseball and Minor League Baseball to limit the amount of time a pitcher uses before he throws the ball to the hitter. This is one measure that has accelerated the pace of play.

Pace of play is an issue concerning college baseball and professional baseball regarding the length of games.

References

  1. ↑ "Triple Play 2002 (PlayStation 2)". IGN.
  2. ↑ Robinson, Jon (11 March 2003). "MVP Baseball 2003".
  3. ↑ "MVP Baseball 2003". Metacritic.
  4. ↑ "MVP Baseball 2003". Metacritic.
  5. ↑ "MVP Baseball 2004". Metacritic.
  6. ↑ "All-Star Baseball 2005". Metacritic.
  7. ↑ "ESPN Major League Baseball". Metacritic.
  8. ↑ "MVP Baseball 2005". Metacritic.
  9. ↑ "MVP Baseball 2005". Metacritic.
  10. ↑ "Major League Baseball 2K5". Metacritic.
  11. ↑ Nine Years Later, Latin America's Leagues Keep MVP Baseball Alive on Kotaku by Owen Good (12/22/13)
  12. ↑ Lindbergh, Ben (April 14, 2015). "'MVP Baseball … 2015'? How the Best Baseball Video Game Ever Has Refused to Retire for 10 Years". Grantland.com. Another factor in MVP’s favor: The game allows greater access to its innards than most titles. [...] 2K’s failure to match MVP’s approval rating despite several years of running unopposed on the PC market, made MVP the go-to game for modders even as it lost its looks relative to 2K and The Show. The community’s support peaked from 2005 through the first PC edition of 2K in 2009, tailed off for a time, and then ramped up again once Take-Two abandoned the PC market in 2013 and canceled 2K entirely last year. A decade of EA development made MVP the best baseball game on the PC market in 2005, and a decade of amateur development has helped it keep that title in 2015.
  13. ↑ Open-Source-Breathes-New-Life-Into-MVP-Baseball-2005-Video-Game on protecode.com by Sara Purdon (on Sep 15, 2015)
  14. ↑ Westmoreland, Sam. "NBA 2K11 and The 50 Greatest Sports Games Ever Made".
  15. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-07-13. Retrieved 2013-07-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ↑ "Now at the Facebook plate: EA Sports' 'World Series Superstars' video game".
  17. ↑ "Video Games – EA Sports jumping back into baseball? – ESPN". ESPN.com.
  18. ↑ Sarkar, Samit (21 June 2013). "EA faces barriers to entry for a baseball franchise, says EA Sports chief Andrew Wilson". Polygon.
  19. ↑ Lindbergh, Ben (14 April 2015). "'MVP Baseball … 2015'? How the Best Baseball Video Game Ever Has Refused to Retire for 10 Years".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.