There may be no “I” in team, but there’s definitely a Jennifer Lopez—at least if your name is Alex Rodriguez. The engaged couple brought their blended families together—J.Lo’s 12-year-old daughter, Emme, and Rodriguez’s girls, Natasha (15) and Ella (11)—for a backyard game of baseball during this period of social distancing.
BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 15, 2003--As the baseball season begins, Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFGM) and Major League Baseball Properties have announced that a new game, Backyard Baseball(TM) for Nintendo GameCube(TM), has shipped to retail stores nationwide. Backyard Baseball for Nintendo GameCube is the newest game in the award-winning Backyard Sports(TM) line-up, the only series that lets kids play with kid-sized versions of professional athletes. In Backyard Baseball for Nintendo GameCube, some of today's hottest Major League Baseball stars, including Alex Rodriguez, Texas Rangers(TM) shortstop and Backyard Baseball highlight player, play alongside the 30 Backyard Kids(TM) that are found in every Backyard Sports game.'We are excited to be teaming up with Major League Baseball Properties to deliver a new baseball experience to the console market,' said Petrina McPhee, director of brand marketing for Infogrames' kids' line. 'Backyard Baseball for Nintendo GameCube builds on the success of the Backyard Sports franchise while adding rich 3D environments and action.'
In addition to Rodriguez, Backyard Baseball for Nintendo GameCube features nine other Major League Baseball athletes including Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants(TM), Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers(TM), Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners(TM), the New York Yankees(TM) Derek Jeter, Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks(TM), Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox(TM), Mike Piazza of the New York Mets(TM), Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs(TM) and Jim Thome of the Philadelphia Phillies'(TM). Kids create their line-ups by choosing from the 10 Major League Baseball pros and the 30 Backyard Kids.
In Backyard Baseball for Nintendo GameCube, players select to play as one of the 30 Major League Baseball teams or design their own team by choosing custom team names and uniforms. Then it's off to the field where kids can choose one of seven fields and whether they want to play a single game or a season's worth.
The difficulty level (Rookie, Pro or All Star), game length (six or nine innings) and season length (18 or 32 game season) can be chosen and other options like powers-ups, pitch locator, stamina, errors and draft style can be turned on or off. If the power-ups option is selected, kids have the chance to play well and earn pitching power-ups like the 'Fireball' or the 'Fang' and batting power-ups like the 'Screaming Line Drive' or the 'Sonic Boom.' Players can also unlock two fields and a secret player, Abner Dubbleplay.
Backyard Baseball for Nintendo GameCube also contains 'Home Run Derby,' a practice area where players can practice hitting homers to see who is the top power hitter, and a 'Hall of Fame(TM) where players can check out the record books to see which teams and coaches have the greatest achievements in Backyard Baseball history.
Developed by Humongous Entertainment, Backyard Baseball for Nintendo GameCube is suited for ages 7 and up and is available at retail nationwide for an approximate retail price of $29.99. The award-winning Backyard Sports line-up also includes the new Backyard Soccer(TM) 2004 PC CD-ROM game as well as the Backyard Hockey(TM), Backyard Basketball(TM), Backyard Baseball(TM) 2003 and Backyard Football(TM) 2002 CD-ROM games. Other console games currently available are Backyard Football for Nintendo GameCube(TM) and Backyard Football and Backyard Baseball for Nintendo's(R) Game Boy(R) Advance system. Additional information about the Backyard Sports games and Infogrames' other kids games can be found at www.funkidsgames.com.
About Infogrames
Backyard Baseball Alex Rodriguez Girlfriend
New York-based Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFGM) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ titles are distributed under two brand lines: ATARI, hard-core, genre-defining games such as Driver(TM), Enter the Matrix(TM), Neverwinter Nights(TM), Stuntman(TM), Test Drive(R), Unreal(R) Tournament 2003, and Unreal(R) Championship; and INFOGRAMES, mass-market and children's games such as Backyard Sports(TM), Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues(TM) and Dora the Explorer(TM), Civilization(R), Dragon Ball Z(R) and RollerCoaster Tycoon(R). Infogrames, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext 5257), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.infogrames.com.
(C) 2003 Infogrames Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
(C) 2003 Humongous Entertainment, a division of Infogrames, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
(TM), (R), Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo GameCube are trademarks of Nintendo. (C) 2001 Nintendo.
Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. Visit Major League Baseball on the web at MLB.com
(C) MLBPA-Official Licensee, Major League Baseball Players Association. Visit the Players Choice on the web at www.bigleaguers.com.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
| Backyard Baseball | |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Developer(s) | Humongous Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Humongous Entertainment Infogrames Atari The Evergreen Group |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Wii, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Xbox 360, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, Macintosh |
| First release | Backyard Baseball October 24, 1997 |
| Latest release | Backyard Sports: Baseball 2015 |
Backyard Baseball is a series of baseballvideo games for children which was developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Atari. It was first released in October 1997 for Macintosh and Microsoft Windows. Later games were featured on Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, and iOS. It is part of the Backyard Sports series. There have been eleven different versions of the game since 1997. Some of the game titles that were created include Backyard Baseball, Backyard Baseball 2001-2010, and Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers.
The original game consisted of 30 neighborhood kids from which the gamer could choose to play.[1] Over the years, the idea of 'Pro players as kids' became popular, and the original statistics and looks of the players changed. Some of the professional players that were available included Chipper Jones, Frank Thomas, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Ichiro Suzuki, Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome, Albert Pujols, Nomar Garciaparra, Ken Griffey Jr., and Barry Bonds. As the game progresses, there are some professionals that become available or 'unlockable' including Randy Johnson, Derek Jeter, and Mike Piazza.
In Backyard Baseball, players take a managerial role by creating a team of different players to compete against opponents. In the different installments, a player could play an exhibition game or a 14, 16 or 32 game season (different versions vary) followed by the 'Backyard Baseball League' playoffs, which contains the American League and National League divisional series, the AL and NL championship series and finally the 'Backyard Baseball World Series'. Series games will vary per game.
This game has various playable modes, they include: Single Game, Batting Practice, Spectator, and Season Game.
In 2013, The Evergreen Group acquired the intellectual property from Atari.
Legacy[edit]
Pablo Sanchez, one of the playable characters in the game, has been regarded as one of the strongest characters in video game history.[2][3][4]
The game has also been noted for its diversity (gender, race) of characters, both in ratio of white to non-white and male to female, as well as skill level and the distribution of the best characters.[5]
Power-Ups[edit]
Sometimes accompanying the four standard batting modes (Power, Line Drive, Grounder and Bunt), some beneficial power-ups appear. In the original Backyard Baseball, these batting power-ups appeared when the player got a hit when the computer used a 'crazy pitch' (see below). Starting from Backyard Baseball 2001, the power ups were awarded after a hit off a 'crazy pitch' and when the player turned a double play or triple play on defense. In addition to these batting power-ups, pitching power-ups, or 'crazy pitches,' also progressively appear, though they are much more frequent and in number, occurring whenever the player strikes an opponent out. These pitches consume much more energy and causes the strike zone to expand, so most of the pitches given are never used consecutively. In addition to the 'crazy pitches,' a strikeout may also award the player 'More Juice,' a full energy recharge for the pitcher that can be used when the player sees fit to use it.
Backyard Baseball 2001
Batting Power-Ups
- Aluminum Power: This power-up is the most valued and can disappear after one or no tries when in use. Players use an aluminum bat to increase the chances to hit a home run.
- Screaming Line Drive: The power-up last about two uses and appears more frequently. Players hit a fast line drive to the wall and allows the batter to run more or all bases.
- Under Grounder: This move lasts at least two uses. Players hit a ground ball that goes into the ground, causing the ball to reappear in any random area of the outfield.
- Crazy Bunt: The move disappears after one or no tries when in use, but if the power-up is used sparingly, the move can last up to four uses. When the ball is hit, the ball rolls around the field erratically as fielders just barely miss catching it.
Pitching Power-Ups
- Big Freeze: The ball is thrown like normal but suddenly stops just before it enters the strike zone, often faking the hitter into swinging at the pitch.
- Elevator: The ball is thrown low along the ground and then the ball suddenly jumps into the air at the last moment.
- Crazyball: the ball 'laughs' when thrown, and it moves in random directions in the air. Easier to hit if swingspot is enabled
- Corkskrew: The ball makes a spiral motion through the air. Easier to hit if swingspot is enabled
- Zigzag: The ball makes a zig-zag motion through the air. Easier to hit if swingspot is enabled
- Slomo: The ball travels very slowly through the air, requiring precise timing to be hit.
- Spitball: The ball is covered with saliva and jerks in the air.
- Fireball: One of the most powerful pitches, the ball blazes past the batter in a ball of fire at an incredibly high speed. When used by a player, this pitch is the most draining of the pitcher's stamina.
Backyard Baseball 2005
Batting Power-Ups
- Sonic Boom: The player knocks down opposing fielders with a super-powerful shockwave.
- Rubber Bat: The batter bounce a grounder really high into the air — the player will have a chance to reach base before any fielder catches the ball.
- Butter Fingers: The player will splatter the opposing fielders with butter. They'll have a slippery time trying to field your hit.
- Jumping Bean Bunt: This tricky power-up makes the ball jump all over the place!
- Lightning Bat: Produce tremendous power when you connect with the ball.
- Geyser Hit: The batter makes the ball burrow deep underground before it suddenly surfaces somewhere in the outfield.
- Piñata Bat: The batter drives fielders crazy when the ball is hit, the ball multiplies into dozens of bouncing baseballs.
- Orbiter: Knock the stuffing out of the ball.
Pitching Power-Ups
- The Fang: The Fang looks like a normal curve-ball, but it bites hard at the last second and goes straight into the dirt.
- Freezer: The Freezer stops just before reaching the strike zone, pauses briefly, and then continues.
- Slo MO: This ball starts moving at ultra-slow speed just before reaching the strike zone.
- Juice Box: The Juice Box will refill your pitcher's Pitch Juice Box.
- Rainbow Pop-up: When it's hit, the ball goes straight into the air for an easy out.
- Crazy Pitch: The Crazy Pitch is so wild that even the pitcher doesn't know where it will go.
- Splitball: This pitch splits into two separate curve-balls, one of which is a fake, unhittable baseball.
- Fireball: The Fireball is so fast it can burn a hole in your catcher's glove.
Installments[edit]
| Title | Year | Platforms |
|---|---|---|
| Backyard Baseball | October 24, 1997 | Macintosh, Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Baseball 2001 | May 19, 2000 | Macintosh, Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Baseball | 2002 | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard Baseball 2003 | 2002 | Macintosh, Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Baseball | 2003 | Nintendo GameCube |
| Backyard Baseball | 2004 | PlayStation 2 |
| Backyard Baseball 2005 | 2004 | Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Baseball 2006 | 2005 | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard Sports: Baseball 2007 | 2006 | Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Baseball 09 | 2008 | Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 2, Windows |
| Backyard Baseball 10 | 2009 | Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 2 |
| Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers | 2010 | Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Sports: Baseball 2015 | 2015 | iOS, Android published by Fingerprint Network |
References[edit]
- ^https://www.theringer.com/features/2017/10/10/16451300/backyard-baseball-20-year-anniversary
- ^http://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2017/06/23/backyard-baseball-computer-game-history
- ^http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/03/the-25-best-virtual-athletes-in-video-games/pablo-sanchez
- ^http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1990299-most-terrifying-video-game-athletes-to-play-against
- ^Delayo, Mike. 'The Inclusive Legacy of Backyard Baseball'. Fangraphs.
External links[edit]
| Wikiquote has quotations related to: Backyard Baseball |