I Would Love To See A Game...

[GhostRider]

...that allowed you to go through baseball history.Starting in the 50's or 60's, the game could be a purely PLAY game(where all the trades ,etc,etc happened just likethey did in the real world) or a total fantasy(where you are also the GM in addition to being the player and coach).

I think this would be a great downloadable add-on, or even a second game.The cost would be cheap, since all you would have to do is script some AI for the teams and players, and come up with some extra player animations.The engine itself is already made, so why not, you might make a few extra bucks.

If you make it, they will play.

[Trevytrev11]

I would enjoy it. It probably wouldn't get as much play time as 2K7, but as a fan of baseball history, I'd appreciate it.

Personally, I'd like it more if they went back to the 1900's. The 1900's-1930's was an era that really fascinated me. Ruth, Cobb, Wagner, Jackson, Matthewson, Johnson, Gehrig, etc).

I'd only buy it if:
1) Each team's stadium was available from it's generation (Yankee Stadium of the 30's was significanly different from Yankee Stadium of the 70's) I'd like to see the Polo Grounds, Ebbits field, Crosely Stadium, the original Comiskey, Sportsmans Park, etc. Also, fans could be era specific to the home team. In the days of Ruth, everyone wore suits to the games and photographers were on the field. Also, I wold expect to play in the 1920's and the field wouldn't be as pristine as the fields today. Umpires would have the giant pad on their face.

2) Each team had the ability to play with the equipment for their era (Flannel, baggy jerseys, specific glove styles, no helmets, old spikes, crooked hats)

3) Signiture stances, swings and windups and other animations(Ruths HR trot, Cobbs split hand grip, Satchel Paiges windmill delivery, etc). This might be hard to do, but because of the old school gloves, players back in the days had to catch everything with 2 hands. You might want to include a lot of "Era-specific" animations.

4) Negro league Teams. If not one for each generation, at least one or two All Time Negro League teams.

The game would really have to capture the essence of each generation/era:

Other idea's:

Besides having specific teams (27 yankee's, 54 Giants, etc)
2 Teams of the Greatest all around players combined from All generation (the two teams would have the 50 greatest players ever)
3 Teams of the greatest players from each decade (2 teams each with half of the greatest players and a third with a combination of the two). This allows that both teams could be from the 20's (Say 20's A vs. 20's B) or you could have the 20's vs. the 70's.

Each team could be coached by the best coach of the decade (Casey Stengal, Connie Mack, Sparky Anderson, etc).

[ChunkeyMonkey]

Man, you always have a lot to say Trev lol.

[BlindDeafandMute]

Too esoteric and not enough replay value to sell well enough to do.

[Trevytrev11]

Man, you always have a lot to say Trev lol.

I know...What can I say? I'm really passionate about baseball and I like video games, put them together and I got a lot to say.

[Trevytrev11]

Too esoteric and not enough replay value to sell well enough to do.

I agree...it seems like a one and done product. I mean, I guess you coul re-do it every 5 years for the next gen system, but I don't think it would be worth all of the effort for a one time effort. If everyone bought it this year, there would be no one to buy it next year. And even if it was improved year after year, I don't think most people would buy it because the rosters would likely be stagnant.

Also, say it comes out as an expansion game for 2K8. Well two years down the road, when 2K10 comes out, 2k8's graphics and animations will likely be obsolete and people won't want to dumb down their standards to play the 2K8 game (that likely had some problems that the 2k10 game doesn't), so that they can use old timers.

Like I said, I'd probably buy it, but probably only once. I just don't know how much development $$$ a company would be willing to spend on a game engine that likely has no future use. I think it would have to be an add on. That is the only way that this fiscally makes sense.

[GhostRider]

Too esoteric and not enough replay value to sell well enough to do.

No negative posts on this idea please.I would like 2k to decide that for themselves.What I am looking more for is what Trev did in the way of contributing ideas.

Baseball is a game withh a very rich history and many older fans would love this.

Go to Operation Sports and see how many older gamers there are.

Like I said, the cost really wouldn't be that great, and it could come out later in the year as either a download or an entirely separate game.

[BlindDeafandMute]

I'm just being realistic, not negative. Would you truly have a desire to play the game more than once? What would be the motivation? Is older videogame playing baseball fans a serious demographic to target a game for?

Baseball has a lot of history, but to expierence it the game would have to be linear, which destroys the foundation of competition. I don't understand how the game could sufficiently portray the history of baseball while still at the same time providing the user with an exp. in which they feel they have control of.

[Trevytrev11]

I say if they do it, they do it once every 5 or so years for a quick extra profit.

Take this series and Brinkmans comments that this year, the get it playable. Next year, they fix defense and for 2K9, they bring everything together for the ultimate game.

With that being said, release this game with 2K9. Wait until this series reaches a point where it is just flat out awsome and it's player all share a positive view of the game. Then make the necesarry additions/changes/tweaks to add the "old school game." and release it as an expansion disk or a downloadable extra for like $20 or $30 for the first time. Maybe for following years, it could be a $5 or $10 upgrade or something. That way it's something that is reasonable for people to add every year if they want it. Or some how make the original version compatitble with the future games of the current system. (If you release the "old game" with 2K9, some how make it available to play with 2K10 and 2K11.

Then let it ride out that generation system and then do the same thing a few years later when the next generations of systems come out, but give it a few years so they can perfect the MLB game before releasing it.

[Trevytrev11]

I see it more of a fantasy game then a re-living history game, but that is my take on it. I would play it to see how Babe Ruth would do against Bob Gibson or how Pujols would do against Koufax. I would see how the Big Red Machine would do against Murder's Row.

I don't think I'd try to re-create seasons or even play seasons, but more of a engine for exhibhtion games of historical proportions. It'd be fun to play in a fantasy league online and have Fantasy drafts with players like Cobb, Ruth, etc.

I don't see myself replaying the 1954 season and I don't think a game could support a database of 100 years of teams and players. Your talking tens of thousands of players.
I see it as the 1 or two greatest teams from every year, plus a few teams from each decade of the greatest players from that decade. (You would have to do this or you would leave out some of the greatest players simply because they never played on a Championship team (Ernie Banks, Ted Williams, Ty Cobb). Even with just that, your talking upwards of 200 to 250 teams. So maybe you have to take the 5 or so top teams from each decade so that you only have about 50 or so teams.

[GhostRider]

I don't know, Baseball Mogul is able to process that many players, I don't see why it can't be done.I'm sure it would be a challenge.You could, on a simpler level, simply do as you say and have a 'Fantasy Season' mode where you could have a league full of classic teams that play against one another.I'd rather see a season than just a tourney mode due to the desire to see what kind of stats could be produced.

A playoff stlye tournament would be good too.

I think this is a better idea than 'The Bigs'

[GhostRider]

I'm just being realistic, not negative. Would you truly have a desire to play the game more than once? What would be the motivation? Is older videogame playing baseball fans a serious demographic to target a game for?

Baseball has a lot of history, but to expierence it the game would have to be linear, which destroys the foundation of competition. I don't understand how the game could sufficiently portray the history of baseball while still at the same time providing the user with an exp. in which they feel they have control of.


Absolutely it is a serious demographic and would in my opinion be a serious expansion in overall profit for 2k.

I don't know where people get the idea that only 13 -20 year olds are buying games.I spent a thousand dollars on games this year, at least.

[Trevytrev11]

I don't know, Baseball Mogul is able to process that many players, I don't see why it can't be done.
I've never played baseball Mogul and correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't actually play as the players do you? It's more of a statistic based game (like Strat-o-matic) isn't it?
Maybe they could do something where all of the players/teams are kept online and basically when you start a season or a draft, you only download the players that you need.





I think this is a better idea than 'The Bigs'

I agree 100%.

[BlindDeafandMute]

Absolutely it is a serious demographic and would in my opinion be a serious expansion in overall profit for 2k.

I don't know where people get the idea that only 13 -20 year olds are buying games.I spent a thousand dollars on games this year, at least.

I don't get why you put words in my mouth, I said older video game playing baseball fans, not an older demographic period. First they'd have to meet that criteria, then on top of that be interested in the idea itself, which I doubt many would seeing as they have HOF greats on the games already.

Then this is all not even bringing up the fact that you'd have to get the individual rights of each of these former players seeing as the are not apart of the MLB and their rights would then have to be bought off individually making the price very high. Then of course even that is assuming that you could get enough of them to make the player database respectable.

[GhostRider]

I don't get why you put words in my mouth, I said older video game playing baseball fans, not an older demographic period. First they'd have to meet that criteria, then on top of that be interested in the idea itself, which I doubt many would seeing as they have HOF greats on the games already.

Then this is all not even bringing up the fact that you'd have to get the individual rights of each of these former players seeing as the are not apart of the MLB and their rights would then have to be bought off individually making the price very high. Then of course even that is assuming that you could get enough of them to make the player database respectable.


Hmmm..I wonder how Baseball Mogul affords the rights to all those players?

[Trevytrev11]

Hmmm..I wonder how Baseball Mogul affords the rights to all those players?

Stats are public information and rights don't have to be purchased/obtained in order to use them in a book, a game, etc.. However if you use the actual likeness of a player, that's when you have to obtain rights.

This is also why in most games when you see classic teams, you'll see #34 instead of Dave Stewart or #22 instead of Will Clark. They can get away with this without having to pay to use any of the information.

A few years ago, this almost went (or did go) to litigation. MLB tried to say that they owned the rights to all statistics in order to prevent yahoo, espn, cbs, etc. from using them in fantasy baseball. But it was ruled that all statistics were prublic information and as you know, all of these companies run fantasy football leagues.

[Twinsfan]

A few years ago, this almost went (or did go) to litigation. MLB tried to say that they owned the rights to all statistics in order to prevent yahoo, espn, cbs, etc. from using them in fantasy baseball. But it was ruled that all statistics were prublic information and as you know, all of these companies run fantasy football leagues.

I think this is still pending.

[Trevytrev11]

I think this is still pending.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2289040

This is an article from August that shows that the courts ruled against MLB for Fantasy sports reason's. I don't know if holds true for other things, specifically video games, but I assume that it does.

It's also very likely that MLB appealed the judges ruling and it could be still pending somewhere in the appeals process.