I just wrapped a conference call with other media outlets and some developers from 2K Sports. The topic? MLB 2K10, the newest baseball offering from 2K Sports that’s due out next Tuesday. The conference call included Producer Ben Bishop and Gameplay Designers Jonathan Rivera and Sean Bailey, all from 2K Sports.
At the outset, we were given a brief introduction to MLB 2K10. The most important point to take away is that 2K10 has been completely reworked from 2K9. MLB 2K9 marked the first year that Visual Concepts/2K Sports took over development from Kush Games. Naturally, 2K9 suffered from some of the same challenges that Visual Concepts ran into with taking over development of NHL 2K9 — a new code base, a limited development cycle — and the end result was an inferior product to the competition.
This year, the team has had far more time to develop, and they’ve really got a handle on the code. Rather than trying to fix and patch up shortcomings of 2K9, the team started nearly from scratch and worked on things like fielding, hitting, pitching, AI, physics, cameras, and animations. In fact, over two hundred new animations were created for infielders alone, and not just of the highlight variety either — many of these animations are more casual, which reflects the general pace of the game in real life.
So, besides updated rosters and overhauled gameplay, what else is new? We asked, they answered. Players will now have a career mode to enjoy, which was something the developers just didn’t have time for last year. My Player mode allows you to take a player from the Minors through to a seat in Cooperstown. 2K10 will also feature MLB Today, which is not unlike NBA Today that was a part of NBA 2K10. Everything from the daily news and updates to the Dynamic Commentary that helped make NBA 2K10 so cool is a part of MLB 2K10 now — just another advantage of having the different sports games all developed in house.
A variety of questions were posed to the developers regarding just about every aspect of the game. Some questions pertained to the million dollar MLB 2K10 challenge as well — you can bet that will get some people interested in 2K10 if they weren’t already, and it’ll be really interesting to see who pulls it off. Anyway, here are some of the highlight questions of the call and their answers; keep in mind these are paraphrased, not direct quotes, but the information is accurate.
-What made you go with Evan Longoria for cover athlete? Longoria is a young and upcoming star, but he’s also a big gamer who was really interested in the development of 2K10.
-Who’s this year’s highest rated player? How are ratings determined? Albert Pujols. Our stats guy looks at old school and new school stats. A weight system is applied that includes a players stats from the past three years, especially last year, and their common perception.
-What kind of DLC will there be? No DLC outside of roster updates for now, but but maybe in the future.
-What type of online integration is there? Similar to NHL and NBA 2K10, online is far more accessible this year. Any time you’re at a Team Select screen, you can invite a friend in to play against you. Franchise mode, Home Run Derby, the Trading Card game, Exhibitions, all of these can be played online. Plus, we have full online leagues, with 30 teams going through a full 162 game season.
-How many players are supported for multiplayer? Just one versus one. Unless you’re at bat or pitching, there isn’t really that much to do, unlike NHL or NBA games. Having more simultaneous players at once is something we may do something with in the future.
-Is there support for “drop in / drop out” (where a player can come and go in a multiplayer game as they please)? No, you have to start a game at the start, during the Team Select screen. You cannot just come in at the fourth inning for example.
-What additions are there to Franchise mode? We have a forty man roster this year, a draft in middle of year where you can call players out of the Minors, and a Trade Finder. With Trade Finder, you can put your player that you want to trade on the block and CPU teams will come back at you with offers. Super Sim is new too; you can simulate each at bat, half innings, etc. It makes getting through games a lot quicker, but you can stop the simulation and pop in to play at anytime. Super Sim is available in all modes.
-What makes this accessible to players who haven’t played that many baseball games? Intuitive controls for one, but we also provide a lot more feedback to the player, if they want to see it. Feedback, including pitch and swing analyzers, are meant to show you what you’re doing right and wrong — good for newcomers and vets alike.
-What’s changed with pitching? Pitching was another area we completely reworked. This year, the pitch count means a lot more. Not that many pitchers pitch an entire game, so players will need to be more weary of the status of their pitcher. Mound visits by the manager have been updated, too. Mound visits include two types, composure based and stamina based, so you can decide which area you want to address during the mound visit.
We’ve also spent a lot of time trying to get base stealing down. Achieving a balance in a baseball game to where the base stealing isn’t too easy or hard is difficult, but we think we have managed to reach a good balance.
And as for how the pitching system has changed, it’s loosely based on the simplified (from 2K8) system that was in 2K9, but this time it’s easier to throw exactly the pitch you want.
-And hitting? What’s changed? With hitting, it’s all about timing. Zone hitting isn’t really a part of the game, but getting your timing down is key this year.
-What determines when a batter’s eye appears? The batter’s eye comes into play especially for those players that take a lot of walks. We’ve include a rating for batter’s eye as well to help gamers compare players.
-Changes for Fielding? Fielding was also re-written this year to help the AI move and behave with more intelligence. Improvements have been made to get proper base throws down. In fact, for gamers who like to anticipate, you can pick your throw before your fielder has even gotten control of the ball, so that he immediately reacts the way you want him to after he has a handle on the ball.
-Are the stadium home run celebrations accurate? We’ve include all stadium home run celebrations this year, so yes.
-Will there be legendary players? Uniforms? We do have some legendary players like Nolan Ryan and Yogi Berra and others, as well as some classic AL and NL teams. We also have throwback uniforms, but we do not have any throwback stadiums this year.
MLB 2K10 ships for Xbox 360/PS3/Wii/PC/PS2/PSP/NDS on Tuesday, March 2nd. Check back for our review of the PS3 version next week.
