MLB 2K
MLB 2Kwas a series ofbaseballvideo gamesthat was developed byVisual ConceptsandKush Games,and published by2K.The series was licensed by, and based on, theMajor League Baseballprofessional baseballorganization. It was a successor to theWorld Series Baseballgames, which were published bySega.
In 2014, 2K announced that the series had been discontinued, following the release of2K13.[1]
2005[edit]
The first edition of the series, and the only game to feature theESPNbranding. 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 thePlayStation 2andXboxconsoles. The cover baseball player was Yankee shortstopDerek Jeter.Later that year,World Series 2K5was released during the 2005 MLB postseason.
In 2005, in response toEA Sports' exclusive license with theNational Football Leagueand ESPN prohibiting anyNFL 2Kgames for the foreseeable future, Take-Two Interactive signed an exclusive third-party licensing contract with Major League Baseball (MLB), MLBPA, and MLBAM to produce MLB games. The agreement, which runs from Spring 2006 to 2012, allows for the console manufacturers Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo to produce MLB titles for their respective platforms, but bars third party developers such as EA Sports from continuing or developing their own MLB games.
2006[edit]
The 2006 edition,Major League Baseball 2K6,had the ESPN presentation and trademarks removed but the commentary team ofJon MillerandJoe Morganremained intact. The game included Inside Edge scouting, Swing Stick hitting, and Payoff Pitching. The game was released on April 3, 2006, for thePlayStation 2andXbox;April 10 for theXbox 360,and April 13 for thePSP.The game was also released for theGameCube,making it the first andonly MLB 2Ktitle to ever appear on the system. The cover baseball player was once again Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter.
2007[edit]
The 2007 edition,Major League Baseball 2K7,featured a major overhaul on the "next gen" systems, theXbox 360and thePlayStation 3,featuring a near-photorealistic pitcher/batter interface. For the third year in a row, Derek Jeter was the cover player. The GameCube was dropped as a platform, and theWiiversion was not developed. The major leap in gameplay and graphics were largely attributed to the addition of Ben Brinkman toKush Games;Brinkman had been the lead developer for theMVP Baseball seriesof games.
2008[edit]
The 2008 edition,Major League Baseball 2K8was available for theXbox 360,PlayStation 2,PlayStation 3,PlayStation Portable,and, for the first time, theWii.José Reyeswas the new cover athlete, taking over for Jeter. A special version of the game was developed for theNintendo DScalledMajor League Baseball 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars,which featured fantasy elements such as power-ups and fantasy stadiums.
2009[edit]
The 2009 edition,Major League Baseball 2K9,represented the final act of a planned three-year development cycle that started with2K7.Tim Lincecumreplaced Reyes as the cover athlete and was released for theXbox 360,PlayStation 2,PlayStation 3,PlayStation Portable,Wii,and, for the first time,Windows PC.The game changed announcers as well;MLB 2K9replacedJon MillerandJoe MorganwithGary Thornefor play by play andSteve Phillipsfor color commentary.MLB Front Office Managerrepresents the first foray intosports managementgames for 2K Sports, as well as the second PC game, afterNBA 2K9.Major League Baseball 2K9 Fantasy All-Starswas the second in the series for the Nintendo DS.
2010[edit]
Major League Baseball 2K10,like its counterpartNBA 2K10,is being feted over its 10th anniversary, and was released forMicrosoft Windows,Xbox 360,PlayStation 2,PlayStation 3,PlayStation Portable,Nintendo DS,andWii.Evan Longoriareplaced Tim Lincecum as the new cover athlete.
2011[edit]
Major League Baseball 2K11was released forMicrosoft Windows,Xbox 360,PlayStation 2,PlayStation 3,PlayStation Portable,Wii,andNintendo DS.Roy Halladayreplaced Evan Longoria as the cover athlete.
2012[edit]
Major League Baseball 2K12was announced after the release ofNBA 2K12.The game was released on March 6, 2012. It was released on theXbox 360,PlayStation 2,PlayStation 3,Windows PC,PlayStation Portable,Wii,andNintendo DS.It was the lastMLB 2Kgame to be released for the PlayStation 2, likeNBA 2K12was the last 'NBA 2Kfor the system.
Justin Verlanderreplaced Roy Halladay as the cover athlete. The game was slightly criticized for a copyand paste with a roster update butMLB 2K12did improve on graphics. For PS2 users it took a step backwards and looked similar to2K6.2K12 was the last planned game under the exclusive licensing agreement and in a last-minute decision, they renewed their license with MLB to make a 2013 Game.
2013[edit]
Featured on the2K13cover isDavid Priceof theTampa Bay Raysreplacing Justin Verlander. The game is almost the same as2K12,but with some online features missing and updated rosters. However, the game was not received well due to the lack of new features and the removal of league play. This was eventually the last game in the series.[2]
In May 2013,Nexonlaunched an online spinoff version ofMLB 2KnamedPro Baseball 2K(Korean: 프로야구 2K) exclusively in South Korea, however the game's servers were shut down in 2014, making it unplayable. In December 2013, 2K Sports said that they will only focus onNBAandWWEGames for now on and have no further plans to make any moreMLBGames.
Cover Athlete[edit]
| Game | Cover Star | |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Team | |
| MLB 2K5 | Derek Jeter | New York Yankees |
| MLB 2K6 | ||
| MLB 2K7 | ||
| MLB 2K8 | José Reyes | New York Mets |
| MLB 2K9 | Tim Lincecum | San Francisco Giants |
| MLB 2K10 | Evan Longoria | Tampa Bay Rays |
| MLB 2K11 | Roy Halladay | Philadelphia Phillies |
| MLB 2K12 | Justin Verlander | Detroit Tigers |
| MLB 2K13 | David Price | Tampa Bay Rays |
References[edit]
- ^Sarkar, Samit."2K Sports pullsMLB 2Kgames offline, not renewing series for 2014 (update) ".Polygon.RetrievedSeptember 12,2014.
- ^"MLB 2Kseries is finished ".