MLB 2K9 Conference Call Recap

by pastapadre
Posted February 20th, 2009 at 8:32 pm

mlb2k90220c

Earlier this afternoon I had the opportunity to participate in the media conference call for MLB 2K9 with Lead Features Designer Erick Boenisch and Gameplay Producer Jonathan Rivera. Along with Chase from OS we live blogged the call. You can catch the transcript here.

I also wanted to write up a recap to go accompany the live blog. These calls usually provide a good overview of the game as some of the attendees have not followed the pre-release progress and the questions reflect that. Still there is always a good deal to discuss after them. Continue on to read my full recap.

First to get the biggest news out of the way they stated that the demo will be out next week. There was no further clarification as to the dates or what the demo entails. So it could be next Tuesday for the 360 and Thursday for the PS3, or they may both end up getting it on Thursday.

The studio move to Visual Concepts has been a highly discussed topic and a reason for optimism. They stated that they didn’t feel any pressure, that it was more excitement at getting to take over the title and implement their ideas into it. What they focused on was centrally the gameplay but also making the game more accessible, fixing the framerate, franchise mode, and the presentation. Their aim was for authenticity.

The framerate was stated to be at 60fps, and they were much more confident in their statements regarding this than last year. I don’t have the feeling that the framerate will negatively affect the actual gameplay as they specifically stated 60fps when the ball was in play. Last year when the claim of 60fps was made it was much more general and the tone gave away that there was a problem looming.

VC started over with the franchise mode making sure they had a good base to work from. After that they were able to incorporate things such as an all new player progression system, more realistic stats, and player ambitions (some examples being playing time, money, location, team prestige, winning).

The topic of “meatballs” came up and they seemed to be as frustrated with that element as everyone else was. So those are out. I don’t believe I remember them detailing what a mistake pitch now does though. It won’t be the meatball situation regardless where you are severely punished for any mistake made.

What is it about MLB 2K9 that separates it from the competition? According to them it is the pitching and hitting controls that use the right analog stick. I enjoyed some aspects of the right analog pitching, though my main issue still will probably be having my hand out of position when I need to react quickly to a ball in play. I’ve never been a fan of the swing stick but at least they did remove the pull back timing requirement. What concerns me is check swinging, which they stated is not changed from last year and would remain very difficult to do.

The real time presentation came up at different points, everyone is probably familiar with what that is all about after watching gameplay videos. Other areas mentioned that tie into it are the dynamic crowd which will react to specific situations and the new commentary team that provides a fresh feel to the game.

The Inside Edge feature that has been in the game for a couple years was mentioned and I got the impression that this was how they were explaining off the complaints about the CPU swinging at every strike. As I stated in the live blog I don’t know how everyone will feel about that as the reasoning behind it or as a potential way to attack a CPU batter and see them taking pitches.

2K8’s online play was arguably the worst performance wise of any sports title this generation. Naturally this was brought up and they believe that online will run close to the experience offline in most cases. I can’t help but remain pessimistic before playing myself though since they discussed all the improvements that had supposedly been made in the conference call for NBA 2K9’s online and we know how that one turned out. All of 2K’s titles have really struggled in the last year with online play so they’ll need to break that cycle before anyone can feel confident about it. I do think that the improved framerate in general will probably be a factor in better performance though.

Online leagues have been improved with the return of flex schedules (one example) as well as the MLB.com interface. I’m also glad that they got the video highlights and screenshot uploading in too. However the complaints about having no ranked lobbies has not been addressed as they’ve kept the same structure that NBA and NHL 2K9 had due to the Team 2K competition. Overall though If they get the lag worked out I like the potential of this being a fun head-to-head game.

MLB 2K9 follows the NBA franchise by introducing Living Rosters. This is being completed in the same manner as the NBA 2K9. Updates will come the same day in cases of big transactions, and less frequently (maybe weekly?) when there has not been any major transactions. With the number of players in MLB vs NBA, the constant shifting of lineups, frequent trips to/from the DL list, and the movement between the majors and minors this appears to be a much larger undertaking. It’ll be interesting to see how well it is handled.

The trading cards were talked about on a couple occasions.I actually like the cards for what they attempt to do, whether they succeeded with the improvements they made this year vs last we shall see but they did address many of the complaints with them. You can take card teams online but can’t use them for leagues.

While MLB 2K9 had the World Baseball Classic included, 2K9 does not. The definitive no didn’t provide much hope for it to be offered as downloadable content either.

The PC version was asked about and it is similar to NBA 2K9. It is a 360 port and doesn’t have any online elements to it. For $20 anyone who enjoys gaming on the PC would probably be able to get good value out of it. The goal is to grow the baseball gaming market and it was something they were able to produce relatively easily.

In probably the most awkward moment of the call a question regarding the Wii version was posed. After a few seconds of silence it was stated that Visual Concepts does not develop the Wii version and they had no idea of anything about it. Obviously that isn’t a good sign for anyone who was hoping that the Wii would be getting a quality offering this year.

Coming out of the call I think that we’re looking at a much improved product. I enjoy the flow that is being provided by the real time presentation and the gameplay looks to have the fun factor back. Obvious concerns right now would be the CPU swinging at every strike and online performance. The demo next week is one of the most intriguing ones I can remember considering the circumstances and will play a big part in how confident consumers feel about the product as we near release.

Tags: latest news

Mets09

Well I played past years MLB the show and the guys seemed too blocky and the game play really wasn't too much of a baseball feel, the little things matter more in a video baseball game to make it feel more like baseball, so all the in depth real time feel and extra details here and there will make or break the feel of the game. 2nd of all any big gamer knows PS is geared towards the everyday just wanna have fun gamer and Xbox more towards the top competitive gamers, and that's not just talking about sport games. Although I'm not bashing PS3 because it is a top notch system and has many games that are better then some xbox, I'm just saying to come and say The Show blows it out of the water is just dumb and seeing the Exclusively for PS makes many of the PS3 owners think its awesome.

Pierre

MLB2k9 couldnt even ad World Baseball Classic to this year.Thats unacceptable!They had it in MLB2k6 and it was tossed together with fake players and without the proper Tournament setup!, but they still had it.Being that I bought a PS3 because I know of 2ks unprofessionalism with baseball.Come on thats lammmmmmmme that they couldnt ad The World Cup of Baseball.Being that they have exclusive rights and all!That really disgust me!I would bought 2k if they had The Classic, but they dont!So I guess I'll just stick to The Show again!

Jonah Falcon

"I don’t believe I remember them detailing what a mistake pitch now does though."

During the X-Play preview, they stated that when a pitcher throws a mistake, the pitch is more hittable in context. That is, curves hang, fastballs straighten, etc.

Quality Control

*you're obviously slightly delusional.*

Quality Control

Dear Mister Woods,

You said you laugh at The Show's player models. Well, I've been laughin' everytime I watch MLB 2K9's player models walk like hunchbacks with no confidence who just shit themselves. You criticize The Show for their player models and the control scheme, but I doubt 5% of human beings with normal or above normal intelligence would agree with you, which is fine, but obviously slightly delusional. Cross your fingers that MLB 2K9 lives up to the hype surrounding it..

pastapadre

I think the comments section is valuable, but alas it is just comments. I'd recommend you check out the forum if you want to have deeper discussions. That might be more of what you're looking for.

Skihawks

That is a crazy glitch. I played over 300 games of The Show and never experienced any glitches.

I don't believe any game is perfect however The Show, in my opinion, does everything better than 2K.

Now, this is said without having played 2K9. I agree that the framerate issue will be squashed this year. The videos I saw were pretty smooth.

In talking of NBA 2K9, the game had glitches and, again in my opinion, 2K has recycled the game since 2K6 which isn't necessarily bad. If it ain't broke don't fix it fits the bill here.

I think MLB 2K8 hurt 2K in that it took a huge step backward from 2K7, which was a sweet game. It just seems that 2K overall has been struggling with quality. All-Pro Football was terrible and Don King was crap. The only concern I have with 2K9 is the missing details and uniform inaccuracies.

Things I have seen from the vids:

1) Boston's logo on the hat is way too big (Think old Madden versions of the Cowboys star)
2) Number placement on jerseys (Reds alternate is a big one)
3) Fonts of last names the same for every team (2K was one of the first companies to get this right so I have no idea why they wouldn't get it right now)
4) The obvious ad placement and stadium adjustments made to fit these ads
5) The outfielders cro-hop every time they throw the ball, regardless of the situation

People can say that these are small gripes but these detract from the immersion...Things I like from the vids:

1) The camera -- The cam behind the pitcher looks like a broadcast and the view when the ball is hit to the outfield. These cams are sweet
2) The frame rate looks much better
3) Pitcher animations look real good

I like the HR Derby but haven't been a fan of this game mode for the simple reason once you get the hang of it, hitting HRs gets too easy. To have a HR Derby it should include fatigue and other things that make hitting HRs more challenging. You ask any major league player, hitting HRs in a Home Run Derby is the difficult because there is added pressure....

Skihawks

What I don't understand is why EA wouldn't make a college baseball game. The game would sell, especially on the 360 which has no competition.

Also, I don't understand why Microsoft doesn't make first party sports titles. Links 2004 was a great golf game and they would be able to create a MLB game since it would be first party....Opportunities lost, in my opinion....

pastapadre

Very little interest in college baseball. They tried it with 06 and 07 and the games didn't sell. The cost of developing a new baseball engine is probably too much to justify for a college game. Peter Moore just recently stated they have nothing in the works for baseball. I was hoping they'd do something, even if on the PC, that could be a more customizable or MMO type game.

Skihawks

The reason there was little interest, in my opinion, is that the games were not up to the standards of MVP. I didn't think the graphics engine was the best. I know the game was supposed to be like MVP but it wasn't close.

If EA created a new college game with an engine that could be used as a stepping stone for future MVP titles (When the 2K contract expires with the MLB, I would find it hard to believe that EA would not step up to at least get some type of deal done, exclusive or not, to create baseball games again). Not to mention, it would provide competition on the 360 and with EA's success in baseball games it would sell.

If EA put effort into getting the top conferences with the real stadiums plus The College World Series it would pay off. Again, it would have to be done correctly. They can use the money that they won't be using from the Arena Football game. I'll chip in $20 to get them started....

Skihawks

The reason there was little interest, in my opinion, is that the games were not up to the standards of MVP. I didn't think the graphics engine was the best. I know the game was supposed to be like MVP but it wasn't close.

If EA created a new college game with an engine that could be used as a stepping stone for future MVP titles (When the 2K contract expires with the MLB, I would find it hard to believe that EA would not step up to at least get some type of deal done, exclusive or not, to create baseball games again). Not to mention, it would provide competition on the 360 and with EA's success in baseball games it would sell.

If EA put effort into getting the top conferences with the real stadiums plus The College World Series it would pay off. Again, it would have to be done correctly. They can use the money that they are using from the Arena Football game.

Skihawks

The reason there was little interest, in my opinion, is that the games were not up to the standards of MVP. I didn't think the graphics engine was the best.

If EA created a new college game with an engine that could be used as a stepping stone for future MVP titles (When the 2K contract expires with the MLB, I would find it hard to believe that EA would not step up to at least get some type of deal done, exclusive or not, to create baseball games again). Not to mention, it would provide competition on the 360 and with EA's success in baseball games it would sell.

If EA put effort into getting the top conferences with the real stadiums plus The College World Series it would pay off. Again, it would have to be done correctly. They can use the money that they are using from the Arena Football game.

dick buttkiss

guys seriously, 2k8 was terrible! why are people sticking up for the 2k baseball franchise. does it really hurt your pride that some kids want to spend 400 bucks to play a better baseball game? now it does seem that some people can deal with well below average baseball games, and actually like them, but for those that can really identify the piece of toilet paper on the bottom of your shoe that is the 2k baseball franchise, dont get jealous because others brag about how awesome the show is. go buy a ps3 and the show, or go buy 2k9 and live with how below average it is. or dont buy either, and maybe 2k will go under, and we can get a good baseball franchise for the 360. seriously, quit being fans of bad video games, for as long as we keep buying their bad games, they will keep making them. and for the record i dont have a ps3, but have played the show and i do think it is superior. but i have a 360, and dont feel like dropping a million dollars so i can play a better baseball game. so i just deal with it.

dick buttkiss

hey, i only own a 360, and i bought 2k8, and im jealous of the show. can i have a cookie too.

Pierre

Oh ya and I prefer Coke.Coke Zero is the shit!

Pierre

The controls are not fun enough to make up for bad unrealgameplay!Luckily I have a PS3, do you!2k9 shouldve gotten alot better because it cant get any worse!Therefore the Show09 really only needed to be touched up!2k needed to be completely redone.That games been on the same awful program for years and its been grabed by new developers plenty of times,but its never been tossed and done from new!Until they stop not caring about the consumers and realizing its wrong to rip people off of a good baseball game because its the onlyone available!Its wrong but I wont settle for a game that has never lived up to even a acceptabe standards,maybe if it cost 20$ bucks or atleast gave us a 6 pack of Pepsi!You guys wont even get 1 Pepsi for buyen Mlb2k9!-"all I wanted was a Pepsi,just one Pepsi!Far from suicidal-bringing back those memories I really missed"-vintage Limp by the way.The Show gives out a rebate for a baseball cap of any team you choose because New Era is unboard with them, but you dont see New Era Tampa dome or New Era Wrigley field do you?No you dont!You see a stadium tryen to be rendered to look exactly like its reallife counterpart!Hopefully you buy PS3 so you can play what is a real baseball game!Peace

Pierre

The only thing I feel the game needed is weather which it might have now and ball boys which they might also have!Yes the controls are fun on 2k but they got that from EA!EA implemented that on there last baseball title!NCAA baseball 06 and it was great,but because it was accurate and realistic!2k Swingstick has never been realistic!It turns into a home run derby.Its unfortunate for 360 owners cuz they get assed out of realistic videogame baseball,but hopefully 2k will get it right or EA will comeback,but I dont think itll be this year.

Pierre

I didnt get 2k last year because I caught onto the lack of upgrade and improvement!I didnt buy 2k last year and I wont this year!Lets face it 2k really droped the ball last year!Instead of fixing the game they just changed the controls!!You fools dove right in!They really need to have turned it around for this year.I find it hard to believe they did, and from the first glances it looks like the same glitchy arcade crap thats not to par with whats possible!The ads are disgusting!The Show is almost real!They didnt have much, to have improve on,but they did!.The lighting was needed and the players look lifelike.I grew up with Evan Longoria and last year he wasnt in The Show until a weekly update came,so he was a default with his attributes.Well he became Rookie of the year and well known.He made to world series and happen to be in the Show 09 demo!I triped out how incredibly real Evan looked!!Insane how The Show graphics are and thats just a demo!Serious best graphics Ive seen in sport game, maybe even videogame period!

Pierre

I have 360 and PS3.Ps3 I got last year just for the SHOW.I got fed up with 2ks baseball crap.It had me frustrated since we lost EA baseball five years ago.I love 2k for basketball, but the baseball unsatisfied me to the point of anger!Baseballs to great a sport to be craped together.Baseball is my favorite sport and The Show has brought me back to the greatness baseball should be on 300$ plus systems.I have both systems only cuz of this baseball gaming issue!It was a huge deal for me and I was hurting until I got PS3.

Johnny

I have a question...and maybe it's been addressed in the comments, but why did NO ONE seemingly bring up the advertising problem in the conference call? Why did NO ONE bring up the raising of the Nationals' left field wall? Why did NO ONE bring up Pepsi Field in Tampa Bay? Why did NO ONE bring up the State Farm ad at Wrigley?

Look, I'm all for real ads in real places, but add variety, don't increase the stadium dimensions to please a sponsor, and frankly, if 2k can only get TWO sponsors (Pepsi and State Farm) they might be in bigger trouble then we know, or, the two paid such an exorbitant sum for those rights that we should get a break on the price.

pastapadre

Theres a couple things to consider, I think thats a valid question.

1) Questions were sent in a week prior, I think actually a day before the advertising story went up.
2) They'll only answer questions they want to or that they have insight into. Its very possible that these two producers had nothing to do with that decision making.
3) It would probably be a throw-away question. They aren't going to provide a suitable answer so they would just skirt around the issue.

Skihawks

The thing to remember to is that Pepsi and State Farm may be the only two companies willing to provide advertising dollars in this brutal economy.

I don't care so much about the ads as I do the changing of the dimensions in the ballparks. They could have added a State Farm add on the LF wall (although there is one on the scoreboard in the same vicinity) without increasing the height of the wall...

AHA

Because the questions are screened... thus they wouldn't answer them.

nyr2k2

I spent a good bit of time commenting and interacting around here last season, and was looking forward to being active here once again. However, the comments sections here has totally gone to shit. 90% of the posts are fanboys fighting, or fanboys complaining about other fanboys fighting. It's gotten pretty ridiculous here.

Skihawks

Agreed

Mister_Woods

It's like this all over the internet on every site, this is to be expected, especially when both games are very good...I can't imagine NBA Live fans even daring getting into an argument over their game over NBA 2k9....

but all of this "you fucking retard!" stuff is over the top - but those are usually the children behaving that way, no surprise there...

like i said - both games are going to be good, and if THE SHOW updated their player models and ditched that 1 button gameplay, I'd have 0 problem with it - MLB THE SHOW 08 you have to put up there with the all time great baseball games of all time - one could even argue that THE SHOW is the best baseball game series of all time...so I can't imagine 09 being any worse. can only go up from there.

Sidewinder

So you want to ditch the one button gameplay, so we can have gameplay like 2K with no check swing. Yeah buddy, that's realism. Wake up! We want intuitive realism in our baseball games, not broken arcade gimmicky crap like you seem to enjoy. To each his own.

Mister_Woods

have 0 time to bicker with you like two little school girls over this.

All i know is that i like playing in the field and using the analog stick to throw on defense, and I like using the analog stick to pitch.

if you like pressing buttons that's fine man...I don't shit what you eat.

LMAO!

Who are you?! And where is mr woods?

Mister_Woods

You have to give credit where credit is due. THE SHOW has done a ton of innovative things for the baseball gaming genre, as well as put out a SOLID baseball game for what, going on 6 years in a row? these are undeniable truths across the board.

But they've stalled IMO, and I think 2k9 is about to surpass them...we are looking @ the start of a new era of baseball gaming with the things 2k is putting out there.

Sidewinder

ROFLOL.....enough said!

AHA

You see, the first part was going great, I was about to say you were abducted by an alien and re-programmed, but then...

The second part came out and we knew it was you. It is the same game as 2K8 with cut-a-ways. The gameplay is the same. The animation transitions are still jerky, and show even more with the cut-a-ways which loses their appeal from it.

And it is still graphically inferior. And the AI will be atrocious due to things being tied into that horrible Inside Edge, in which they removed a lot of sliders for.

AHA

To add, you can say The Show hasnt changed much, but it didnt have to.

But in reality, it DID change much. The hitting was super tweaked, and many can attest to that, it feels different than '08 in a great way. The outfielders take realistic routes to the ball, and not straight oens BB games have done for years, and that feels more realistic, among many other huge upgrades graphically.

The Show did not need to alter itself as much as 2K did. And they are still not even close to being there yet. Especially to think 2K9 (which doesn't even have 40 man rosters, arbitration or September call-ups) can surpass 09.

The AI logic and hitting physics alone are still dated in 2K.

Mister_Woods

Hey man, some people prefer coke over pepsi too...at the end of the day, as I have said on here before, we are going by a demo, and some movies. this is no real way to judge a game. Please refer to the MVP 04 lefty glitch as a reference. That left that game flat out unplayable if you didn't have the PC version...

Everything you just said about THE SHOW is correct though. They have improved on some things - but again, for me, the player models, interface, and one button gaming is not my cup of tea. Played all of these things the EXACT same way in 2006..

MLB THE SHOW does some things right, but I can't look @ those player models without cracking the hell up...sorry if that pisses you off.

Mister_Woods

Hey man, some people prefer coke over pepsi too...at the end of the day, as I have said on here before, we are going by a demo, and some movies. this is no real way to judge a game. Please refer to the MVP 04 lefty glitch as a reference. That left that game flat out unplayable if you didn't have the PC version...

Everything you just said about THE SHOW is correct though. They have improved on some things - but again, for me, the player models, interface, and one button gaming is not my cup of tea. Played all of these things the EXACT same way in 2006..

Hell, I know matt vasgersian has to come in to update his dialogue for players names - but rex hudler and dave campbell probably haven't been in the studio to record audio in 5 years!

Mister_Woods

Hey man, some people prefer coke over pepsi too...at the end of the day, as I have said on here before, we are going by a demo, and some movies. this is no real way to judge a game. Please refer to the MVP 04 lefty glitch as a reference. That left that game flat out unplayable if you didn't have the PC version

Everything you just said about THE SHOW is correct though. They have improved on some things - but again, for me, the player models, interface, and one button gaming is not my cup of tea. Played all of these things the EXACT same way in 2006..

Hell, I know matt vasgersian has to come in to update his dialogue for players names - but rex hudler and dave campbell probably haven't been in the studio to record audio in 5 years!

Shocked

Whoa, I cant believe this game out of your mouth!

Bookmarked!

*wipes eyes*

Mister_Woods

It's like this all over the internet on every site, this is to be expected, especially when both games are very good...I can't imagine NBA Live fans even daring getting into an argument over their game over NBA 2k9....

but all of this "you fucking retard!" stuff is over the top - but those are usually the children behaving that way, no surprise there...

like i said - both games are going to be good, and if THE SHOW updated their player models and ditched that 1 button gameplay, I'd have 0 problem with it - MLB THE SHOW 08 you have to put up there with the all time great baseball games of all time...so I can't imagine 09 being any worse. can only go up from there.

kenny powers

I'm honestly curious if all the venom for The Show is from 360 owners who are stuck with 2K as there only option or PS3 users who genuinely like 2K over The Show.

Both games have their pros and cons either way.

Sidewinder

2k8 on the PS3 should never have been released. It was thaaaat bad and was never fixed to the level the 360 version was, and that is not saying much. It was obvious 2k gave up on the PS3 last year, especially going against The Show. 2K created a lot of bad blood last year and wont get a free pass until we play 2k9.

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