The BIGS 2 Conference Call Recap

Yesterday I had the opportunity to sit in on a conference call with The BIGS 2 producer Rob Nelson along with being able to send in a few questions beforehand. Given that the original BIGS remains one of my favorite sports games this generation and with the demo out and well received I’m really looking forward to it. What I was most hoping to get out of the call was an idea of additional elements of strategy and details on the online co-op mode.

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The BIGS 2 Demo Impressions

The demo for The BIGS 2 was released yesterday for the 360. No word on when it will be reaching the PS3 but within the next couple Thursdays would be likely. The demo features a three inning game between the AL and NL All-Stars as well as Home Run Pinball in the Vegas venue.

Coming off The BIGS, one of my favorite sports games of this generation, hopes are high for the sequel. Just some initial impressions from the short time playing it so far the first being the ingenious strategical elements are still prevalent. I really appreciate how you can go at the games, and each individual pitch, so many different ways and nothing about it is frustrating unlike other arcade style games. The “Legendary” tag is a nice addition giving those fielders special abilities which I saw right away when the NL catcher jumped high into the air and onto the dugout to attempt to catch a foul ball. What I liked is they don’t always make those catches but they have a shot at them. The one thing I’m not really a fan of is the zoomed in camera which is just too tight in on the action. Since it follows the ball, which is thrown at laser speed, it is difficult to track what is happening and you miss some of the impact of all the action that is taking place.

Continue on to view the two videos I’ve captured thus far showing off the HR Pinball and a three inning game. Leave your impressions of the demo or videos in the comments!

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The BIGS 2 Mini-Games

A new trailer is out for The BIGS 2 that focuses on the mini-games. Home Run Pinball was very popular with the original The BIGS so that prominently returns with a few new venues such as Las Vegas and Tokyo. There are numerous other mini-games that have been created this time around and they are also quite un-traditional. They’ll be used to train your player in the career mode but look like they could be a lot of fun even as standalone mini-games.

Continue on to check out the video and leave your thoughts in the comments.

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The BIGS 2 Online Co-Op

While only some of the features have been revealed for The BIGS 2 there is now confirmation that it will include online play for up to four players. There are no details on how that will be structured as of yet.

The BIGS was one of the first games to introduce online co-op. It didn’t actually work in the way 2K advertised which was two users vs two users. Instead though what it ended up being was two users going up against the CPU which was still surprisingly fun and fresh.

Who the two users controlled alternated each inning. In one inning it would be the pitcher and in the next it would be the first fielder after the ball was put into play. Offensively it alternated from batter to batter, with the other user controlling the lead baserunner if one was on.

It worked really well but would’ve been better if it had allowed for playing two other users like they had stated it would. So hopefully that is what the “online with up to four players” will mean this time. Four different users connecting into the game and going two on two.

BIGS 2 Videos and Screenshots

The first videos from The BIGS 2 have been posted by IGN. There are three total that show off gameplay footage and a hitting mini-game. There are also eight new screenshots which can be found in the gallery focusing on some of the big name MLB stars.

Again the game comes across really well graphically and with its presentation as it enhances the dramatic elements of the sport. Continue on to watch the videos and leave your thoughts in the comments.

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Troubling MLB 09 The Show Patch

A new patch (1.06) came out earlier this week for MLB 09 The Show that attempted to make adjustments to the schedules and start times as well as fixing a host of small bugs. However from monitoring the response there are some major problems with the patch that have significantly disrupted the community.

The biggest issue is that any franchise prior to the patch will not work after downloading it. This could happen with Road to the Show careers as well. Franchises and RTTS would need to be started fresh after the patch in order to prevent an inevitable crash. There is also a problem with post-game highlights and the Replay Vault. That one though is apparently is being fixed with a follow-up patch next week.

This is a required patch, at least for anyone that wants to play online. While it can be deleted if so desired it is likely that most consumers are trusting the download only to find it has ruined there franchises. How something so severe could get by the testing process is certainly puzzling. The hope would be that SCEA would pull the patch which would then revert everyone to re-downloading the prior one. This has been done before with other games. They could then work on fixing it so that existing franchises could continue. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear that they are going to take that route and instead are staying quiet on the topic.

New Screenshots from The BIGS 2

A new set of screens from The BIGS 2 have been released. The six new images display some of the new locales for Home Run Pinball as well as what appears to be some other very unique mini-games. You can check them out in the gallery.

There are set to be several new Home Run Pinball locations. Thanks to the screenshots two are now confirmed as Tokyo and Las Vegas. The mini-games look to be something like crossing a tightrope for speed, a hitting game to improve contact, and a fielding game to improve that attribute held in the city streets.

March Sales: The Show Soars While 2K Sinks

This generation has generally shown that despite increased user base sports games don’t see significant growth in sales year over year. They remain relatively stagnant seeing only small increases. NPD just released sales numbers for March and the two baseball titles have blown that pattern out of the water. MLB 09 The Show (PS3) saw huge growth while MLB 2K9 (360) actually dropped when compared their 2008 versions.

Last year March sales of MLB 08 The Show didn’t make the top 10 so a specific number wasn’t available. We do know that it sold under 224,000 copies though from that data. MLB 09 The Show came in with 305,000 putting it in 6th place. That means at the very least The Show saw an increase of 37% and it is probably a little higher even. That is an extraordinary jump.

Meanwhile on the 360 side MLB 2K9 sold 205,000. In comparison MLB 2K8 sold 237,100. Despite a continually growing user base on the 360 2K9 sales fell by 14% compared to the year before. It isn’t a mystery why.

This is where poor word of mouth really starts to show itself, that being in the following year. 2K8 had the severe framerate problems, unplayable online, and poor customer service. Given the reaction to 2K9 prospects for 2K10 are even more troubling.

Considering the user base of both consoles its surprising, even with the disparity in quality, that the PS3 exclusive would beat the 360 exclusive. There was a lot of talk about Killzone 2 being the big PS3 offering that would change the landscape of the console sales. Not only did that not materialize, but The Show outsold Killzone 2 in March.

So here we have examples for devs to take notice of. Produce an offering that is of exceptional quality and engage the community and that will be reflected in the sales. Produce an overwhelmingly poor effort plagued with glitches and ignore and mistreat the community then even with an exclusive consumers will take their money elsewhere.

The BIGS 2: New Screenshots and First Info

Last week The BIGS 2 named Prince Fielder as the cover athlete and that was accompanied by a single screenshot and trailer featuring Fielder. Now there are eight new screens and they can be viewed in the gallery. There are a variety of players featured along with one image that comes from the game’s Be a Legend career mode.

Gamespot also has an early preview of the game. Additions include the batting “wheelhouse”,  “legendary” players with extreme abilities, Become a Legend mode, Season mode, more HR pinball locales, and new mini-games. You can check out the first look article here. They are packing in a lot of good stuff.

What made the original great was that the exciting moments of the sport were exaggerated yet it still played well as a baseball game and there was an importance placed on different strategical elements. It appears that will continue to be the case in the sequel and the new ideas making their way in certainly seem promising.

MLB 09 The Show Roster Update 4/13

The latest roster update for MLB 09 The Show came out earlier today. This is a significant one in that the players who appeared in their first MLB game can now have their real names included. Gary Sheffield also makes his way to the Mets roster.

For those of you who can’t connect the PS3 online I have uploaded the file to be grabbed here. Unzip it and then transfer the folder to the saves area in the XMB. There are 183 player movements in this update. The highlights as designated by SCEA are below.

RF Ichiro Suzuki moved from Mariners Position to Mariners Minors.
DH Mike Sweeney moved from Mariners Bench to Mariners Position.
SS Omar Vizquel moved from Rangers Position to Rangers Bench.
LF Luke Scott moved from Orioles Bench to Orioles Position.
SP Jeff Niemann moved from Rays Minors to Rays Starting.
2B Josh Barfield moved from Indians Bench to Indians Minors.
RP Lance Cormier moved from Rays Minors to Rays Relief.
LF Delmon Young moved from Twins Position to Twins Bench.
C Joe Mauer moved from Twins Position to Twins Minors.