Arcade-Style Baseball is The BIGS
So this is what 2K is doing with their MLB exclusive.
Published: October 31, 2006
Back during the days of the Great Sports Exclusive Buyouts when EA and 2K games were on a tear trying to lock down their own solo rights to publishing games, 2K scooped up the rights to the MLB, effectively ending any chance by nearly all others to make baseball games with all the official bells and whistles. In particular, the signaled the end of Midway's arcade-heavy MLB SlugFest, leaving a rather gaping hole for those looking for something that isn't quite a sim.
It could be argued, though, that EA's MVP Baseball series was already fairly close, though obviously with 2K locking down the MLB, we won't be seeing a new baseball game from EA for a while. Perhaps that's why Vancouver-based Blue Castle Games, who count among their numbers the creator (Dan Brady) and lead designer (Jason Leigh) of the MVP games, are helming a decidedly arcade baseball title for 2K Sports.
The BIGS, they're calling it, and it's coming to every PlayStation platform out there. The PS3/PSP/PS2 hyper-exaggerated baseball attempt is clearly still in the early stages -- or at least 2K isn't talking details -- but we do know that the game will support 4-player online games and that it'll hit in the Summer of next year. Promises of "fantastic pitching, batting, and fielding animations", power-up-based gameplay and "outrageous visuals and intuitive gameplay mechanics" don't really do much to clear things up, but at least we have plenty of quotes from 2K Sports studio Visual Concepts' Greg Thomas!
“The BIGS is sure to turn a few heads as it pioneers a completely different way of playing an MLB video game,” the Visual Concepts President began. “2K Sports is always looking to deliver the most innovative and eye-catching sports video games to fans and The BIGS is one of 2K Sports’ most dynamic titles to date. This is an extremely exciting time for fans of baseball videogames, as Blue Castle Games has assembled an absolute all-star lineup for this game.”
With many moons to go between now and the game's release, we're sure to have plenty of updates along the way. Rest assured that we'll kick 'em up as soon as we can.
It could be argued, though, that EA's MVP Baseball series was already fairly close, though obviously with 2K locking down the MLB, we won't be seeing a new baseball game from EA for a while. Perhaps that's why Vancouver-based Blue Castle Games, who count among their numbers the creator (Dan Brady) and lead designer (Jason Leigh) of the MVP games, are helming a decidedly arcade baseball title for 2K Sports.
The BIGS, they're calling it, and it's coming to every PlayStation platform out there. The PS3/PSP/PS2 hyper-exaggerated baseball attempt is clearly still in the early stages -- or at least 2K isn't talking details -- but we do know that the game will support 4-player online games and that it'll hit in the Summer of next year. Promises of "fantastic pitching, batting, and fielding animations", power-up-based gameplay and "outrageous visuals and intuitive gameplay mechanics" don't really do much to clear things up, but at least we have plenty of quotes from 2K Sports studio Visual Concepts' Greg Thomas!
“The BIGS is sure to turn a few heads as it pioneers a completely different way of playing an MLB video game,” the Visual Concepts President began. “2K Sports is always looking to deliver the most innovative and eye-catching sports video games to fans and The BIGS is one of 2K Sports’ most dynamic titles to date. This is an extremely exciting time for fans of baseball videogames, as Blue Castle Games has assembled an absolute all-star lineup for this game.”
With many moons to go between now and the game's release, we're sure to have plenty of updates along the way. Rest assured that we'll kick 'em up as soon as we can.