Software:Microsoft Baseball 2000

From HandWiki
Short description: 1999 video game
Microsoft Baseball 2000
Developer(s)WizBang! Software Productions
Publisher(s)Microsoft
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single player

Microsoft Baseball 2000 is a sports video game developed by WizBang! Software Productions and published by Microsoft. It was released for Microsoft Windows in 1999, as an updated version of Microsoft Baseball 3D 1998 Edition. Critics considered the game to be an improvement over its predecessor. It received praise for its graphics and $20 price, but was criticized for containing various glitches. It was followed by Microsoft Baseball 2001.

Gameplay

Microsoft Baseball 2000 is an updated version of its predecessor, Microsoft Baseball 3D 1998 Edition.[2][3] It features Major League Baseball (MLB) players, and 30 MLB stadiums.[4] Players include Kevin Brown, Mark McGwire and Curt Schilling.[5] It has several game modes,[6] including QuickGame.[4][7][8] There is also a training mode for pitching and fielding, while a home run derby mode allows for batting practice.[8] Seasons consist of 162 games.[6] Microsoft Baseball 2000 has three difficulty settings,[8] and includes commentary by Thom Brennaman.[9] The game also includes the General Manager, which allows the editing of baseball players' traits.[8][10][6][7]

Development and release

Microsoft Baseball 2000 was developed by WizBang! Software Productions,[4] which also developed the previous game.[11] Unlike its predecessor, the graphics of Microsoft Baseball 2000 do not require a 3D accelerator card to run, although the game does support the use of one for enhanced visuals.[3][8] Brennaman spent eight days providing his dialogue as the game's commentator, and much of the script called for various inflections of each comment, contributing to the lengthy process. Brennaman, describing his voiceover experience, said, "You have to do the best you can while imagining plays in your mind. You have to act like it's taking place in front of you."[12]

Microsoft Baseball 2000 was completed in April 1999,[13] and was released in the United States later that month.[1] It was published by Microsoft for Windows.[4] The game was priced at $19.95 in an effort to appeal to a wide demographic.[11][14] Baseball player Al Leiter is featured on the game's cover.[15] Later in 1999, an updated MLB player roster was released for download through the game's website.[16] A patch was also released that allowed for multi-display.[17][18]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings73%[19]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStar[9]
CGSPStarStarStar[7]
CGWStarStarStar[20]
GameFan77%[22]
GameProStarStarStarStar[10]
GameSpot6.9/10[6]
GameZone8.428/10[23]
IGN7/10[3]
PC Gamer (US)59%[25]
Sports Gaming Network86%[5]

The game received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[19]

Critics viewed the game as an improvement over its predecessor,[3][8][10][6][5][7] although some still considered High Heat Baseball 2000 to be a superior baseball game choice.[3][5][7] The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel considered the game to be near-perfect.[26] Joel Strauch of GamePro praised the improvement in gameplay and controls,[10] while GameSpot's Michael E. Ryan praised the addition of a mid-range difficulty setting. Ryan stated that Microsoft Baseball 2000 had the best pitching interface of any baseball video game, although he described fielding as "very tough" and stated that the game's computer-assisted base running was problematic.[6] Joshua Roberts of AllGame wrote that the game "has just the bare minimum and there's nothing in its actual gameplay to make up for its glaring omissions."[9]

The graphics were praised,[3][8][6][5][21][7][27] as was the game's $20 price.[3][8][10][6][21][7][28][29] The San Diego Union-Tribune wrote that the game "offers the best budget baseball experience on the PC this summer, and also one of the best at any price."[27]

Reviewers criticized various audio and visual glitches that are present in the game.[3][6][5][21][28] Jason Bates of IGN complained of frequent lock-ups during gameplay,[3] and Strauch noted long loading times.[10] Scott Silverstein, writing for The Washington Times, stated that it took four attempts across an 80-minute period to get the game running on a computer which had easily met the system requirements.[30]

Rick Worrell of Sports Gaming Network criticized the commentary for a number of audio glitches, but he praised the sound effects.[5] Roberts found the commentary to be stiff,[9] while other critics praised it.[8][6][21] William Abner of Computer Games Strategy Plus called the commentary "fairly entertaining and usually accurate."[7] Strauch stated that it was rarely repetitive, and wrote that the crowd noises "fluctuate appropriately".[10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fudge, James (April 20, 1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000 Slides Onto Store Shelves". Strategy Plus, Inc.. Archived from the original on May 24, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030524203948/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/019/058/msb2000_released.html. Retrieved May 14, 2021. 
  2. ↑ Abner, Will (April 9, 1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000 (Preview)". Strategy Plus, Inc.. Archived from the original on July 10, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030710193701/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/019/013/ms2k_preview.html. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Bates, Jason (April 30, 1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/05/01/microsoft-baseball-2000. Retrieved September 15, 2020. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 House, Michael L.. "Microsoft Baseball 2000 - Overview". All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141114122235/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=18855. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Worrell, Rick (July 26, 1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000 (PC) Review". http://www.sports-gaming.com/baseball/ms_baseball_2000/review.shtml. Retrieved September 15, 2020. 
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 Ryan, Michael E. (May 10, 1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000 Review". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 24, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20041024065029/http://www.gamespot.com/pc/sports/baseball2000/review.html. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Abner, William (April 30, 1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000". Strategy Plus, Inc.. Archived from the original on July 10, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030710203023/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/019/093/msb2k_review.html. 
  8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 Gaudiosi, John (April 29, 1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000". CNET. Archived from the original on October 21, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20001021081631/http://www.gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0,6,0-2709,00.html. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Roberts, Joshua. "Microsoft Baseball 2000". All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141115013714/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=18855&tab=review. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Strauch, Joel (1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). Archived from the original on December 10, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20041210195104/http://www.gamepro.com/computer/pc/games/reviews/652.shtml. Retrieved May 14, 2021. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Microsoft Baseball 2000 (Preview)". PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 6 (5): 85. May 1999. 
  12. ↑ Bradley, Bill (July 12, 1999). "Announcer Brennaman voices play-by-play". The Arizona Republic (Gannett Company). https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/124460110/. Retrieved September 15, 2020. 
  13. ↑ Fudge, James (April 6, 1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000 Goes Gold". Strategy Plus, Inc.. Archived from the original on May 24, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030524212404/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/019/001/msbaseball_2000_gold.html. 
  14. ↑ Fudge, James (February 23, 1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000 for $19.95". Strategy Plus, Inc.. Archived from the original on May 24, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030524210003/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/018/011/ms_baseball_2000.html. 
  15. ↑ CBS News staff (June 15, 1999). "A Computer Baseball Game With a Heart". ViacomCBS. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-computer-baseball-game-with-a-heart/. Retrieved September 15, 2020. 
  16. ↑ Fudge, James (October 22, 1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000 Updated Player Roster Released". Strategy Plus, Inc.. Archived from the original on July 9, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030709120929/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/023/154/baseball2000.html. 
  17. ↑ Fudge, James (November 15, 1999). "Matrox announces DualHead patch for Microsoft Baseball 2000". Strategy Plus, Inc.. Archived from the original on May 24, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030524202732/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/024/062/matrox_bb2000.html. 
  18. ↑ "Baseball 2000 from Microsoft/WizBang!". Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20000817025822/http://www.matrox.com/mga/3d_gaming/bump/bb_2000.htm. Retrieved February 7, 2021. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Baseball 2000 for PC". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190511104028/https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/96045-baseball-2000/index.html. Retrieved May 14, 2021. 
  20. ↑ Todd, Brett (August 1999). "Gatesball Gets Better (Microsoft Baseball 2000 Review)". Computer Gaming World (Ziff Davis) (181): 136. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_181.pdf. Retrieved May 14, 2021. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 Grant, Jules (June 15, 1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000". Greedy Productions, Inc.. Archived from the original on July 6, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030706050352/http://www.elecplay.com/review.html?article=256&full=1#mr_toppy. 
  22. ↑ Lonewolf (June 11, 1999). "REVIEW for Microsoft Baseball 2000". Shinno Media. Archived from the original on June 23, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20000623041823/http://gamefan.com/repre.asp?g=1195&t=r. Retrieved May 14, 2021. 
  23. ↑ Dickinson, Jon (July 15, 1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000". Archived from the original on April 18, 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20010418134030/http://www.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r12783.htm. Retrieved May 14, 2021. 
  24. ↑ PCA staff (July 1999). "Microsoft Baseball 2000". PC Accelerator (Imagine Media) (11): 91. https://archive.org/details/PCXL11Jul1999/page/n91/mode/2up. Retrieved May 14, 2021. 
  25. ↑ "Microsoft Baseball 2000". PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 6 (8). August 1999. Archived from the original on March 8, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20000308204432/http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/1370.html. Retrieved May 14, 2021. 
  26. ↑ "Video Game Review 'Baseball 2000' goes just foul". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Gannett Company). July 2, 1999. 
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Different pitches for a pair of baseball games". The San Diego Union-Tribune (Tribune Publishing). August 31, 1999. 
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 McCauley, Dennis (August 26, 1999). "Playing the Field". Chicago Tribune. Knight Ridder (Tribune Publishing). https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-08-26-9908260134-story.html. Retrieved September 15, 2020. 
  29. ↑ "Step up to the plate with digital baseball". Ottawa Citizen (Postmedia Network). July 3, 1999. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/466538857/. Retrieved September 15, 2020. 
  30. ↑ Silverstein, Scott (June 6, 1999). "Microsoft's baseball: Save your money". The Washington Times (The Washington Times, LLC). 
  • Official website, archived via the Wayback Machine
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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