ESPN Baseball Tonight
| ESPN Baseball Tonight | |
|---|---|
Sports | |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
ESPN Baseball Tonight is a baseball video game for the MS-DOS, Sega CD, Sega Genesis, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
Summary
The game was licensed by MLB, but not by the Players Association, so while actual team names and logos are used, no player names are in the game.
The lead programmers for the project were Alexander Ehrath and Russel Shanks. The game's simulation engine was written from scratch by the two lead programmers. The game featured video clips of Chris Berman and play-by-play audio from Dan Patrick.[1]
Little Caesars Enterprises, Inc. got involved with the development of the game, seeing marketing synergy between baseball fans and pizza eaters. A large promotion was rolled out by the pizza chain to coincide with the game's launch, including point-of-purchase material at 4,500 stores; a mail-in offer for an ESPN "Best of Sports" videotape; and print advertising. The director of marketing for Sony called what Little Caesars received "a new method to reach families and men, 18-34, in a nontraditional, nonintrusive way."[1] The stadium walls in-game featured large Little Caesars advertising.
The PC version was one of the early games to be made available solely on
It was the first in a series of ESPN-themed sports games. The next to be released was ESPN Sunday Night NFL.[1]
Critical reception
ESPN Baseball Tonight received mostly negative reviews. Reviewing the Genesis version, GamePro said it "offers great graphics and sound, but it falls way too short in fun. ... If you're a die-hard baseball fan or a beginner, steer clear of this cart. It'll only frustrate you."[2]
In
See also
- MLB Pennant Race, Sony's successor for PlayStation
External links
References
- ^ a b c Gillen, Marilyn. "Little Caesar's gets in the game." Billboard 29 Jan. 1994: 80-1.
- ^ "ESPN Baseball: It's a Pop-Up". GamePro. No. 60. IDG. July 1994. p. 117.
- ^ Strauss, Bob. "Fields of dreams." Entertainment Weekly 17 Feb. 1995: 62-3.
- ^ LaGuardia, Cheryl, and Michael Blake. "CD-ROM review." Library Journal 120.8 (May 1995): 143.