Brinkman: more realism in Major League Baseball 2K8

Another year another baseball season, another Major League Baseball game. The franchise is soon to release its latest installment, MLB 2K8. What changes should we expect from the game? A lot more realism, according to an interview with the game’s producer Ben Brinkman. Check out the details in the full article.

Major League Baseball 2K8 will be released this March, a few weeks before the actual Leagues will begin in Tokyo. What should we expect from the game this year? More realism, according to an interview with the game’s producer, Ben Brinkman.

Brinkman explains that aside from a more realistic setup (“including authentic uniforms, many authentic minor-league stadiums, and a few generic ones”), gameplay will be getting a big push for realism as well.

Brinkman explains that 2K7 fell “a little bit short” on the realism aspect: “too many home runs, too many spectacular wall-climbing catches, and too easy to pinpoint your pitches.” Fun is one thing, realism is another.

To address this, the game will have an improved hitting engine which was completely rewritten from the last game, giving it a more control and “oomph.” The pitching interface has also been entirely redesigned to drop the use of a button to pitch.

The game physics have also been tweaked for more realism. The ball, for example, will

behave very realistically, be it a line drive down the line, bouncing off the wall, or a throw skipping off the grass.

A fun thing we added is a simulation of surface irregularities; basically small pebbles on the infield dirt that might cause the ball to take a slightly different hop. The result is much more realistic-looking grounders and more fun in fielding.

Major League Baseball 2K8 is scheduled to be released on March 3 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii.

Via GameSpot