It was September 1, 1995. 

If I recall correctly it was a cold and rainy day. I had been saving money for months in anticipation; It was Sony Playstation's launch. My father and I drove to a local department store that had no ridiculous linesorn campers. We just walked right in and there it was. My dad grabbed the system and I grabbed the game I had been longing for months: NFL Gameday. 989 Sports was born.

When we got everything home and set up, my dad and I decided to play a game. I couldn’t tell you what teams we were, but the one thing I do remember was how awesome the game was. It was a true leap in quality from anything we have seen in the past. Not only were the graphics amazing for their time, the gameplay was as well. Who could forget the thunder and lightning on a big hit while playing in the rain. Those memories will always stay with me. 

989 Sports really had the market cornered. EA had missed the boat with their football game when the Playstation launched. Gameday was a critical success and they followed that up with NCAA Gamebreaker , NBA Shootout and NHL Faceoff. All was good for Sony. 

Sony had to know it wouldn’t be too long before EA got in the game. The very next sports gaming season EA released Madden 97, NBA Live 97, NHL 97 andTriple Play 97 as their major sports titles. The competition was on. 

As the next year went on, the competition was stiff. Both companies put out some quality games. Many people preferred Madden to Gameday and vice versa. The only game that 989 Sports didn’t have an answer to one of EA’s games was baseball. In '97, we were introduced to MLB 98. Met with critical acclaim, in just one year 989 had proven to be the better baseball game over Triple Play.

With 989 on a roll, it looked as though they were poised for a great future in sports videogames. We all know that wouldn’t be the case. With one exception of course, but we will get to that later. 

On April 1, 2000, 989 Studios was merged into Sony Computer Entertainment of America, or SCEA as a first party development group, in order to get set for the then-upcoming PlayStation 2. Over the next several years Sony did continue to use the 989 brand for its sports games, the only problem was they were mostly terrible. NFL Gameday suffered a horrible transfer to the next gen system, along with NBA Shootout and MLB 2004. After the '04 iteration of NFL Gameday, the once proud franchise was canceled. Sony also canceled their NCAA franchises, along with their NBA franchises (only to be resurrected later asNBA 07 and to be canceled again) 

When MLB 2005 was released, you could tell Sony had made some strides. It looks like, at this point, they were getting serious about baseball. As the years went on, we all know what became of the MLB series. It scratched, clawed and showed steady improvement year in and year out until it finally took over as the best baseball game on the market, a true testament to the dedication of the MLB team. What is now MLB The Show was able to survive, and prosper into a fantastic game today. 

I will always have fond memories of 989 Sports. Some of my favorite games and gaming moments will be forever intertwined with 989. Its really too bad that it isn’t still a player today. Competition is a great thing. Unfortunately the odds of us seeing the triumphant return of 989 sports are slim to none. This now only leaves us with a brand lost with time.