MLB 2K9 News Post

Major League Baseball 2K9 Developer Diary: Franchise

02:15 AM - February 19, 2009 by Steve_OS

Hey everyone, my name is Erick Boenisch and I am the Lead Feature Designer here at 2K Sports. Many of you may be familiar with my work in NBA 2K’s The Association mode. I’m here today to talk to you about the exciting changes we have made with MLB 2K9’s Franchise mode.

As many of you already know, MLB 2K9 is now being developed at our Visual Concepts studio. This is the same studio that has been responsible for bringing you the NFL 2K and NBA 2K franchises. As a new developer taking over the game, I was presented with the unique opportunity of making a major transformation to the game’s aging Franchise mode. And make a major change we did; we decided to build to the Franchise mode from the ground up. That’s a big statement to make, and I’ll go into those details momentarily. First, I want everyone to understand our philosophy on MLB 2K9’s Franchise mode. We’re looking to create the deepest franchise mode on the market, while still making it very accessible for casual gamers who want to play a season with their favorite team. Ultimately, I believe franchise modes shouldn’t only be for the hard-core gamer, they should be for everyone to enjoy.

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# 41 anewenemy04 @ 02/19/09 07:42 PM

this is awesome news i cant wait to get my mariners franchise going especially with the addition of junior back on the team! now all this game needs is a superstar mode or a road to the show mode and its complete

# 42 jimdoggy32 @ 02/19/09 07:50 PM

Now I can make that Peavy to the Cubs trade finally happen.....Hey, Hey!

# 43 sooners52794 @ 02/19/09 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by a2ndrgmaster


	o snap HR Derby during all star break... dream come true

i was thinking i was gonna hav to buy the show again for ps2 if kush came out wit another half-assed game like 2k7 or disaster like 2k8 but vc is solid at pretty much ev game they make so im deff gettin this soon.

one thing id like to kno however is if theres salary arbitration. its not a big deal rlly, but its in the show 09 so...

that was in 2k7 for ps2 lol it was bad cuz of the hitting controls and the ball didnt fly anywhere past 420 ft, but yeah that was in 2k7

# 44 JBH3 @ 02/19/09 09:56 PM

In game saves were in last year, and again...

When you save a game and re-load it later your stats etc do not count towards your VIP or any achievement you might've been on the verge of unlocking.

If someone could confirm otherwise for 2K9 then great, but this is the way it was last year and I would suspect it to be the same.

# 45 WazzuRC @ 02/19/09 10:06 PM

So stoked for this game...really hope it lives up to the hype because I was so disappointed last year.

# 46 Spanky @ 02/19/09 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddie1967


	Again the greatest one year leap in video gaming history IMO.

Hope you're right. Thus far, in my gaming history, that distinction belongs to College Hoops 2k4 on the X-Box, which was leaps and bounds better than 2k3 and proved to be the turning point in that great franchise.
If this can match that, then I'm all wood.

# 47 knighthawksfan @ 02/20/09 01:44 AM

This is going to be an awesome game dude.

# 48 Eddie1967 @ 02/20/09 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spanky


	Hope you're right. Thus far, in my gaming history, that distinction belongs to College Hoops 2k4 on the X-Box, which was leaps and bounds better than 2k3 and proved to be the turning point in that great franchise. If this can match that, then I'm all wood.

All wood? LOL, did you mean that? I think this will be the turning point in the 2k baseball series. Those are gameplay videos we are watching so I am very confident in my statement. Can't wait.

# 49 Eddie1967 @ 02/20/09 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Great read, I hope it all pans out being a franchise guy myself. I didn't see any mention of injuries during non user played games or the cpu stealling bases mentioned though. I'd also like to hope the AI when batting doesn't swing at everything in the strike zone hittable or not as we've seen in the various media now. Good stuff on the whole. It certainly sounds like MLB2k9 will be making major strides this year to right the series.

Realm, let's also hope that there are no game killing franchise bugs. That would be a disaster, like the free agent signing bug in 2k hockey. That would be massive but the option to control all of the teams remedies that, although not everyone likes to do that.

# 50 BigH2k6 @ 02/20/09 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Great read, I hope it all pans out being a franchise guy myself. I didn't see any mention of injuries during non user played games or the cpu stealling bases mentioned though. I'd also like to hope the AI when batting doesn't swing at everything in the strike zone hittable or not as we've seen in the various media now. Good stuff on the whole. It certainly sounds like MLB2k9 will be making major strides this year to right the series.

Hey RealmK,

If you look at the video in this post, http://www.operationsports.com/forum...lkthrough.html

at the 4:00 minute mark, Juan Pierre takes off for second

# 51 kingdevin @ 02/20/09 09:40 AM

anyone know what fielding cam options are available this year

# 52 mwjr @ 02/20/09 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metal134


	Sounds interesting, but I would still like to see 40-man rosters, waivers and such. Not a bad start, though.

"Baby steps, Bob."

# 53 deucepoppi17 @ 02/20/09 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stateprop


	Hey simballer do you know if we can edit draft prospect like nba 2k9

Was just about to ask that! Also, whats the deal with the draft? 50 rounds?

# 54 dutchboy93 @ 02/20/09 05:04 PM

I really like the player ambitions part. In 2K8 it oftentimes felt like you could sign any player as long as you had the money. It will be a lot more fun to have off seasons that don't feel like one big auction.

# 55 knuckles0324 @ 02/20/09 05:32 PM

one quick question about franchise, we can have a draft and start from scracth right? just checking and i think the player ratings are absolutely realistic and i am unbelieveably stoked for this game.

# 56 knuckles0324 @ 02/20/09 05:35 PM

quick question, you can draft right??? just checking.

# 57 kaydigi @ 02/20/09 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattNYY


	In game saves have been in for years!

Then they need to carry over to the other 2k games then. I didn't buy 2K8 and returned 2k7 the same day I bought it, so I didn't know it was in the series.

# 58 SPTO @ 02/20/09 07:14 PM

Just read this.....This game is looking VERY good. I can't wait to get my hands on it.

# 59 johnriii @ 02/21/09 05:16 AM

I know this is one of the "little things" and it's not the most popular feature by any means, but does anyone know if the game has either "coach mode" or Manage only" mode? I know it wasn't in last years game, and 2k7 only had the option of going "cpu vs cpu". I like to have the option of playing the game and/or managing the game. any help would be appreciated.

# 60 SoxFan01605 @ 02/22/09 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixthgradetyrant


	Feature set and player progression are two key elements that make up the lifeblood of franchise mode. Great news. Gameplay is also crucial. We'll have to wait and see. The other essential ingredient is CPU-created prospects/rookies. This, for me, has rarely if ever been done correctly by any game. How will the generated prospects hold up in the game? How will the game look 10 years into franchise mode? No mention of that in the write up does not bode well...

I wouldn't really call that a tell-tale sign or anything. Most reviewers/previewers don't think to dive that far in because the average game won't either.

That's not to say I wouldn't like to know this as well. I'm also one who likes to move things forward in a franchise a bit and get multiple years.

Hopefully the reworked progression will play into the generated prospects proper development as well. Editing options (if they're sufficient) and CPU roster control should be able to help with this as well if there are any quirks.

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