MLB 2K10 News Post

Major League Baseball 2K10 Interview (ESPN)

10:03 PM - January 26, 2010 by Steve_OS

ESPN's Jon Robinson has posted an interview with Ben Bishop, Producer of Major League Baseball 2K10.

Quote:


	John: "MLB 2K9 was pretty much panned across the board. What did you think of the final product when it shipped and how did the failure of last year's game help shape the direction of '2K10?'" Ben: "MLB 2K9 was certainly a challenging project for us because of the fact that we switched developers and the game came to us (Visual Concepts) a little later than we expected and it was a new code base. There was a big period of adjustment as we just tried to get our heads wrapped around what was there and what we could do in the time that we had. In a lot of ways, there were things that we just had to leave on the table and know that we had to get the game ready by a certain period of time, and we really feel that with '2K10' we were able to go back and get to all these things that were left on the table and start fresh with a code base that we were now familiar with. When you look at it, '2K10' is a lot of what we wanted '2K9' to be, but we just weren't ready to get it there. The game has really evolved a lot this year, everything from the visuals to the gameplay mechanics to being able to add things like My Player, as that was certainly a big weakness for us last year, not being able to play through a player's career. I really think we've turned things around this year and now we can continue to move in the direction we want for the series."

Game: Major League Baseball 2K10Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 33 - View All

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Member Comments

# 1 Jamin23 @ 01/26/10 10:04 PM

Thanks, Steve

# 2 Jamin23 @ 01/26/10 10:11 PM

After reading that it really does seem like they are trying to get this game back on track to a level where it plays a realistic game of baseball.

# 3 EnigmaNemesis @ 01/26/10 10:12 PM

I wish check swings was addressed. But all he would talk about is defensive swings for working the count. Disappointing.

I also firmly believe that you don't need to have a separate defensive swing feature to work the count if the hitting engine was robust enough and sim.

But time will tell.

# 4 SoxFan01605 @ 01/26/10 10:13 PM

No tooo much to take from this (which is becoming a trend...lol), but I didn't really think too much of this:

Quote:


	Robinson: Is it true that the better your player performs in clutch moments and helps your team win, that it will even increase your team's budget and help them sign free agents? Bishop: Eventually, yeah, that's one of the longer term effects. As your player gets better and is more successful in these clutch moments, your team will eventually build up around you. You even start to have a little bit of influence on the team's direction. You can start to influence which free agents should be signed and things like that where you'll be able to help your team get better. So again, it's not just all about you and your stats. You're also trying to help your team win.

This sounds way too gimmicky IMO. I find it amusing how the developer acts as though this gives them an edge over SCEA's RTTS. I'm skeptical to say the least.

I'm hoping ( though not sure if I really believe it) the reason we aren't seeing any depth of info is because a TON of time was spent making 2K10 play right. We'll see.

# 5 Jamin23 @ 01/26/10 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EnigmaNemesis


	I wish check swings was addressed. But all he would talk about is defensive swings for working the count. Disappointing. I also firmly believe that you don't need to have a separate defensive swing feature to work the count if the hitting engine was robust enough and sim. But time will tell.

I was hoping to read something about the check swings, but there was nothing about them, which it makes me feel like they aren't going to be in this year.

# 6 EnigmaNemesis @ 01/26/10 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamin23


	I was hoping to read something about the check swings, but there was nothing about them, which it makes me feel like they aren't going to be in this year.

Nope, the "defensive swings" is your count worker. Not cool. Not realistic. Will be redundant very fast IMO.

# 7 nemesis04 @ 01/26/10 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EnigmaNemesis


	Nope, the "defensive swings" is your count worker. Not cool. Not realistic. Will be redundant very fast IMO.

I am starting to think they are forcing you to use the feature by removing the check swing. That is what I am starting to gather.

This interview was like a political discussion. A lot was said but you walked away with nothing, lol!

# 8 EnigmaNemesis @ 01/26/10 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemesis04


	I am starting to think they are forcing you to use the feature by removing the check swing. That is what I am starting to gather. This interview was like a political discussion. A lot was said but you walked away with nothing, lol!

Total agreement.

# 9 AustinOrgans @ 01/26/10 10:27 PM

Q: What's the best feature of the franchise mode?

A: The ability to skip through your franchise!

# 10 Jamin23 @ 01/26/10 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustinOrgans


	Q: What's the best feature of the franchise mode? A: The ability to skip through your franchise!

Well a blog about franchise is coming up next.

# 11 EnigmaNemesis @ 01/26/10 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustinOrgans


	Q: What's the best feature of the franchise mode? A: The ability to skip through your franchise!

I know, scary isn't it?

Seems like they don't have a simulation player mind set while making this game, and it is more in line for casuals to arcade players.

# 12 ShowTyme15 @ 01/26/10 10:47 PM

Did anyone notice in the Upton pic that the bat is still in the batters box when he crossed the plate?

# 13 K_GUN @ 01/26/10 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShowTyme15


	Did anyone notice in the Upton pic that the bat is still in the batters box when he crossed the plate?

AND the batters box chalk lines are still pristine

# 14 jerm21 @ 01/26/10 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShowTyme15


	Did anyone notice in the Upton pic that the bat is still in the batters box when he crossed the plate?

maybe Upton was stealing home and the one who was up at the plate threw his bat at Posada before he could tag him out!

# 15 ShowTyme15 @ 01/26/10 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerm21


	maybe Upton was stealing home and the one who was up at the plate threw his bat at Posada before he could tag him out!

Haha Like Delmon Young a few years ago.

# 16 bigfnjoe96 @ 01/26/10 11:03 PM

Hopefully Jon got a Beta Copy & will post some more information like he does every year about his SF Franchise.

Quote:


	Robinson: Getting back to the gameplay, last year there were so many glitches, how did you address the A.I. concerns? Is there a new engine? Bishop: I wouldn't say that it's a completely new engine, but there are definitely some areas that we went in and started from scratch. Fielding was a big one we pretty much redid the entire system. We put a lot more resources into just making the A.I. better. We also added more animations than we ever had before, trying to cover any situation that might come up just so it looks smoother. We have spent a lot more time polishing this year, where we didn't really have that luxury last year because everything came to us so late. This year feels much more like a natural cycle where we've not only been able to add all of these things and fill some holes, but we've had the time to really make them stand out and play the way we want them to.

This for me is very encouraging because VC is very good @ animations & boy was this game in need of new animations..

Hopefully we can get Chase's write-up soon...

# 17 therockstar2005 @ 01/26/10 11:06 PM

With regards to fielding "we pretty much redid the entire system." That makes me feel a bit better about this game.

Honestly, for me, if they just fixed the crap that was wrong in 2k9 (notably, fielding, hitters swinging at everything, franchise bugs) and not introduce any other crap that breaks the game, I'd be happy. I'll deal with the chalk lines and bats left in the batter's box, I guess

But all these words are just pretty tidings until March comes. Last year, 2k9 was supposed to be great, now this year we hear about how "challenging" a project 2k9 was, but 2k10 is gonna be great. miamimarlins was dead on. Come on, 2k. I hope this year is good.

# 18 jerm21 @ 01/26/10 11:15 PM

Even if it isn't a good game this year. I'll still be buying MLB 2k11, I can't live without mlb games, love the game of baseball too much.

# 19 Jamin23 @ 01/26/10 11:18 PM

I haven't seen a mention of RTP anywhere. I hope it's still in there. I did notice the dugouts being filled so I assume it is still there.

# 20 bonannogiovanni @ 01/26/10 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EnigmaNemesis


	Nope, the "defensive swings" is your count worker. Not cool. Not realistic. Will be redundant very fast IMO.

Yeah, in practise Bishop's philosophy is when you're ahead in the count lay off, when you're behind use the defensive swing to stay alive. Call it simulation.....
My only hope now is that they kept the check swing in classic hitting (A button).

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