R.B.I. Baseball 16 News Post

R.B.I. Baseball 16 Available For Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Android & iOS

02:29 AM - March 29, 2016 by jyoung

R.B.I. Baseball 16 is available now for PC (on Steam $19.99) Xbox One ($19.99), Android ($4.99) and iOS ($4.99) and should be available later today for PlayStation 4 ($19.99) users. Play a few games and post your thoughts!

UPDATE: It is now available for PlayStation 4 users.

Features

Make the play

Make the play with your favorite Major League Baseball team and win the World Series!

Feel the action

R.B.I. Baseball 16 features new fielding moves like dives, wall catches, pump-fakes and more!

New and Improved

R.B.I. 16 features enhanced lighting and graphics, revamped defensive AI and improved batting system.

Season

Track your season stats by team, player and league leaders across multiple seasons. Sim through games in Season mode!

Your Team, Your Way

Modify your lineup with complete MLB rosters or play classic R.B.I. Baseball 16-player rosters. Downloadable roster updates throughout the 2016 season.

Multiplayer

Take your skills to the next level and compete online (Console and PC versions only)

More Details

Defense: A redeveloped defensive AI will introduce new fielding capabilities including dives, wall catches, fake throws and more. This system will give users more control than ever before in making defensive plays.
Baserunning: Built in part from MLBAM's award-winning tracking technology, Statcast�, baserunners' abilities will be driven by on-field metrics from the 2015 MLB season.
Batting: An improved batting engine will feature variable perfect timing. For the best outcome, swing earlier on inside pitches and later on outside pitches.
Pitching: With a reworked pitching strategy AI, pitchers will play to their individual strengths. For example, a pitcher who features a wide range of velocity will mix speeds more often.
Season SIM: During season mode play, sim a game or multiple games to quickly advance through the season and into the postseason -- should the team win its division or earn a Wild Card spot.
Lineup: Modify a team's lineup pregame or in-game, including substitution strategies such as double switches. Lineups can be set from a franchise's 40-man roster or the game's classic 16-player rosters.
Graphics: All 30 MLB ballparks will feature a new lighting system based on actual geographic locations, field views and additional hi-resolution realistic design elements.

Game: R.B.I. Baseball 16Reader Score: Vote Now
Platform: Android / iOS / PC / PS4 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 0 - View All

R.B.I. Baseball 16 Videos

Member Comments

# 41 taylor89 @ 04/01/16 12:48 PM

I'm enjoying the game, but was just curious as to how often will the roster updates be coming out?

# 42 MLBGames @ 04/01/16 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taylor89


	just curious as to how often will the roster updates be coming out?

First one will land next week. Then they will be updated at least once a month.

# 43 taylor89 @ 04/01/16 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MLBGames


	First one will land next week. Then they will be updated at least once a month.

Thank you!

# 44 jahswill @ 04/01/16 07:38 PM

I just had an epic 19 inning battle. My Mets pulled it out against the Brewers on a sacrifice fly that beat the tag!
There's really organic gameplay . I give the game, a solid 8. Behind the simplicity is a darn good game of hardball! By the way that was a 3-2 win, in 19 innings.

# 45 FunkDockta27 @ 04/02/16 01:27 AM

Haven't had much time to dive in yet, but the little i did get in, i felt it was worth the $20, and an improvement on last year. Only thing missing is a Cubs player headlining like last year lol. And a franchise mode with trading.

Solid game thank you mlb!

Huge mark for baseball and baseball games anyway

# 46 Delray @ 04/02/16 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MLBGames


	Dives existed in the game last year, but they were very rare and more often than not they did not occur when you would have liked them to. This is an area we focused heavily on for 16. Dives and jumps will occur much more frequently. We've added many more ways for them to occur. In addition, there are now missed catch, jump, and dive attempts on balls that are just out of reach (or in the case of a dive, it has a small chance to be missed even within reach; and all of these types of catch attempts have a greater chance to be bobbled/deflected than a regular catch), which adds more excitement and suspense to the play. We've also added more wall interactions: leaping HR robs, leaning over a low wall or railing catches, and on-the-run catch-and-crash-into-the-wall animations.

Thanks for responding to my question. After reading your response and watching a few videos on YouTube I decided to purchase the game. I'm downloading it now and can't wait to play!

# 47 Delray @ 04/03/16 01:56 AM

Here's my review after playing 3 games. There's a lot I like about this version over the previous one's.....camera angle, ball trajectory off the bat and graphics are better! The dives and jumps are better too....almost as close as if I was to try to jump and dive on my own...almost! There was a couple of times down the line I'd a liked to dive! The one thing I noticed for sure was the lack of power offensively....plenty of times I thought I had great contact on the ball, It was a just a weak liner/grounder/pop up for an out.....I'll revise this after I play some more and possibly get better at hitting. Overall definitely worth 20 bucks....if you liked last year's at all, you'll like this one more!

# 48 cbrown119 @ 04/03/16 03:57 AM

Does anyone know if 16 will work on an Amazon Fire tablet (7th generation, I think).

The reason I ask is because it's not listed in the Amazon app store, but appears in Google store. And I was thinking that it doesn't appear in Amazon because it is not compatible.

Thanks

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

# 49 strawberryshortcake @ 04/03/16 04:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MLBGames


	Thanks boomhauertjs! I think people are starting to understand what RBI is all about and we are generally getting less of the "why aren't you that other product?" reactions. And with the refinements we've continued to make, some people such as yourself are also beginning to appreciate that it plays a really solid game of baseball. I find that each game feels different. Blowouts, barn burners, pitching duels. You get it all and it all feels like a game that could have occurred in real life, even though the gameplay is simple and quick. We're always listening to the feedback and the features that people want to see. We know some are disappointed that more hasn't been added to the roster / franchise type features, but we felt backend gameplay still warranted the bulk of our attention for this go around. We hope to bring you all more great stuff in the future!

First, congratulations on the release of RBI 16. Here's hoping for yearly releases including RBI 25, RBI 30, RBI 50, etc.

I've been watching several RBI 16 youtube videos. Just because it's not like the other product, doesn't mean you guys can't strive to replicate a simulation real life baseball game. There is no monopoly on real life simulation baseball games.

The following maybe too much, or maybe even possible. But "no cutscenes, everything live and in real time" would help give the series a more "real" feel to it. You can consider the following suggestions, or not. But the following is what I would do to take a baseball game to the next level.

Spoiler

On the field cosmetic "gameplay" suggestions:

(1) Transition Animations - instead of having players abruptly stop in their tracks, add in more transition animations so the player comes to a slow jog, and doesn't look lifeless. I can already see the potential in RBI 16 because the foundation to many of the fielding and throwing animations are actually very, very well done compared to real life baseball players. For one thing, I like the fact that the speed of the arm whip (follow through) of the pitchers in RBI 16 are fairly realistic.

(2) Individualized. Less uniformity. Less synchronized "swimming." I noticed when the 3rd out is recorded, whether that be a strike out, fly out, out at first, second or third, all nine players on defense suddenly stops in their tracks and runs off the field in a similar fashion. How about programming some walking and jogging back to the dug out at different increments, different rates. And then might as well include the opposing team walking/jogging onto the field for defense assignments.

(3) No cut scenes. Everything live and in real time. In a real baseball game with respect to how a player moves and what a player does. If the runner gets thrown out at 2nd, have him slowly get up, pat dirt off his uniform (or something), and physically jog back to the dug out across the field and take a seat as you'd see in a real baseball game instead of having him immediately disappear from screen. Given that RBI is from a top down view, this would help separate yourself from the other game. After an out is recorded, have the fielders toss the ball around, similar to real baseball players on the field. Upon a strikeout, the catcher would throw the ball to third base and ultimately at the end the ball would get back to the pitcher. No cut scenes, everything live and in real time.

Obviously, the scene cuts away from the batter/pitcher interface when the ball is hit into play. That type of "cut" is still perfectly fine.

(4) Think Camcorder. Think in One Take. In the movie "Snake Eyes" with Nicholas Cage, the first 15 minutes was shot uncut. The camera rolled for fifteen minutes straight. That's what I mean by "No cut scenes. Everything live and in real time." I simply don't want to see players disappearing immediately from screen. I would like to see the player actually run across the field back to the dug out.

# 50 boomhauertjs @ 04/04/16 08:20 AM

IOS version was already patched on Saturday and the ball is much easier to see and the hitting is much improved because of it.

# 51 MLBGames @ 04/04/16 03:50 PM

Thanks for the feedback, strawberryshortcake. Many of your suggestions are already on our radar. One core tenet of our gameplay though, that much of your feedback fights against, is to be able to complete games in around 20 mins. Certainly many of your suggestions can be accomplished while keeping game times short, but having no cuts at all would likely at least double the total time it takes to complete a game. #1 and #2 are definitely areas that we hope to improve on.

# 52 thelounger456 @ 04/04/16 05:32 PM

Thanks MLBGames for checking in an taking feedback. Just to add a bit from the other side - for me I am all about getting a solid game in quickly. Not to turn this into a debate or anything but just to share my thoughts that I as a user don't mind the quick cut scenes and folks just disappearing. It helps facilitate a quick game which is what I am after and why I play MLB.

# 53 strawberryshortcake @ 04/04/16 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MLBGames


	Thanks for the feedback, strawberryshortcake. Many of your suggestions are already on our radar. One core tenet of our gameplay though, that much of your feedback fights against, is to be able to complete games in around 20 mins. Certainly many of your suggestions can be accomplished while keeping game times short, but having no cuts at all would likely at least double the total time it takes to complete a game. #1 and #2 are definitely areas that we hope to improve on.

Appreciate the response and appreciate that elements of #1 an #2 are on the docket. Best wishes. Obviously, no cutscene is simply a cosmetic improvement but it also doesn't mean it can't be implemented with the ability to button through them if desired. Considering it's not crucial to gameplay, having it on the whiteboard as a potential feature for the future wouldn't be a bad thing. If it ever does happen, you might consider calling it "RBI Baseball LIVE." It might simply be "icing on the cake" so to speak when all other priorities have been addressed.

Are players model changes in the works for future installments?

Are smoother animations in the works for future installments? (Might want to check out "Professional Baseball Spirits" on youtube for inspiration.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by thelounger456


	Thanks MLBGames for checking in an taking feedback. Just to add a bit from the other side - for me I am all about getting a solid game in quickly. Not to turn this into a debate or anything but just to share my thoughts that I as a user don't mind the quick cut scenes and folks just disappearing. It helps facilitate a quick game which is what I am after and why I play MLB.

Options for both sides is something that would be appreciative. Option to either button through or simply skip them altogether. But if the RBI development wants to stay the familiar course, then a potential segment of new customers might never consider RBI baseball.

# 54 CMH @ 04/05/16 10:14 AM

Going to give this one a shot and download it today.

Haven't played any of the other next generation versions of RBI, but have been wanting a more laid back MLB game to play.

# 55 jsucram @ 04/06/16 07:18 AM

I'm liking the game so far ... starting to really see the depth within the simplicity.

Too many people complaining about lack of features, options that were never intended to be part of the game anyway. It should be evaluated by how well it plays a game of baseball, not how it compares to other baseball video games.

Question for MLBGAMES ..... is online multiplayer bugged at the moment, or is my internet connection just bad? Every game I've attempted to play getting "the connection b/t you and XXX does not meet 712Kbps required to play online"

# 56 CMH @ 04/06/16 08:03 AM

I agree. I'm enjoying it too. It's a casual game that plays baseball well.

Too many folks want something to be what it never intended to be and then we rate it against our desires and not the product.

RBI delivers as a casual baseball game.

# 57 MLBGames @ 04/06/16 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsucram


	Question for MLBGAMES ..... is online multiplayer bugged at the moment, or is my internet connection just bad? Every game I've attempted to play getting "the connection b/t you and XXX does not meet 712Kbps required to play online"

We're exploring what we may be able to do about this. But we are not particularly close to anything. This is due to a new requirement from Microsoft. If the transfer rate between you and your opponent dips the threshold for an extended period of time, we are required to either end the connection with that message or to "gracefully degrade the amount of data being transferred" in order to perform better at that low transfer rate. Since there is not a straightforward way to degrade the amount of data being transferred, without seriously degrading the quality of the gameplay, we had to go with the former option.

# 58 MLBGames @ 04/06/16 11:39 AM

For jsucram, and anyone else experiencing the "low bandwidth boot" at a high rate, please let us know if you are primarily trying to play Friendly Invite or Smart Matches.

We're currently investigating whether there may be some difference between the two with regard to this issue.

UPDATE: We have ruled this out. There is no difference with this issue between Friend Invite or Smart Match.

# 59 jsucram @ 04/06/16 07:48 PM

Thanks for the quick feedback. If anything changes, please update ....

I'll try increasing the QOS to my xbox unless kids/wife start whining too much. Hopefully this will help.

# 60 thelounger456 @ 04/07/16 04:02 AM

About 15 games in so far with the Reds. Overall liking it even though I can't seem to hit very well. Maybe that is due to playing with the Reds. All my games are really low scoring. Playing on Medium offline.

Some minor stuff not sure if others have seen the same things or not:

Thanks for making walks possible. Even though I am usually not patient enough to take them good to see that you can get walked by the CPU

In Season mode in the Standings the NL West and NL Central are swapped for each other.

Not sure if there is a way already to do this or not but would like a way to have runners hold while running on the line drives to the outfield while you are seeing if they will catch it (Down + A on some old NES games). Of course the awesome defense will get to it most times but would be nice to hold halfway.

Arm strength of infielders seems a bit overpowered. I can live with it. It isn't game breaking since I get to have it too but Billy Hamilton can't even seem to get any infield hits. I also have turned 6-5-3 and 4-5-3 double plays a few times.

The pitcher perhaps comes off the mound a bit too fast to get to balls dribbled up the lines and has a rocket for an arm.

It seems on the first pitch after getting a runner on first the runner slowly takes a lead and this makes stealing tough since the pitcher starts the pitch before the runner finishes taking the lead. Had Hamilton thrown out by a mile a few times before seeing this. Other pitchers after the first are OK since the runner is already at their lead.

I would like to see steals made on pitches that drop in the dirt be easier to steal against to punish throwing that pitch with guys on base.

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R.B.I. Baseball 16 Available For Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Android & iOS