-
Out of the Park Baseball 17’s minor leagues include some fascinating former players
When reading that Out of the Park Baseball 17 features historical minor leagues that go all the way back to 1919 it’s easy to not fully grasp what that actually means for the product. There are well over 100,000 real players included and all the minor league affiliates. Among them are plenty of interesting stories of players who never reached the majors.
With that in mind I first wanted to pull out some names from the past that went on to have success in other professions from sports to entertainment and politics that are found in the game. They include John Elway, Michael Jordan, Kurt Russell, and “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Nine individuals of interest have been profiled in my latest piece over at Sporting News.
-
Three fighters added to EA Sports UFC 2
When the first EA Sports UFC went out the game was missing a large number of relevant fighters and over the course of eight months many of them were added through patches. EA Sports UFC 2 launched this week with over 250 fighters, making it difficult to identify glaring omissions, but three new fighters have already been added to the roster with its first update.
Now found in EA Sports UFC 2 are Sage Northcutt and Jessica Aguilar. Northcutt has been placed in the lightweight division despite the publisher announcing him as a welterweight. He’s rated 87 Overall with 91 Striking, 83 Clinch, and 81 Ground. Aguilar, in women’s strawweight, is 87 Overall and she has 85 Striking, 85 Clinch, and 86 Ground.
There’s also another new fighter but the identity of which is being shrouded in mystery. There is a process to unlock and discover that individual, but the procedure to do apparently is not going to be specified at this time.
-
MLB The Show 16 Giveaway
Thanks to all those that entered. The winner has been contacted through email.
The biggest sports gaming release for the first half of the year is nearly here with MLB The Show 16’s arrival now under two weeks away. The site giveaways return to celebrate that with the winner receiving a copy of the game on PlayStation 4. Look for a second giveaway of the game coming within the next week through the Hit The Pass Twitter account as well.
There are several ways to qualify and each one counts for entries so the more you complete the more chances to win. The giveaway is open now and will run through March 25Â when the winner will be randomly selected and contacted for delivery details. Good luck! Read more
-
The O’Bannon lawsuit now moving towards possible Supreme Court hearing
An appeals ruling last September in the Ed O’Bannon vs NCAA class action lawsuit complicated the potential return of college sports video games. District judge Claudia Wilken had initially ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, finding that the NCAA violated antitrust laws and that college athletes should be able to receive up to $5,000 a year in deferred payments.
The District Court ruling had made it possible for the likes of EA Sports to pay into a trust that would have been dispersed to players after they left school. They would have been able to license the use of their likenesses including names for video games. That would no longer be allowed based on the 9th Circuit’s reversal. Players would not be able to receive any compensation above the full cost of attendance.
Today the plaintiffs petitioned for the matter to be heard by the Supreme Court. Whether they hear the case or not a decision will effectively be made by them. If they pass on it then the ruling from the lower court stands. If they take it, they can reverse the decision barring compensation above the cost of attendance or choose to affirm it. A split decision, given that the court for now only has eight justices, would cause the lower court ruling to stand.
This will be important to watch, as there is little chance of a college football or basketball game returning until players can actually be paid for their likenesses. Until then implementation within another product like was seen with NBA 2K16 could be the best option available. That concept adds value to an existing already popular product rather than counting on an unlikely scenario of enough consumers paying money for a generic game, with fake teams, players, conferences, and bowls, to justify the development costs and become profitable.
For more on this news check out the article written today over at Sporting News. For a full summary of the situation with college sports video games – from the first lawsuit filing to where we are today – make sure to read through this piece over on Hit The Pass.
-
Rocket League making push for full cross-network play between XB1 and PS4
Is it not enough that Rocket League is a fantastic game with unparalleled support that, due to its incredible success, will likely influence the types of games made going forward? There’s now the possibility it could be the catalyst for getting the long-awaited and highly-desired ability for those on different consoles to play the same game together online.
In an announcement yesterday developer Psyonix revealed that the Xbox One will be getting cross-platform play with PC this spring. That’s no surprise given that the PlayStation 4 and PC versions of the game have had that ability since they launched last July. The more interesting development followed with the vague comment that “information regarding other platforms” would be coming soon and a policy change from Microsoft. Read more
-
Review of EA Sports UFC 2
The first big sports game release of 2016 is here with EA Sports UFC 2. The sequel has improved on the deficiencies of the first, providing a much more satisfying gameplay experience and deep roster, but the modes of play come up a little short. Career Mode is a disappointment and the new spin on Ultimate Team isn’t very compelling. The new KO Mode is a winner however, even though it isn’t playable online.
Ultimately what it comes down to is the game this time around better respects the sport and fans will find appreciation in that. It’s not going to appeal to an audience outside of those people but it probably never will no matter how the games are designed or marketed. Sales have plummeted from one UFC release to the next, so it’s the right idea to go after the real fans of the sport instead. Check out the complete review over at Sporting News.
-
The Line Drive for March 13
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦The top ranked players broken out by specific skills in Out of the Park Baseball 17.
♦The highest rated players broken down by position in MLB The Show 16.
♦Giants and Raiders, Browns and Broncos – early winners and losers for Madden NFL 17.
♦Casey Powell Lacrosse 16 (review) introduces the sport to a new gaming generation.
♦EA Sports UFC 2’s new knockout physics system delivers devastating finishes.
♦NBA 2K16 may get be giving Steph Curry his own badges in an upcoming patch.
♦Owen Good at Polygon also wrote about what the news could mean for NBA 2K16.
♦It should now be easier to get green releases on open shots in NBA 2K16.
♦A new open world snowboarding game is coming to XB1/PS4/PC later this year.
♦The complete soundtrack and Spotify playlist was laid out for EA Sports UFC 2.
♦The full list of achievements have been revealed for EA Sports UFC 2.
♦Vote for the last four teams to be included in the OOTP 17 Tournament of Champions.
♦Developer blog goes over some smaller improvements coming to OOTP Baseball 17.
♦For some reason there will also be a retail release of RBI Baseball 16.
♦Full details on the March content update out now for Driveclub.
♦The Batmobile update also included a new Spectator Mode camera in Rocket League.
♦EA UFC 2 and Conor McGregor were featured in Conan’s latest Clueless Gamer.
♦Blu-ray releases this week include The Big Short and Game of Thrones: Season 5.
♦Amazon Prime members can still pre-order EA Sports UFC 2 for $48 or $56 Deluxe.
♦Amazon Prime members can still pre-order MLB The Show 16 for $48 or $56 MVP. -
EA Sports UFC 2 Gameplay Videos
With EA Sports UFC 2 out now through EA Access and only a matter of a few days from officially releasing, work is being done on the official review which will go up Monday morning. To pass the time until then, check out some gameplay videos that have been captured during the process, featuring fights against both the CPU and online opponents. Read more
by