Major League Baseball 2K8 announced for Wii
Thursday, December 6th, 2007 at 6:07pm by Press Release
New York, NY – December 6, 2007 – 2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTWO), announced today that New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes will be the cover athlete and official spokesman for Major League Baseball® 2K8.
“This year we have signed one of the most exciting players in all of Major League Baseball® as our official cover athlete,” said Ben Brinkman, Executive Producer, Major League Baseball® 2K8. “Jose Reyes is a multi-talented player – a great baserunner, fielder and hitter, making him the perfect spokesperson for Major League Baseball® 2K8.”
“This is the first time I have ever been on the cover of a video game and it is very exciting to be a part of the best video game out there,” said Jose Reyes.
Although he is best known for his speed and base-stealing ability, Jose Reyes is also one of the most well-rounded players in the game and is the first player in baseball history to have more than 63 steals, 120 runs, 192 hits, and 19 homers in a single season. Reyes led the Major League in 2006 with 17 triples and 64 stolen bases and set a new Mets club record with 104 hits at Shea Stadium. Also an avid video gamer and long time fan of 2K Sports’ products, All-Star Shortstop Jose Reyes is a natural fit as the official spokesperson for this year’s edition of the critically acclaimed Major League Baseball 2K series.
Major League Baseball® 2K8 will be available spring 2008 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, and the Wii™ home video game system.
Let’s hope 2K makes the Wii version one for the ages.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I’m really hoping this game proves how great the Wii can be for sports games, specifically baseball games.
Wii Sports Baseball has fantastic batting, decent pitching, and obviously no fielding. The Bigs improved pitching mechanics, but batting and fielding were a disappointment. Batting had a bit of delay when swinging the remote. Fielding was borderline ludicrous; it required flicking the wii remote right for first, up for second, left for third, and down for home. The only one that felt natural was home plate, because it simulated a throwing motion. As I was playing it, all I could think was, why is the directional pad being ignored? Madden uses it to select a receiver; why does this baseball game not use it to select a base to throw to? Hold/tap right for first, up for second, left for third, and down for home, and then simply perform a throwing motion. Voila! you’re always “throwing”, and the bases are intuitively mapped out.
MLB 2K needs to take Wii baseball to the next level. With the right controls, it can be a huge success. I’ve heard people say that Wii controls cause arm fatigue. I say, let me “throw” 100 pitches, and on 4/5 days rest, I’ll be ready to go again.
December 7th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Interesting to see the 2K sports brand on a Nintendo console again. You may recall that after putting their games on the Gamecube for a few years early on, they pulled them due to lack of sales. I had NBA 2K3 for the Cube, and managed to play through an entire season on that game. 82 games, people.