Out of the Out of the Park
It’s the end of an era of OOTP, as company founder Markus Heinsohn is moving on. After twenty-five releases (yes, the title of Out of the Park Baseball 25 isn’t a reference to 2025), the series’ original lead programmer is leaving the company he founded.
This New York Times profile gives Markus’ backstory. Born in Germany, Markus was taught by a Colombian coworker of his father how to play, eventually pitching in a local league they set up. Then he founded a company to make what has been the definitive simulation of the sport for the past decade-plus.
It’s been something of a chaotic few years for the OOTP series under its new ownership, Korean mobile company Com2uS. 23 in particular suffered from the sudden removal of the NPB, which was never officially licensed, but had real team and player names for years and years prior to suddenly being patched out.
Backyard Sports new title is in development
Another week, another somewhat vague announcement from the new team behind Backyard Sports. Mega Cat Studios is developing an untitled “next-gen” original game. It will include all the original Backyard Sports characters plus some new additions. No details yet beyond that, including which sport or sports are included.
The news also mentions mobile game ports of the old Backyard Sports games are in the works.
Grand Prix mode guide for Prospi
Another great English-language guide video from the Checked Swing channel for the new Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2024-2025, this time for the Grand Prix mode.
YouTube Viewing Guide
- Jikkyou Powerful Major League (PS2) Gameplay – The Japan-only prequel to MLB Power Pros. No customized player faces in this one. Compare to the GameCube gameplay here.
- Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2024-2025 (PC) Gameplay – Finally got OBS and Prospi to get along for 45 minutes to capture a video. And recorded this one with heavy rain on, which led to a perhaps unsurprising twist ending…