Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball

Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball

Release Date	Unreleased (announced for 2005)
Platforms	GameCube
Developer	Exile Interactive
Publisher	Nintendo
Team Names	Real MLB teams
Player Names	Real MLB players
Cover Athlete(s)	David Ortiz

Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball is an unreleased action baseball game by Exile Interactive set in MLB, which was planned for release in 2005. Exile Interactive served as the development team for the game. The team had previously worked on Sega's World Series Baseball 2K2 and 2K3.

The game was originally announced for an April 4th release date, then delayed to June 13th. A trailer and gameplay was shown at E3 2005, which took place from May 18-20. On June 13th 2005, Nintendo announced the game was delayed indefinitely.

Description

Batting is controlled with a bat-shaped swing cursor. Flicking the GameCube C-stick up, down, left, or right will influence the direction of the batted ball.

Pitches are aimed by holding the left stick in the desired location then timing the pitch meter correctly for an accurate pitch. Different previews give different descriptions of the C-stick functionality while pitching: Flicking the C-stick down is said to either increase the break of pitches or increase accuracy. In either case, the downside is a smaller and more difficult pitch meter.

The game features a Speed Play mode that can be enabled mid-game, focusing control to only the batter-pitcher matchup to allow a full game to played more quickly.

Rookie of the Year mode lets players control a single created character across a full season. Performance points earned in the mode can be spent to improve other players on the same team. Created characters that win the Rookie of the Year award are added to the free agent pool for Franchise Mode.

Franchise Mode allows for control of a single team for up to fifteen seasons.

A Home Field Evolution mode allows the player to earn upgrade points across various game modes to spend on their own custom park, including features not just of Major League parks but also sandlot and minor league-quality parks.

Multiplayer was supported, for up to 4 players.

The play-by-play commentator is Rick Rizzs, then of the Seattle Mariners. The color guy is Bob Brenly, former Diamondbacks manager and then-Cubs broadcaster. The stadium announcer is Tom Hutyler, also of the Mariners.

"Greatest Day" by Bowling for Soup is the game's title track. E3 footage of the game also included the song "My Everything" by Goldfinger.

E3 footage indicates that points earned through gameplay can unlock 65 unlockable jerseys and 10 stadiums.

E3 Gameplay Video

From the GameCube Cafe DVD for E3 2005:

From 2:44 to 4:22 in the video below includes footage of the game being played at E3 2005.

Producer Interview

Two interviews with Nintendo of America producer Henry Sterchi about the game, from IGN and GameSpot. Both interviews were performed at a Nintendo event surrounding the Opening Day Twins at Mariners game on April 5, 2005.

Credits

There is no instruction manual or gameplay video to confirm the credits. The list below is drawn from various sources, and may have some inaccuracies, and is likely missing several individuals who should be credited.

Jason Busch - Programmer

Yann Cleroux - Senior Programmer

Dave Coburn - Lead Animator

Wendall Harding - Programmer

Justin Heyes-Jones - Senior Software Engineer

Neil Hill - Head of Technology

Mike Krazanowki - Senior Programmer

Rodney Lum - Senior Artist

Kevin Macadam - Animator

Allen McPheeters - Senior Game Designer

Thomas OByrne - System Administrator

James Norwood - Senior A.I. Engineer

Glen Schulz - Technical Art Director

Brian Segall - Programmer

Dave Smith - Programmer

Steve Snake - Senior Engineer

Dan Tudge - Executive Producer

Nicki Vankoughnett - Programmer

Richard Walker - Lead Programmer

Art We - Art Director

Todd White - Software Engineer

Screenshots

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  Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball logo

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Magazine Scans

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  Best Buy advertorial discussing Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball and Bowling for Soup - Electronic Gaming Monthly 191

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  Preview in Game Informer #144

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  GameSpot preview. Captured 2024.

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  Nintendo World Report preview. Captured 2024.

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  IGN preview. Captured 2024.

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  Nsidr preview, page 1. Captured 2024.

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  Nsidr preview, page 2. Captured 2024.

External Links

• Game preview by Nintendo World Report
• Siliconera story from 2010 with quotes from Senior Engineer Steve Snake indicating game was completed but never released
• GameSpot article covering the game's first delay from April to June
• IGN post about the game's indefinite delay announcement