Family Stadium 2003

Family Stadium 2003

JP Title	ファミリースタジアム2003
Release Date	Japan: May 30 2003
Platforms	GameCube
Developer	Namco
Publisher	Namco
Original Price	6800 yen
Team Names	Real NPB teams
Player Names	Real NPB players
Preceded by	World Stadium 5 (PS1)
Followed by	Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium (2008) (Wii)

Family Stadium 2003 is an action baseball game by Namco, part of the Famista series.

The game came with a demo for Viewtiful Joe.

Modes

• Exhibition - Play a single game. 1P vs. CPU, 1P vs. 2P, or CPU vs. CPU.
• Pennant Race - Choose an NPB team and play through a season　(10, 30, 70, or 140 games). Includes a unique "Players Village" feature where you create and improve players on your team by interacting with players and creating and improving buildings in the village. Connecting the GBA to your GameCube with a link cable lets you play Slots and Fairy Quest minigames inside this mode.
• Training - Practice modes: Hitting, pitching, and defense practice; home run challenge; fungo defense minigame.

Series Firsts

• The Players Village, a unique mode with minigames and town-building features inside Pennant Race mode.
• Pitchers now have distinct pitch repertoires. In previous games, pitchers only had attributes for velocity, left and right curve, and forkball quality/consistency.

Controls

Batting

Move batter in box - Left analog stick or D-pad.

Swing - A button. Press Up on left analog stick or D-Pad when swinging for a downward swing. Press Down for an uppercut swing.

Bunt - B button.

Pause menu - Start/Pause button.

Base running

Advance runner / steal - Point towards target base (Up for 2nd, Left for 3rd, etc.) with left analog stick or D-pad and press Y.

Retreat runner - Point towards target base with left analog stick or D-pad and press X.

Advance / steal with all runners - L trigger.

Retreat with all runners - R trigger.

Stop all base runners - Press L and R triggers at the same time.

Pitching

Choose pitch - Left analog stick. Available pitch types differ by pitcher. Pitcher will shake head for pitches not in their repertoire. Up + A at the same time can result in a riseball that finishes above the strike zone, depending on the pitcher's fastball quality.

Move position on rubber - L and R triggers.

Begin pitch - A button.

Pitch aim - Move left analog stick after starting windup and before release.

Control curve - Move left analog stick after pitch is released.

Pickoff throw - B button.

Pause menu - Start/Pause button.

Fielding without the ball

Move fielder - Left analog stick or D-pad.

Dive for catch - Left analog stick left or right and tap A button.

Jump for catch - Left analog stick up and tap A button.

Last second dash for catch - Long press A button.

Fielding with the ball

Move fielder - Left analog stick or D-pad.

Throw to base - Left analog stick or D-pad to select base and A button.

Run to base - Left analog stick or D-pad to select base and B button.

Throw to cutoff man - A button without using analog stick or D-pad.

Commercial

Despite appearing in the commercial, Ichiro does not appear in the game.

Physical Media

• 

  Front slip cover

• 

  Back slip cover

Magazine Clippings

• 

  Preview from NOURS 40 (an official Namco magazine)

External Links

• Official website (JP)
• The Cutting Room Floor page for Mario Superstar Baseball - Assets from Family Stadium 2003 were found in the code for Mario Superstar Baseball, another Namco baseball game.