''Sega Sports' World Series Baseball'', or simply ''World Series Baseball'', is a

sports game A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport (s ...

developed by

BlueSky Software BlueSky Software was an American video game developer based in California. Formed in 1988, BlueSky closed in March 2001, when parent company Titus Interactive was in financial trouble. The BlueSky trademark continued to be owned by Titus Interac ...

and published by

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

for the Genesis/Mega Drive and

Game Gear The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily competed with Nintendo's Game Boy, ...

. It is the first game in the series and was originally released in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. A version for the

Sega 32X The 32X is an add-on for the Sega Genesis video game console. Codenamed "Project Mars", it was designed to expand the power of the Genesis and serve as a transitional console into the 32-bit era until the release of the Sega Saturn. The 32X us ...

, ''

World Series Baseball '95 ''World Series Baseball '95'' is a traditional baseball simulation video game by Sega. It was released in 1995 for the Game Gear and Sega Genesis, as well as a 32X version sold as ''World Series Baseball starring Deion Sanders''. In Japan, the ...

'', would follow in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. The game was a major advancement in

baseball games in that it included licensed MLB players and teams (the first baseball video game to have both such licenses revious baseball video games only had one license they are based on the rosters for the 1994 MLB season), and relatively accurate gameplay. The series concluded with '' World Series Baseball 2K3'' on the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

and the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

. After that, Sega contracted with

2K Games 2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. 2K was founded under Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports labels, following Take-Two Interactive's acquisition of Visual Concepts that same m ...

to take over their sports game contracts and the line continued as the '' Major League Baseball 2K'' franchise.

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

broadcaster

Jerry Coleman Gerald Francis Coleman (September 14, 1924 – January 5, 2014) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman for the New York Yankees and manager of the San Diego Padres for one year. Coleman was named the rookie of the year in 1949 by Ass ...

provides the play-by-play for the game. The first World Series Baseball officially licensed by the MLB was released by Mattel Electronics for the Intellivision in 1983 with a stunning 3D graphic.

Reception

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

'' gave the Genesis version a rave review, calling it "arguably the best baseball

cart A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

ever." They praised the use of real life teams, players, and stadiums, the accurate graphical recreation of the stadiums, the catcher's-eye view of the action, and the generally impressive graphics.

Notes

References

1994 video games BlueSky Software games World Series Baseball video games Sega video games Sega Genesis games Game Gear games Video games developed in the United States Video games scored by Sam Powell Multiplayer and single-player video games {{baseball-videogame-stub