Backyard Baseball is a baseball video game developed and published by Humongous Entertainment. It is the first video game released for the Backyard Sports franchise (originally known as the Junior Sports series)[2] and the long-running Backyard Baseball series. The game was released on a hybrid Windows and Macintosh CD-ROM on October 10, 1997.
| Backyard Baseball | |
|---|---|
 Cover art as taken from the game's AutoRun menu. Depicted are four of the game's "Backyard Kids"; clockwise from center: Pablo Sanchez, Maria Luna, Pete Wheeler, and Stephanie Morgan. | |
| Developer(s) | Humongous Entertainment (original) Mega Cat Studios (remaster) |
| Publisher(s) | Humongous Entertainment (original) Playground Productions (remaster) |
| Series | Backyard Baseball Backyard Sports |
| Engine | SCUMM |
| Platform(s) | Windows, Classic Mac OS |
| Release | Original (Windows, Classic Mac OS)
'97 remaster (Windows)
|
| Genre(s) | Sports video game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The game was remastered in 2024 as Backyard Baseball '97. The remaster was released for Windows via Steam on October 10, 2024, exactly 27 years after the original's release.[3]
Gameplay
editBackyard Baseball is a baseball sports video game designed and aimed for children. There are three main modes: Pick-Up Play, League Play and Batting Practice. A spectator mode exists which pits two randomly chosen computer-controlled teams together. The player can also view their trophies won, their records and view baseball cards of the characters. Before playing a pick-up game or starting a season, the user can change the set difficulty, toggle tee-ball (in Pick-Up Play only), switch from 6- or 9-inning games, and toggle errors. In both modes, a player can create their own team by customizing their team's name and color and drafting 9 players from a pool of thirty characters. During the game, there are many powerups that can be used either by a pitcher, which can be achieved by recording a strikeout, and by the batter, which can be achieved by getting a hit on a power-up pitch when playing offense.
In the pick-up play mode, the player can choose a field from seven different fields of varying size and field material: for example, the field Tin Can Alley makes it unique, due to its hard surfacing and difficulty to score a usual home run. After creating their own team, the player takes turns drafting their players against a computer. In league play, the player is restricted to Parks Department Field No. 2.
In league play, the player signs a coach in the Backyard Baseball League. The player guides their chosen team through a 14-game season against 7 other league teams. At the end of the season, once the team wins enough games to place first or second in their league, their team plays against the other qualified team to win the league pennant in the best-of-3 All-City BBL Playoffs. Once the team wins the pennant, the team is invited to play in the postseason tournament, starting with the best-of-3 Super Entire Nation Tournament, and then the Ultra Grand Championship of the Universe (analogous to the real-life World Series).[1]
Characters
edit
The game features thirty fictional children evenly split between 15 boys and 15 girls, rated from 1 to 4 in batting, running, pitching and fielding. One notable character is Pablo Sanchez, a small, Spanish-speaking boy whose amazing skill in batting and running makes him an iconic character in the future overarching series.[4] The game has been notable for its wide range of diversity within its cast.[5][6][7]
Development
editBackyard Baseball was conceived by Nick Mirkovich, who took inspiration from various baseball-themed movies focusing on children; the project was later put into action during the 1995 American League Division Series.[4] Backyard Baseball was first revealed at the 1997 E3 in June.[8]
Legacy
editThe success of Backyard Baseball led to the release of more Backyard Sports titles,[4] including updated versions of Backyard Baseball, starting with Backyard Baseball 2001, which would be the first Backyard Baseball game to include Major League teams and professional sports players,[9] a tradition started in Backyard Football.[10]
2024 remaster
editA remaster of Backyard Baseball entitled Backyard Baseball '97 was released on October 10, 2024, via Steam, as part of a reboot of the Backyard Sports franchise.[3] The remaster was developed by Mega Cat Studios and published by Playground Productions.[11] A hacked CD-ROM copy of the game was used as basis for the remaster, as the source code of the original game has been lost; as a result, the remaster currently only supports Windows. The remaster supports several Steam features not found in the original release (as Steam didn't exist in 1997), including leaderboards, achievements, and cloud saves. On October 8, two days before the remaster's release, Playground Productions announced that the remaster was Steam Deck-verified and would also support the use of gamepads, which were not supported in the original release.[12]
Reception
edit| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Computer Gaming World |   [7] |
| GameSpot | 8/10 (remaster)[13] |
| macHOME | [14] |
Backyard Baseball was released to moderate reviews: the game was praised for its diversity and Computer Gaming World cited the easy to learn difficulty. However, reviewers criticized the slow gameplay with macHOME describing the pacing "as fluid as a drunk trying to walk a straight line".
2024 remaster
editReviews of the 2024 remaster noted that it was functionally identical to the original release[15]—now a cult classic.[4][16] However, Mark Delaney of GameSpot viewed this as a missed opportunity to implement some quality-of-life features.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b Uppendahl, John; Salvadore, Mike (September 9, 1997). "Humongous Entertainment Creates a League of its Own: The World's First CD-ROM Baseball Game Designed for and Starring Kids! Backyard Baseball Slides Into Stores at World Series Time, Making Baseball a Year-Round Sport" (Press release). Woodinville, WA: Humongous Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 25, 1998. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "Junior Sports". Humongous Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 10, 1998. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ a b Silberling, Amanda (September 25, 2024). "Backyard Baseball '97 is back, with a re-release coming soon on Steam". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Kram, Zach (October 10, 2017). "How 'Backyard Baseball' Became a Cult Classic". The Ringer. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ Delayo, Mike (May 10, 2019). "The Inclusive Legacy of Backyard Baseball". The Hardball Times. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ Garrity, Tanner (November 22, 2022). "Remembering the Most Inclusive Video Game Ever, 25 Years Later". InsideHook. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "Backyard Baseball" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 167. June 1998. p. 241. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ "The First-Ever CD-ROM Sports Games Designed for Kids, Debuts at E3" (Press release). Humongous Entertainment. June 10, 1997. Archived from the original on March 8, 2000. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ "Humongous Entertainment® Brings Major League Baseball Superstars Down to Size With Backyard Baseball 2001™" (Press release). Bothell, WA: Humongous Entertainment. June 6, 2000. Archived from the original on November 20, 2000. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ "Humongous Entertainment Teams Up with the National Football League™, Major League Baseball™, Major League Baseball Plays Association™, Major League Soccer™" (Press release). May 13, 1999. Archived from the original on June 10, 2000. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
- ^ Romano, Sal (September 25, 2024). "Backyard Baseball '97 announced for PC". Gematsu. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
- ^ "Backyard Baseball '97 Verified for Steam Deck". Steam Community. October 8, 2024. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
- ^ a b Delaney, Mark. "Backyard Baseball '97 Review - Hit Parade". GameSpot. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ "Backyard Baseball". macHOME. Archived from the original on June 8, 2000.
- ^ Dierberger, Tom (October 9, 2024). "Backyard Baseball '97 Review: One Nostalgic Season With the Melonheads". SI. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ Mintz, Jake (August 22, 2024). "Why the return of Backyard Baseball means so much to ball fans of a certain age". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved October 23, 2024.