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Backyard Sports (originally branded as Junior Sports)[1][2] is a video game series released for consoles, computers, and mobile devices created by Humongous Entertainment. The series is best known for starring a diverse cast of fictional children as well as child versions of famous professional sports athletes, such as Albert Pujols, Paul Pierce, Barry Bonds, Tim Duncan, Clint Mathis, Kevin Garnett, Tom Brady, David Ortiz, Joe Thornton, and Andy Macdonald. The Backyard Sports series was previously licensed by the five major professional American sports leagues: Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL), as well as their affiliated players associations. The series has changed ownership and developers several times since Humongous's 2005 closure; it is currently owned by a dedicated company called Backyard Sports LLC, which bought the series' rights in 2021. Playground Productions is the series' current publisher, having rebooted the series in 2024.
| Backyard Sports | |
|---|---|
 Series logo as of 2024 | |
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Developer(s) |
|
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Platform(s) | Windows, Mac, PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360, iOS, Android |
| First release | Backyard Baseball October 10, 1997 |
| Latest release | Backyard Baseball '97[a] October 10, 2024 |
The series includes five sub-series based on different team sports—Backyard Baseball, Backyard Soccer (association football), Backyard Football (American football), Backyard Basketball, and Backyard Hockey (ice hockey)—as well as the single game non-team sport-based Backyard Skateboarding. In the games, players form a team consisting of Backyard Kids and pro players, which they take through a "Backyard League" season, attempting to become the champions of their chosen sport. Players can create their own custom characters, starting in Backyard Football (1999). An additional aspect of the games is the use of Power-Ups, allowing players to gain "Super-abilities". For instance, "Super-Dunk" allows a basketball player to make a dunk from nearly anywhere on the court, "Leap Frog" allows a football player to jump over the entire defensive line, and "Ice Cream Truck" causes the other team to be distracted for a brief period.
History
editUnder Humongous Entertainment
editThe series began in late 1997 when Humongous Entertainment, owned by GT Interactive, created the first game in the franchise: Backyard Baseball.[3] Later, GT Interactive was purchased by Infogrames and was renamed as Infogrames, Inc.[4] Infogrames allowed Humongous Entertainment to expand the series, and Humongous later developed more titles such as Backyard Soccer, Backyard Football, Backyard Basketball, Backyard Hockey, and Backyard Skateboarding. Following the buyout by Infogrames, these titles from the Backyard series were released for game consoles, including the GameCube, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and Wii. In 2003, Infogrames, Inc. was renamed as Atari, Inc.
Under Humongous, Inc.
editIn August 2005, Atari, Inc. sold Humongous Entertainment to their majority parent Infogrames Entertainment SA for shares worth US$10.3 million. After the sale, Infogrames shuttered Humongous Entertainment and secured the studio's assets to Humongous, Inc., a holding company formed solely for this purpose.[5] With this point, newer Backyard Sports titles were developed by other studios for consoles and computers, with Atari, Inc. continuing to hold publishing rights to the series under license from Humongous, Inc. In March 2008, Infogrames purchased the remaining shares of Atari, Inc. that they didn't own and renamed itself to Atari SA the following year.[6][7] The two Atari businesses continued to release entries in the series within this time.[8]
Post-sale and attempted relaunches
editIn July 2013, private equity firm The Evergreen Group bought the Backyard Sports franchise during the Atari bankruptcy proceedings for its portfolio company, Epic Gear LLC.[9]
In February 2014, Day6 Sports Group acquired the franchise from Epic Gear.[10] The company announced to relaunch the franchise in December with Backyard Sports NBA Basketball for smartphones and tablets, with Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry as the cover athlete.[11] Aside from that, no other titles were released in the franchise.
In 2016, Day6 Sports Group was acquired by a European investment group.[12] The company later went out of business in 2020.[13]
In April 2019, Humongous's social media pages tweeted an image of the original Junior Sports logo, hinting at a possible re-release of the original games and/or the developer having re-secured the rights to the series proper,[14][1][2] but a week prior, Humongous replied to a Twitter post saying that they didn't own the rights to the franchise.
After Day6's closure in 2020, the franchise was purchased by Ari Pinchot and Stuart Avi Savitsky via Backyard Sports LLC in 2021. Backyard Sports LLC is represented by United Talent Agency (UTA)[15][16] [17] of which the franchise trademarks are held under Backyard Sports LLC.[18][19]
The franchise regained media attention in 2024, when NFL player Jason Kelce, in an episode of his and his brother Travis's podcast New Heights, reminisced about playing Backyard Football and Backyard Baseball, and stated his desire to purchase the rights to the brand to develop a new game in the series.[15][16][13]
Full brand relaunch
editOn August 20, 2024, it was announced that Playground Productions, led by Lindsay Barnett, would be relaunching the Backyard Sports brand alongside Pinchot and Savitsky. The brand would consist of new video games, a TV series, and films.[20] The announcement was accompanied by an animated trailer featuring several of the Backyard Kids in their original designs preparing to start a game of baseball.[20][17]
The first entry released under Playground Productions and developer Mega Cat Studios, a remaster of the original Backyard Baseball entitled as Backyard Baseball '97, was released on October 10, 2024,[21][22] which will be followed by a remaster of Backyard Soccer entitled as Backyard Soccer '98 on November 27, 2024.[23][24] Remasters of Backyard Football, Backyard Baseball 2001, Backyard Basketball, and Backyard Hockey are also planned.[25]
On November 19, 2024, Playground Productions announced that they are working to bring the remasters to mobile devices and are working with Mega Cat Studios on a new original Backyard Sports title.[23][24]
Games in the series
edit| Title | Released | Sport | Developer | Publisher | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backyard Baseball | October 10, 1997 | Baseball | Humongous Entertainment | Humongous Entertainment | Microsoft Windows, Macintosh |
| Backyard Soccer (Backyard Football in UK) |
September 24, 1998 1999 (UK) |
Association football | |||
| Backyard Football | October 28, 1999 | American football | |||
| Backyard Baseball 2001 | June 6, 2000 | Baseball | |||
| Backyard Soccer MLS Edition | October 3, 2000 | Association football | Infogrames | ||
| Backyard Football 2002 | September 19, 2001 | American football | |||
| Backyard Soccer (Junior Sports Football for PAL) |
September 28, 2001 (US) November 3, 2001 (PAL) |
Association football | Runecraft | PlayStation | |
| Backyard Basketball | October 30, 2001 | Basketball | Humongous Entertainment | Microsoft Windows, Macintosh | |
| Backyard Baseball (GBA) Backyard Baseball 2003 (PC, Mac) |
May 30, 2002 (GBA) June 7, 2002 (PC) |
Baseball | Game Brains (GBA) Humongous Entertainment (PC, Mac) |
Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh | |
| Backyard Football | September 25, 2002 (GBA) October 10, 2002 (GC) |
American football | Torus Games (GBA) Left Field Productions / Humongous Entertainment (GC) |
Game Boy Advance, GameCube | |
| Backyard Hockey | October 18, 2002 | Ice hockey | Humongous Entertainment | Microsoft Windows | |
| Backyard Soccer 2004 | March 18, 2003 | Association football | Microsoft Windows, Macintosh | ||
| Backyard Baseball | March 31, 2003 | Baseball | GameCube | ||
| Backyard Football 2004 | September 4, 2003 | American football | Atari | Microsoft Windows | |
| Backyard Basketball 2004 | September 4, 2003 | Basketball | |||
| Backyard Hockey | October 9, 2003 | Ice hockey | Mistic Software | Game Boy Advance | |
| Backyard Basketball (Junior Sports Basketball for PAL) |
September 4, 2003 (US) November 19, 2004 (PAL) |
Basketball | Humongous Entertainment | PlayStation 2 | |
| Backyard Baseball (PS2) Backyard Baseball 2005 (PC) |
March 23, 2004 (PS2) June 22, 2004 (PC) |
Baseball | PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows | ||
| Backyard Hockey 2005 | September 21, 2004 | Ice hockey | Microsoft Windows | ||
| Backyard Basketball | September 22, 2004 | Basketball | Mistic Software | Game Boy Advance | |
| Backyard Skateboarding | September 27, 2004 | Skateboarding | Humongous Entertainment | Microsoft Windows | |
| Backyard Baseball 2006 | March 16, 2005 | Baseball | Game Brains | Game Boy Advance | |
| Backyard Football 2006 | September 20, 2005 (PC) October 4, 2005 (PS2) October 18, 2005 (GBA) |
American football | Humongous Entertainment (PC, PS2) Torus Games (GBA) |
Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance | |
| Backyard Skateboarding: Game of the Year Edition (PC) Backyard Skateboarding (GBA) |
October 4, 2005 | Skateboarding | Humongous Entertainment (PC) Full Fat (GBA) |
Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Advance | |
| Backyard Sports: Baseball 2007 | June 12, 2006 (GBA) September 5, 2006 (PS2) September 11, 2006 (PC) April 3, 2007 (GC) |
Baseball | Game Brains | Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, GameCube | |
| Backyard Sports: Football 2007 | September 26, 2006 | American football | Torus Games | Game Boy Advance | |
| Backyard Sports: Basketball 2007 | November 14, 2006 (GBA) February 13, 2007 (PS2) February 20, 2007 (PC) |
Basketball | Mistic Software (GBA) Game Brains (PS2, PC) |
Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows | |
| Backyard Basketball | September 25, 2007 | Basketball | Mistic Software | Nintendo DS | |
| Backyard Hockey | October 9, 2007 | Ice hockey | |||
| Backyard Football '08 (PS2, PC) Backyard Football (Wii, NDS) |
October 16, 2007 (PS2, Wii) October 23, 2007 (PC, NDS) |
American football | FarSight Studios (PS2, PC, Wii) Torus Games (NDS) |
PlayStation 2, Wii, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS | |
| Backyard Baseball '09 | March 25, 2008 (PC, NDS) June 10, 2008 (PS2, Wii) |
Baseball | FarSight Studios (PC, PS2, Wii) Mistic Software (NDS) |
Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Wii | |
| Backyard Football '09 | October 21, 2008 (PS2, NDS, Wii) October 29, 2008 (PC) |
American football | FarSight Studios (PS2, Wii, PC) Torus Games (NDS) |
PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Wii, Microsoft Windows | |
| Backyard Baseball '10 | March 26, 2009 (NDS) March 27, 2009 (Wii) April 28, 2009 (PS2) |
Baseball | Mistic Software (NDS) FarSight Studios (Wii, PS2) |
Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 2 | |
| Backyard Football '10 | October 20, 2009 | American football | FarSight Studios | Wii, PlayStation 2 | |
| Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers | May 25, 2010 | Baseball | HB Studios (Wii, 360) Powerhead Games (NDS) |
Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, Wii | |
| Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush | October 20, 2010 | American football | |||
| Backyard Sports: Baseball 2015 | February 6, 2015 | Baseball | Day 6 Sports Group | Fingerprint Network | iOS, Android |
| Backyard Sports: Basketball 2015 | Basketball | ||||
| Backyard Baseball '97[a] | October 10, 2024 | Baseball | Mega Cat Studios | Playground Productions | Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Soccer '98[a] | November 27, 2024 | Association football | |||
| Backyard Football '99[a] | TBA | American football | |||
| Backyard Baseball '01[a] | TBA | Baseball | |||
| Backyard Basketball '01[a] | TBA | Basketball | |||
| Backyard Hockey '02[a] | TBA | Ice hockey |
Other media
editIn 2002, a live-action animated hour-long special based on the Backyard Football games entitled Backyard Basics aired on CBS on November 16.[26]
In 2016, Cross Creek Pictures and Crystal City Entertainment were reportedly in development of a film based on Backyard Sports with producers Brian Oliver and Ari Daniel Pinchot.[27] No news about the film has been revealed since.
On November 19, 2024, along with the announcement of a new Backyard Sports title, Playground Productions revealed the development of an animated project based on the franchise, which is planned to release in 2025.[24]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Schmidt, Eugene (April 24, 2019). "Humongous Entertainment coming to consoles". Barrelrolled. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- ^ a b Frech, Ricky (April 24, 2019). "Humongous Entertainment is Bringing Their Collection of 90s Classics to Consoles". DualShockers. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- ^ "COMPANY NEWS;GT INTERACTIVE ACQUIRES HUMONGOUS ENTERTAINMENT (Published 1996)". The New York Times. 1996-07-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ^ "History of Infogrames Entertainment S.A." Fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ^ "Atari Sells Humongous to Infogrames for $10.3 Million". Business Week. August 28, 2005. Archived from the original on September 23, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
- ^ Infogrames Entertainment S.A. and Atari, Inc. Announce Agreement to Merge: Financial News Yahoo! Finance Archived May 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Atari GB". Corporate.infogrames.com. October 9, 2008. Archived from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- ^ "Infogrames Entertainment Fiscal Year 2008/2009 Earnings" (PDF). Infogrames. May 29, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
- ^ "The Evergreen Group Has Agreed to Acquire Backyard Sports Video Game Franchise". Businesswire.com. 24 July 2013.
- ^ "NBA, Day 6 to Reboot Backyard Sports | License Global". www.licenseglobal.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ Srisavasdi, Greg (2014-12-13). "Stephen Curry To Help Re-Launch Backyard Sports Franchise". Deepest Dream. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
- ^ Kram, Zach (2017-10-10). "How 'Backyard Baseball' Became a Cult Classic". The Ringer. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ^ a b Yarwood, Jack (February 2, 2024). "The NFL's Jason Kelce Is Interested In Reviving Backyard Sports". Time Extension. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ Humongous [@HumongousEnt] (April 19, 2019). "[Image-only tweet; image shows a red exclamation point on a transparent background overlaid with the words "It's Junior Sports" in blue.]" (Tweet). Retrieved May 17, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Lyles, Taylor (February 1, 2024). "NFL Star Jason Kelce Wants to Bring Back Backyard Football and Baseball". IGN. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ a b Mercante, Alyssa (February 1, 2024). "NFL's Kelce Brothers Want To Bring Back Your Fave Childhood Game". Kotaku. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ a b Whyte, Alexandra (August 21, 2024). "Playground to revive '90s gaming franchise Backyard Sports". Kidscreen. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
- ^ "Trademark Status & Document Retrieval Video Game". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
- ^ "Trademark Status & Document Retrieval Merchandise". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
- ^ a b Otterson, Joe (August 20, 2024). "'Backyard Sports' Relaunching With New Video Games, TV Series, Films (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Romano, Sal (September 25, 2024). "Backyard Baseball '97 announced for PC". Gematsu. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
- ^ Silberling, Amanda (September 25, 2024). "Backyard Baseball '97 is back, with a re-release coming soon on Steam". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
- ^ a b "Next-Gen 'Backyard Sports' Game in the Works". Variety. November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
- ^ a b c Dierberger, Tom (November 19, 2024). "'Backyard Sports' Franchise Currently Developing First Next-Generation Video Game". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
- ^ Moore, Logan (2024-10-10). "Backyard Football, Basketball, and Soccer Remasters "Coming Soon" to PC". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ Ball, Ryan (2002-11-12). "NFL Films gets animated". Retrieved 2024-11-20.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 30, 2016). "'Backyard Sports' Video Game In Movie Deal With Cross Creek & Crystal City". Deadline.