Update : April 28 '10 Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel Coming out on May 3rd 2010 http://toucharcade.com/2010/04/28/exclusive-flick-baseball-preview-freeverses-baseball-game-is-almost-here/ ====================== See: Developer's remarks [hqyoutube]M7PF12ooCys[/hqyoutube] "Flick Sports Baseball will be the newest entry in the Flick Sports series when it comes out sometime in February. Like the other FS games, this will focus mainly on the mechanics of the sport in question--batting and pitching, in this case. The game's producer mentioned that those controls are still under development, but will probably involve a finger-swipe mechanic to control batting. FS Baseball doesn't have the MLB license, but you will be able to customize your league's teams, as well as individual players. Smith demoed this for us very quickly, applying pinstripes and various jersey colors to his player with a touchable palette. The game will also feature multiple stadiums, as well as night and day play. Freeverse isn't sure whether a full season mode will make it into the game yet. -STP"
I hope it has the gameplay of Baseball Superstars , but with iphone quality graphics and intuitive mechanics...
Freeverse makes great games. Have been a fan since the 90s. First thing that popped in my mind, other than purchasing the app, "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock, bustin' the running man. booom, yeah ---wah! yeah ---wah! booom, yeah ---wah! , yeah ---wah!
LOL... text from me and video from Arn/Blake! I like it. We'll have video up soon too, as soon as I have a chance to edit it.
Thanks so much for the video. It shows what the competition is up to. Great to know where we stand!! Thx! HHG
has there been any word on an official game? i welcome all the unoffiical ones and that one looks cool and i imagine ill buy it, but i really want an official one too heh.
. Maybe I'm the only one disappointed, but I wanted Flick Hunting. iHunt is horrible, but I'd like to see something similar, but made better.
Agreed! I want a game from EA sports. It'd probably be hard to do without a pasted on control pad like Baseball Superstars though. But that game really is an amazing and addictive game On the other hand, the flick sports franchise looks promising, with flick baseball and i've heard rumours of flick football. Hopes up that the graphics are good and that they implement a system similar to Baseball Superstars 2009!
I like the sound of that. I just hope they make it a real simulation with nine full innings, a season and playoffs etc. Looking at the video the graphics don't look like they will be bad. By the way to the touch tennis team, I hope you guys do make a baseball sim too. Looking at touch tennis 09 the graphics look great. And competition is what makes America great.
Thanks for the added details! It really sounds like Freeverse is focusing on Batting/Pitching and not the entire game of baseball. A quick game of baseball that can be played in 3-5 minutes perhaps? From personal experience, building a state machine to deal with all the nuances of where to throw the ball, run down, etc... based on how the bases are loaded and where every fielder / runner and the ball currently resides is no cup of tea and is a many month process to get tuned and working. AND if you go after this route... The resident iPhone baseball experts will never be happy. Will compare your product to EA Sports and 2K Sports... Will always want more... Out of a game that needs to be built on a budget that is less than 5% of what it would cost to develop on a DS/PSP. Thx! HHG
I don't think any game will get an official MLB license within the next few years, since there are so many legal battles over them with the consoles.
That said, a lot of users appear happy with the gameplay of Baseball Superstars, notwithstanding the limitation of its graphics. As such, if Freeverse provides a game with comparable gameplay, but iphone quality visuals, and intuitive mechanics, I suspect they will do rather well, despite inevitable critics...
The sheer problem in the license is the up front cost of the MLB / MLBPA to be incurred and recouped on a per unit basis by the publisher. There are so many fees associated with teams, player names, likenesses, etc... IMO, it's nothing to deal with legalities, its all about cost and the publishers ability to pay for the license fees and dev cost and their chance to break even or perhaps make a profit. Thx! HHG
From what the video shows, they have a stadium, players up and running around the bases, others at their position, not much more. No hint at AI.. Etc. and no talk from the producer about fielding - which implies AI and a true game of baseball. If its set to release in Feb.. There is a lot of work ahead of them. Baseball Superstars, has been in development since 2004 and was initially released in 2005. Its been tweaked and polished many times since that date so I don't anticipate seeing anything close to that polish level. Thx! HHG
Well yes, but there are legal issues as well. 2K Sports is now the only publisher who can make 3rd party MLB games (meaning first party games are still ok, like Sony with MLB: The Show) So unless Apple makes their own, we won't see one on the iPhone Now of course, there may be loopholes, because I don't know which systems apply, as it may not be a broadsweeping thing for all video games. So who knows. I think Craig might be able to give us some details on that since EA was a victim in the ruling (which totally sucks since they had the best games)
In terms of baseball - EA got what they deserved. Since they have thje exclusive on NFL - which IMO should NEVER have happened. 2K taking down baseball is justice? Well - sort of - but the exclusivity of a sports license is really unnecessary and keeps great games from the market. While we all like madden... **COUGH** **COUGH** In many ways, 2K's football game was superior. Back to the license issue... The scope would depend on the platforms specified in their licensing agreement. Since, at the time it was written, the world in terms of platforms have changed, there may be opportunity. Not just for apple - but anyone with the $$$. When that agreement was crafted, who knew digital distribution on iTunes would be where it is! Guess that enabled me to grab a great license or two as well ;-) Thx! HHG
