What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

[Dagreat1]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
TIm said:
Truthfully I could care less what options are in the game...See If the Gameplay good like most sega sports games I will love it....See Ea tells people they made Huge Changes to the every aspect of the game...You know what to me that's total BS...Every time I try Ea Sports titles when they tell me it's much improved...It's the Same old Gameplay Engines..High scoring, Comeback codes, and Graphical flash...And Truth be told Mvp Baseball There will be minor Changes and I mean minor changes.....Reviewers will Give it praise basically because it's well EA Sports..All I know is I have the Best games in Sega Sports and the Rest of the Ea fanboys Can continue Listening to Ea and Pretending like the game is better....Ea tells you they made the Changes and even if they are small changes in your head they are big ones automatically....GO SEGA Sports....

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i owned MVP Baseball last year and i don't see the difference this year except the name change. I see a little improvement but not enough to make it better than ESPN. EA has used it's flash to sell the game to the blind but EGM gave MVP a 8.5 they said the fielding AI is bad so go figure.

[cappadocian]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
jazzycat said:
They should have kept their fantasy franchise mode the best by adding features to it like simmed AAA stats and fixing the unrealistic players in the amatuer draft. The had the best sim game last year and should have kept that niche consumer base. Because they didn't, they have gone from first to possibly last in regards to franchise modes.

Also the dev time seems to have been used up on first person mode and online play - both features not everyone will use. Personally I won't even try these modes so to me besides "espn presentation" all they have added is a GM mode that basically mimicks the EA goals system but only runs for 30 years. And cleaned up minor graphics problems and added a trophy room

I'm sure there are a lot of WS2k3 fanboy's like myself in mourning over this game right now, I would think if ESPN had anything to really push about this game they would have by now, listen to FP talk in the questions thread... doesn't everyone else get the feeling even he knews they blew it with the choices someone decided were priority to add. The majority of the questions asked have been answered NO. I feel bad for the guy having to do this and we should all thank him much, It can't be fun to listen to everyone slamming the game he worked hard on and had no control on the direction the game took. Really all the fault should be on the managament team who looks like they tied the devs hands into coding gimmicks for the back of the game box.... now they tied their own by this failed marketing scheme or lack thereof. The best game last year will probably be the worst selling of the four


If ESPN doesn't overhaul their game next year then they will fade into obsurity, and we can't blame the budget because ASB seems to have done just fine. The only thing that can be blamed on the budget is how much MVP did, not how little ESPN did in comparison. How hard would it have been to make drafted rookies all not have perfect defense and speed.



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Except there is one glaring flaw with your statement. Not the part about Sega screwing up their baseball game this year -- which they did, I've seen it with my own eyes at GameStop -- but that Acclaim is going bankrupt, and you can just about bet your life that ASB will be totally deceased after this year. High Heat is gone for good. Now, ASB is too.

[cappadocian]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
jazzycat said:
They should have kept their fantasy franchise mode the best by adding features to it like simmed AAA stats and fixing the unrealistic players in the amatuer draft. The had the best sim game last year and should have kept that niche consumer base. Because they didn't, they have gone from first to possibly last in regards to franchise modes.

Also the dev time seems to have been used up on first person mode and online play - both features not everyone will use. Personally I won't even try these modes so to me besides "espn presentation" all they have added is a GM mode that basically mimicks the EA goals system but only runs for 30 years. And cleaned up minor graphics problems and added a trophy room

I'm sure there are a lot of WS2k3 fanboy's like myself in mourning over this game right now, I would think if ESPN had anything to really push about this game they would have by now, listen to FP talk in the questions thread... doesn't everyone else get the feeling even he knews they blew it with the choices someone decided were priority to add. The majority of the questions asked have been answered NO. I feel bad for the guy having to do this and we should all thank him much, It can't be fun to listen to everyone slamming the game he worked hard on and had no control on the direction the game took. Really all the fault should be on the managament team who looks like they tied the devs hands into coding gimmicks for the back of the game box.... now they tied their own by this failed marketing scheme or lack thereof. The best game last year will probably be the worst selling of the four


If ESPN doesn't overhaul their game next year then they will fade into obsurity, and we can't blame the budget because ASB seems to have done just fine. The only thing that can be blamed on the budget is how much MVP did, not how little ESPN did in comparison. How hard would it have been to make drafted rookies all not have perfect defense and speed.



<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Except there is one glaring flaw with your statement. Not the part about Sega screwing up their baseball game this year -- which they did, I've seen it with my own eyes at GameStop -- but that Acclaim is going bankrupt, and you can just about bet your life that ASB will be totally deceased after this year. High Heat is gone for good. Now, ASB is too.

[cappadocian]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
jazzycat said:
They should have kept their fantasy franchise mode the best by adding features to it like simmed AAA stats and fixing the unrealistic players in the amatuer draft. The had the best sim game last year and should have kept that niche consumer base. Because they didn't, they have gone from first to possibly last in regards to franchise modes.

Also the dev time seems to have been used up on first person mode and online play - both features not everyone will use. Personally I won't even try these modes so to me besides "espn presentation" all they have added is a GM mode that basically mimicks the EA goals system but only runs for 30 years. And cleaned up minor graphics problems and added a trophy room

I'm sure there are a lot of WS2k3 fanboy's like myself in mourning over this game right now, I would think if ESPN had anything to really push about this game they would have by now, listen to FP talk in the questions thread... doesn't everyone else get the feeling even he knews they blew it with the choices someone decided were priority to add. The majority of the questions asked have been answered NO. I feel bad for the guy having to do this and we should all thank him much, It can't be fun to listen to everyone slamming the game he worked hard on and had no control on the direction the game took. Really all the fault should be on the managament team who looks like they tied the devs hands into coding gimmicks for the back of the game box.... now they tied their own by this failed marketing scheme or lack thereof. The best game last year will probably be the worst selling of the four


If ESPN doesn't overhaul their game next year then they will fade into obsurity, and we can't blame the budget because ASB seems to have done just fine. The only thing that can be blamed on the budget is how much MVP did, not how little ESPN did in comparison. How hard would it have been to make drafted rookies all not have perfect defense and speed.



<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Except there is one glaring flaw with your statement. Not the part about Sega screwing up their baseball game this year -- which they did, I've seen it with my own eyes at GameStop -- but that Acclaim is going bankrupt, and you can just about bet your life that ASB will be totally deceased after this year. High Heat is gone for good. Now, ASB is too.

[Cardot]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Pared said:
But what could Sega have done, that you guys see, that they didn't?


<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

1. Fix the issues from last year (Stealing etc). It does sound like they have done this to a good extent.
2. Atmosphere. We all have our preferences, but personally, I am a stadiums/atmosphere guy. I would have liked seeing working scoreboards, fake ads (ala ASB) and a better crowd.
3. It would have been nice for Sega to beat EA to the punch with the real minor league teams...this feature seems to have really peaked the interest of many gamers...especially those in the 60 AAA/AA cities.
4. Tap into the history of baseball with more retro stadiums and the ability to recreate/edit historical teams and seasons.

I know you can't please all the people all the time, but these would definitely have peaked my interest in upgrading from 2k3.

[Cardot]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Pared said:
But what could Sega have done, that you guys see, that they didn't?


<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

1. Fix the issues from last year (Stealing etc). It does sound like they have done this to a good extent.
2. Atmosphere. We all have our preferences, but personally, I am a stadiums/atmosphere guy. I would have liked seeing working scoreboards, fake ads (ala ASB) and a better crowd.
3. It would have been nice for Sega to beat EA to the punch with the real minor league teams...this feature seems to have really peaked the interest of many gamers...especially those in the 60 AAA/AA cities.
4. Tap into the history of baseball with more retro stadiums and the ability to recreate/edit historical teams and seasons.

I know you can't please all the people all the time, but these would definitely have peaked my interest in upgrading from 2k3.

[Cardot]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Pared said:
But what could Sega have done, that you guys see, that they didn't?


<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

1. Fix the issues from last year (Stealing etc). It does sound like they have done this to a good extent.
2. Atmosphere. We all have our preferences, but personally, I am a stadiums/atmosphere guy. I would have liked seeing working scoreboards, fake ads (ala ASB) and a better crowd.
3. It would have been nice for Sega to beat EA to the punch with the real minor league teams...this feature seems to have really peaked the interest of many gamers...especially those in the 60 AAA/AA cities.
4. Tap into the history of baseball with more retro stadiums and the ability to recreate/edit historical teams and seasons.

I know you can't please all the people all the time, but these would definitely have peaked my interest in upgrading from 2k3.

[bubba4]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

The number one thing to fix for me is the batter stances and swing animations. To come back with the same fly-swatter swing routine is not good. To contrast that with MVP's stances and swings, the difference is stark. In MVP, to see batters with unique stances and odd bat position hit the ball without going onto some pre-activated swing rountine, really adds realism to the game. ESPN doesn't have it. And that's why it looks like the same-o - same-o.
Bubba4

[bubba4]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

The number one thing to fix for me is the batter stances and swing animations. To come back with the same fly-swatter swing routine is not good. To contrast that with MVP's stances and swings, the difference is stark. In MVP, to see batters with unique stances and odd bat position hit the ball without going onto some pre-activated swing rountine, really adds realism to the game. ESPN doesn't have it. And that's why it looks like the same-o - same-o.
Bubba4

[bubba4]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

The number one thing to fix for me is the batter stances and swing animations. To come back with the same fly-swatter swing routine is not good. To contrast that with MVP's stances and swings, the difference is stark. In MVP, to see batters with unique stances and odd bat position hit the ball without going onto some pre-activated swing rountine, really adds realism to the game. ESPN doesn't have it. And that's why it looks like the same-o - same-o.
Bubba4

[Pared]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

Honestly... while we're all going off of vids here, the swings just look weak. It's tough seeing other games get so many stances correctly that ESPN doesn't have that "wow" factor it had 2 yrs ago in the Xbox....

[Pared]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

Honestly... while we're all going off of vids here, the swings just look weak. It's tough seeing other games get so many stances correctly that ESPN doesn't have that "wow" factor it had 2 yrs ago in the Xbox....

[Pared]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

Honestly... while we're all going off of vids here, the swings just look weak. It's tough seeing other games get so many stances correctly that ESPN doesn't have that "wow" factor it had 2 yrs ago in the Xbox....

[Perceptor]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

This is hard because for the last 2 years, Sega's Baseball game has by far been my favorite game. When it first came out on X-Box 2 years ago, it was a fresh new game and the franchise mode was the best I'd seen on a console. Last year, the game was great with all the awards and I had a blast taking a small market team to the WS. Now that EA has really jumped to another level with the franchise mode and minor league teams, I felt Sega could add some more depth to the franchise mode and focus on improving the gameplay a bit....Sega, as Sportsman TO mentioned, should have stuck to making games for the niche crowd and not the casual gamer....

[Perceptor]

Re: What do YOU think Sega/ESPN should have done to compete?

This is hard because for the last 2 years, Sega's Baseball game has by far been my favorite game. When it first came out on X-Box 2 years ago, it was a fresh new game and the franchise mode was the best I'd seen on a console. Last year, the game was great with all the awards and I had a blast taking a small market team to the WS. Now that EA has really jumped to another level with the franchise mode and minor league teams, I felt Sega could add some more depth to the franchise mode and focus on improving the gameplay a bit....Sega, as Sportsman TO mentioned, should have stuck to making games for the niche crowd and not the casual gamer....