This game got me thinking about all the landmark baseball games I've played in my life (MicroLeague, Earl Weaver, RBI, Baseball Stars, Bases Loaded, Tony3/OldTime, BBPRO, Hardball, HighHeat, MVP05) and the options that made those games so much fun. Why these great options "died" with the old games is a mystery to me.

[1]One-Pitch Mode -- ML, EWB, T3/OT, BBPRO, HH. It's great for managing a quick game and only making decisions when there's a relevant decision to make. Not many people enjoy selecting a swing type or pitch/location for EVERY pitch. Most (?) of the simmers just want to call a steal when a fast guy gets on or be in charge of pulling their pitcher and which guy they bring in to blow the save. One-pitch mode for playing games might also be appealing. It's a loooong season after all.

[2] Make your own Stadium -- From Earl Weaver Baseball (the biggest landmark baseball game ever, IMO) I know they have this in the NCAA series, but it's long overdue for the pro baseball games. Heck, it's fun. I don't mean the awful stadium building in the owner mode in MVP05 either. I mean a pure "build a 50 foot center field wall 480 feet back just because I can" stadium. Build a stadium for your team's strengths/preferences. It's fun.

[3] GM/Manager Tendencies -- Geez, they had this in Tony3 (and EWB) a decade ago. Have the "slider" scales for each manager (leave em in/take em out, steal 2nd, 3rd, bunt, etc), and the ability to program your own tendencies in for when you sim your franchise games. Have GM tendencies to make trading/FA realistic. When you play versus the Cardinals you should be forced to sit through LaRussa's grueling number of pitching changes. When you go to make trades, you should have to factor in which GM's trade stars for prospects and vice versa. Make it so you're wary of trading prospects to the A's, yet be willing to trade going players to the Mets for talented pitching prospects. Have the Yankees overpay for every star the BoSox show an interest in. *grin* It's realistic, it's fun.

[4]The Throw Meter/Button Sequences For Fielding -- it was cool in MVP05, and it added some aspect to fielding besides running to the ball and hitting a button. Perhaps random button combination for athletic plays (like The Bigs) Again, adds an additional challenge besides just pushing a single button and lets the user feel as though they actually have an effect on fielding. Perhaps higher talented fielders get easier combinations, etc. Fielding is the same now as it was 15+ years ago, except now each base has its own button (Ooooooh).

[5]Classic Stadiums/Teams for Download -- I know they've started doing the stadiums as downloadable, but classic teams (universes in Tony3 and Associations in BBPRO) add a whole 'nother dimension and fun aspect to these games. Being able to pick great teams from various eras to play in a tourney, season, or franchise is fun. How would my 85 Cards to in a season against the 27 Yanks, 55 Dodgers, 73 A's, 84 Tigers, etc. Heck, at least be willing to host the classic roster files at the XBOX live site for the people [and there have been some great ones for the Tony3(Nick), BBPRO(Sean), HH(DrZ) series, etc) who are willing to do this stuff FOR FREE (or small fee). Offer them a little money for their trouble and then charge the consumer for the bundle (like I had to suggest for them to charge for it ... I crack myself up).

[6]Simulated/Playable Minor Leagues -- Again, another area where 2k7 (the only baseball sim/realistic game for XBOX 360, BTW) takes a step backward. The minor leagues are just a housing area for players? Who wants this? People want to see how their minor leaguers are playing/progressing. Some folks (I don't know why) even want to play the minor league games. I don't understand how games like BBPRO98 have this, and 2k7 doesn't. 10 years dudes. 10 years.

[7] Stop wasting time on crap like being able to have a non-switch hitter switch sides of the plate in an at bat. Good Lord. Who decided to allocate resources to this idea? Better yet, e-mail me the names of the people that requested it. I have a present for them. Not only is it dumb, it's well … it's just dumb.

[8] Factor in Player Potential in trades (or do it more effectively) -- There really should be a way for the PC to factor in Potential when making trades. Teams give up young players for aging ones way too easily. You could have teams only accept trades involving a player that has a current rating that is 80% of the prospect's potential rating or something like that. Smarter guys can figure out a better option.

[9]Realistic Lineups -- I know they factor in OBP for the lead-off hitter, but is it too much to combine that with the speed rating (or have a ceiling power rating for lead-off hitters)? Rolen and DLee should not be lead-off hitters. It's stuff like this that leads to less fun replay value, once the eye candy has worn off. Again, baseball games have been around for 20+ years, and this is STILL taking place? Why?

[10] Expansion Mode -- Good grief, do I have to think of everything *grin*. Expansion Mode. What could be more fun than picking a city of your choice (Vegas, San Antonio, etc), building a stadium (described above), drafting an expansion roster, making your uniforms/logo, and playing a franchise with your creation. At least have a "create-a-team" option and be able to replace a regular team with it ... like the football games do. I would think this would be a VERY valuable option for those that run/participate in leagues ... or even for those of us (or just me) that like to do franchise, but don't like playing with established teams. Our current option is to pick which of the "bad" teams where trading its stars for prospects won't lead to ridiculously loaded teams. So, yeah, we pick the Royals, Pirates, or Nationals ... or doing a fantasy draft where we pillage the league.

[11]Hitter's Eye/Recognizing Pitches -- This was a great option in MVP05. Real hitters often pick up on the pitch by its rotation or the location of the pitchers fingers (circle changes, on top of the curve, on side of the slider/cutter) or angle of wrist, etc. We should in the game also. The better the pitcher, the less time you have to pick up on the pitch. The better the hitter, the longer the time, etc. Just having a white dot come into the plate is no different than what was used 15+ years ago. Evolve ... please.

[12] Batting Practice Mode – Heck, if you're going to offer a "revolutionary" batting mode …. Also create an arena where we can practice with it. Let us practice recognizing pitches/locations and hitting to different fields.

[13] Different Contact Sounds – every hit in this game sounds like a broken bat. We all know different types of hits *sound* differently (especially with wooden bats). Incorporate it into the game. Duh.

[14] Catchers Blocking the Plate – I don't know why this isn't in any game. It's a big part of the catching position and team defense. Some guys excel at it, some don't. Have a block plate rating.

[15] Zoom in on Plays at the Plate – along with the plate blocking rating, have a zoom in where the user has to make a split-second decision on how to slide based on where the catcher is … y'know like real baseball. CPU's can have a "baserunning" rating that determines their effectives at sliding around the catcher (or plowing him, Aggressiveness rating)

[16] Catcher's Call Pitches Rating – We all know one of the most valuable aspects of catching is handling pitchers. Again, why it's not in a game, I don't know. Surely there should be *some* advantage of having a Mike Matheny on your team.

[17] Ability to Change Opponent's Jerseys (Franchise) – If you go to all the trouble of making all these great jerseys for us/me to unlock and use … have the ability for me to use them in franchise mode. A "throwback game" with just one team wearing the classics is not all that fun.

I'm sure there's more, but I've said enough. I favor games that play better rather than just look better. Personally, I don't care about seeing the OUTSIDE of the stadium, and I REALLY don't care to see people walking around the concourse in the pre-game presentation (waste of time/resources, IMO). I like good gameplay and the ability to personalize the game and get involved in it.

As a former college pitcher, I LOVE the pitching mode. Now THAT's fun! … and more realistic than the simple location choice and golf meter. The pitching is great, batting could be better, fielding is too generic, and the graphics are outstanding (even though jerseys blowing in the breeze is something I could do without in favor of more realism in gameplay/GM). At this point, outstanding graphics should just be the expectation (on Next Gen consoles) and NOT the selling point. There's still too many glitches and bad AI with the franchise/roster/GM stuff that needs addressed before adding more eye-candy.

It's 2007 and in some aspects, current games are inferior to games 10+ years ago. That shouldn't happen. Still, 2k7 has replaced MVP05 as MY game to play. But, the amount of time/effort I had to put into it to compile/modify sliders for good gameplay and the fact that I had to buy a transfer kit and memory card to obtain updated and realistic rosters without the budget glitch (Thanks ChrisNelson) is ridiculous.

Comments? Any ADD people make it all the way through this post?

Out of all your ideas, I like these the best:

quote

[2] Make your own Stadium

[5]Classic Stadiums/Teams for Download

[6]Simulated/Playable Minor Leagues

[9]Realistic Lineups

[10] Expansion Mode

[12] Batting Practice Mode

[13] Different Contact Sounds

[15] Zoom in on Plays at the Plate

Those are the best. By the way, there's already "Call Game, Block Pitch, and Block Plate" ratings for catchers.

Here are some of my ideas:

• Superstar Mode - Create a player, get drafted by a team, play games in the minors, work your way up to the majors, earn an everyday lineup spot, and live your life as a Major League Baseball player. Control your baseball life in Superstar Mode.

• Pickup Games - Similar to the Pickup Games made famous in the AllStar Baseball series. The computer will randomly select 16 position players and 2 or 4 pitchers. You and the opposing team get to have a mini-draft, selecting each player and assigning them to a position. Once you're done creating your team, it's time to play ball.

• More Stats - If I'm playing a franchise, I want to see individual split stats of every player on my team. You know, stats against LHP/RHP, home/away, night/day, grass/turf, etc etc.

• Improved Manager Mode - I want there to be two manager modes, the one included in MLB2k7 and a new one. In this improved Manager Mode, you're actually the manager. You have a view of the field from the dugout, and you will have an interface on the side of the screen of what calls to make. You will also have quick access to lineup cards, stats, you're bullpen, etc.

• Minor Leagues! - Real AAA, AA, and A teams should be there for every team. You should be able to play games for your minor league affiliate. You should be able to watch you're future superstars and track down their stats.

• Expansion Team/Stadium Creator - I remember playing a baseball game that allowed you to create your own team, draft players, choose a league, and have a season. It was actually pretty fun. If this idea gets implemented, it should definitely come with a Stadium Creator mode so you could design your own stadium for your expansion team.

• Stadium Music - The ability to play whatever song you want in the stadium during certain player at bats, after wins/losses, etc.