Backyard Baseball ’97 now available for iOS, Android

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You can now get your hands on ‘Backyard Baseball ’97’ for both iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play) devices, priced at $4.99. This classic game has been brought to you by publishers Playground Productions and developers Mega Cat Studios.

The re-release of the 1997 sports game first launched for PC via Steam on October 10, 2024.

Earlier in the week, a page on the PlayStation Store became active for adding to wishlists, showcasing both PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 versions of a game. However, this page was later removed today. Contrary to the statement “The acclaimed classic is now accessible on PlayStation 4 & 5!”, a spokesperson from the publisher clarified to Gematsu that they are actively considering other platforms for the re-release of Backyard Sports. At the moment, only Steam has been confirmed as a platform for Backyard Baseball ’97, with iOS and Android being announced and launched today. The PlayStation Store listing was apparently just a temporary placeholder.

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Here is an overview of the game, via its store pages:

About

Revisit the classic game that sparked it all! The original Backyard Baseball ’97, upgraded for Steam play. Whether you’re assembling your ideal team, smashing home runs, or just enjoying the clever conversations, take a trip back to the backyard and enjoy the game that made baseball entertaining for everyone!

Experience the thrill of backyard baseball! With pick-up games, batting practice, stat tracking, single matches or full seasons, you have the freedom to set your own rules. Backyard Baseball ’97 offers the authentic feel and stats of professional baseball, yet its controls are easy enough for anyone to grasp.

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Batter Up, Playground Style

The rules for Backyard Baseball are a hybrid of Major and Little League rules:

  • No leading off
  • No Injuries
  • Bunting is allowed
  • Tagging up is allowed
  • You can also practice batting

To start practicing effectively, select a player and engage in a batting drill with Mr. Clanky. This will be the perfect opportunity for you to master the right timing to click and have your selected player successfully hit the ball!

One Nation Under Pablo

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Many enthusiasts recognize this game as the one that introduced one of the most iconic video game characters not just of the ’90s, but possibly any era – none other than Pablo Sanchez, a true legend. Construct your team from a cast of 30 side-splitting young baseball players who turned Backyard Baseball into a cult favorite.

Game Modes

  • Random Pick-Up – A quick way to jump right in! The computer chooses a random team for you and itself, and the game starts immediately.
  • Single Game – You take turns with the computer, choosing players from a random pool of characters.
  • Season – You create a team and manage the team through a 14 game series. The opposing teams are computer generated. At the end of the season the best two teams advance to the BBL playoffs (best of three). The playoffs winner advances to the championship series which consists of the Super Entire Nation Tournament (best of three) and then the Ultra Grand Championship of the Universe Series (best of five)!

Global Leaderboard

Take part in international competitions! The Leaderboard feature on Steam allows you to challenge both local friends and global players. Keep tabs on your home runs, strike-outs, grand slams, season victories, and other stats live as they happen. Find out where you stand and aim for the highest rank!

Fundamentally, we’re enthusiasts at heart, not only for video games in general, but specifically for the Backyard Sports series. For quite some time now, fans have been requesting legitimate and easy-to-access platforms to replay their favorite original Backyard titles. We are thrilled to finally make this dream a reality!

In order to produce a certain kind of user experience, it’s challenging if we don’t have the original source code at our disposal. For instance, we won’t be able to incorporate gamepads or the Steam Deck into these classic games. Additionally, running the original 32-bit code on modern macOS is impractical because even with an innovative workaround, macOS doesn’t have the capability to execute those binaries.

We can ensure the game performs flawlessly, incorporate Steam achievements to challenge you, and offer an opportunity to excel enough to enter the Steam Global Leaderboards for Home Runs. In essence, Baseball 1997 now runs smoothly, boasts improved visuals, and creates a fresh digital archive within the Backyard Sports series, enabling future enthusiasts to appreciate the original game that started it all.

Development

Since the 1997 launch, the original source code for the games has been lost. To revive these classic titles and make them playable on modern devices, Playground Productions partnered with Mega Cat Studios. This team, made up of passionate gamers and fans of the game, managed to perform an almost impossible task by cracking the original CD-ROM and creating new versions that run smoothly on current PCs. The process was painstakingly detailed and took a significant amount of time and effort. Currently, only PC versions of Backyard Baseball ’97 are available due to the complexity of this remaster. However, both Mega Cat Studios and Playground Productions are working hard to expand its availability to multiple platforms in the future.

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2025-03-27 15:17