MLB 2004

PlayStation exclusive

This year's entry in the MLB series adds more authenticity to the baseball experience with new modes, detailed stadiums, and fresh commentary. In MLB 2004, you can build yourself an unbeatable dynasty with Franchise mode, take your favorite team or player through a ten-year Career mode, manage the front office in General Manager mode, or take a rookie from A-Ball to the big leagues in Spring Training mode. Replays, play-by-plays from Vin Scully, and commentary from ESPN's Dave Campbell, enhance the action from Opening Day to the Fall Classic.

Released: 30 April 2003
Platforms: PlayStation PlayStation 2
Genres: Baseball Sports
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Themes: Non-fiction
Country: United States
Age ratings: ESRB E
Languages: English

About

MLB 2004 is a 2003 baseball video game developed by San Diego Studio under the 989 Sports name and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. An abridged version for the PlayStation more faithful to its predecessors was released the same month. Unlike the earliest releases of baseball video games, such as Atari: Home Run, MLB 2004 maintained traditional aspects of baseball. The game included all of the classic baseball elements of "pitching, hitting, fielding and base running" while including the ability to develop a team and strategize.

MLB's control over the game's core features and design allowed for consistent brand image and resonated with fans internationally. It was the first game in the MLB series to not be exclusive to North America, as it was released in Japan as MLB 2003 for the PlayStation 2 .

Keywords

baseball
year in the title

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Several new types of hitting were included in MLB 2004 which include the power swing and the contact swing. The hitter must move a bat cursor to make sure that they are able to make contact with the ball. There is a paddle that surround the cursor which highlights the area that is covered by a contact swing, and the smaller cursor which highlights the area covered by a power swing. The hitter is able to guess the location of the pitch, and if correct will increase the size of the cursor making the ball easier to hit.

Reception

The game received "mixed or average reviews" on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave the PlayStation 2 version a score of one six, one five, one six, and one five for a total of 22 out of 40. GamePro said of the PlayStation 2 version, "Deciding whether to spring for this game will boil down to individual preferences. Several other baseball games are far more polished, but if you're intrigued by MLB 2004's features, and if its pace and batting work for you, it's worth the price of admission."