To steal the thunder of several other reports, such as how MLB 2K9 was blamed for Take Two's bad quarter or how Owen Good over at Kotaku is calling this a big year for the series.
All of the talk about Major League Baseball 2K's future this year has been two parts disappointment, one part anger, and one part something else. This is all adding up to something big: this is a make or break year for Major League Baseball 2K.
Major League Baseball 2K10 will be fighting several uphill battles, many of which are of it's own doing. Given the amount of money spent by 2K on the MLB Third Party exclusive license, the game has to sell well. In turn, the game is going to have to be a heck of a lot better and at least a comparably good option to the heavyweight championship fighter in the other corner, MLB: The Show.
In today's age of speedy information, a bevy of poor reviews from places like OS and from customers will spell certain doom for the franchise. We could easily end up with a situation where Take Two simply can't afford to make a quality baseball game but it won't be able to afford to dump the license either.
In that situation, where development costs are minimized in order to keep losses as small as possible, Major League Baseball 2K will simply swim in a painful pool of mediocrity as we watch the exclusive contract slowly run out over the next couple of years.
So for 2010, even moreso than Madden in 2009, Major League Baseball has to perform. If MLB 2K10 fails to deliver, then start prepping an eulogy, because death almost certainly awaits the franchise.
All of the talk about Major League Baseball 2K's future this year has been two parts disappointment, one part anger, and one part something else. This is all adding up to something big: this is a make or break year for Major League Baseball 2K.
Major League Baseball 2K10 will be fighting several uphill battles, many of which are of it's own doing. Given the amount of money spent by 2K on the MLB Third Party exclusive license, the game has to sell well. In turn, the game is going to have to be a heck of a lot better and at least a comparably good option to the heavyweight championship fighter in the other corner, MLB: The Show.
In today's age of speedy information, a bevy of poor reviews from places like OS and from customers will spell certain doom for the franchise. We could easily end up with a situation where Take Two simply can't afford to make a quality baseball game but it won't be able to afford to dump the license either.
In that situation, where development costs are minimized in order to keep losses as small as possible, Major League Baseball 2K will simply swim in a painful pool of mediocrity as we watch the exclusive contract slowly run out over the next couple of years.
So for 2010, even moreso than Madden in 2009, Major League Baseball has to perform. If MLB 2K10 fails to deliver, then start prepping an eulogy, because death almost certainly awaits the franchise.