Whether you prefer rocking a Humongous Melonheads jersey or playing for the Junior Wombats, Pablo Sanchez and the rest of the iconic Backyard Sports kids are officially returning in a matter of weeks.
Playground Productions, the production company who announced plans in August to relaunch the beloved Backyard Sports video game series, said Wednesday that Backyard Baseball '97—a remastered version of the original hit game—is now available on Steam.
The game was added to the Steam Wishlist on Wednesday and will be available for users to play on Oct. 10.
Playground Productions teamed up with Mega Cat Studios to remaster the game's original titles and make it available to play on modern devices. As of now, the new game is only compatible with current generation PCs, but Playground Productions plans to bring it to more platforms in the near future.
"Given the intricacies involved in remastering Backyard Baseball ‘97 from the original CD-rom, it is only compatible with PC devices at this time," Playground Production said in a statement. "We are working diligently with our partner Mega Cat Studios to ensure Backyards Sports games become available on multiple platforms moving forward. "
The gameplay of the remastered game is exactly the same as it was in 1997, although the new version will feature Steam achievements and a Steam global leaderboard that will track home runs, grand slams and strikeouts.
“This was my favorite game growing up," Playground Productions CEO Lindsay Barnett said in a statement. "While we’re already hard at work on the future of Backyard Sports, we first want to honor the past by restoring the games that started it all for me and so many others—beginning with Backyard Baseball '97."
The original Backyard Baseball '97, developed by Humongous Entertainment, was released in October 1997. As the first game of the Backyard Sports series, it marked the debut of the game's iconic cast of fictional characters—the 30 neighborhood kids that made up the rosters of each team and sported their very own personality quirks and skill sets on the field.
After the success of Backyard Baseball '97, Humungous Entertainment released other games in the Backyard Sports universe for soccer, basketball, football and hockey. Backyard Baseball 2001 was the first edition to include the kid version of MLB players that starred alongside the likes of Pablo Sanchez, Stephanie Morgan and Jocinda Smith. Among the 31 big leaguers featured in that game included Derek Jeter, Randy Johnson, Ivan Rodriguez, Tony Gwynn and Chipper Jones. Other stars followed suit in other games, like Lisa Leslie and Kevin Garnett in the original Backyard Basketball, and Mike Modano and Martin Brodeur in Backyard Hockey 2002.
There won't be current MLB players or MLB team names and logos included in the new Backyard Baseball '97 game available to play next month—even if Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. hit a home run while using a Pablo Sanchez-themed bat during a game in August. To include big leaguers in the future, Playground Productions would have to work out a licensing deal with MLB and the MLB Players Association.
Backyard Baseball '97 will officially be available for purchase on Oct. 10 for $9.99 via Steam.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Iconic Backyard Baseball '97 Video Game Has Officially Returned.
