Baseball player tendencies at the plate and on the mound have never really been addressed in a video game before. Sure their end-of-game statistics are based on real life data but what would Albert Pujols do in a 1-2 count with the bases empty? Is he more likely to take a huge cut at the pitch or a defensive swing? A baseball game’s A.I. would not care on the real-life player’s tendencies and swing or take a pitch regardless of who is at the plate.
Visual Concepts and 2K Sports have announced a new technology called Inside Edge will be included in all versions of upcoming MLB 2K6, including Xbox 360, that aims to bring player’s personalities to life. Inside Edge is the culmination of “thousands of stat categories” over the past 3 years that will determine player tendencies in any given situation. For example if Roger Clemens loves to throw heat when behind in the count, you as the human opponent know the odds are in your favor to guess on that pitch.
President of Visual Concepts Greg Thomas adds the following regarding Inside Edge, “2K Sports has always been about offering the most realistic and exciting sports video game experience to our fans. Using Inside Edge technology truly brings every virtual athlete in Major League Baseball 2K6 to life as they exhibit the playing style, tendencies, and behaviors of the real life players in every game situation.”
If executed properly, this is one of the better new editions to a sports video game introduced in the past several years, and could finally revitalize my interest in console baseball games.
