We, like thousands of baseball fans who double as virtual General Managers, are anxiously awaiting the March 3rd release of 2K Sports 2008 Version of their baseball franchise. And, being good folks that deliver all aspects baseball news, we're glad to bring you some updates regarding its much anticipated release.
Here's the list of new features according to the 2K Sports Website, along with the occasional Red Stitches commentary:

Swing Stick 2.0 - Unparalleled ball-to-bat contact, unlimited variety of hit types and more realistic at bats with deeper Inside Edge™ integration.

Looking deeper into the site, there is an interview with the game's producer, Ben Brinkman. Brinkman explains that while they're excited about the Swing Stick 2.0 technology, gamers who are used to the old style of hitting can choose to remain playing with those custom settings.

More Signature Style™ - New and improved player walk-ups, batting stances, waggles, home run celebrations, step-ins and step-outs bring each player to life in true, 2K Sports fashion.

This feature is pretty amazing. We were able to see some video of the game in action, and we were blown away. Check out this clip of David Ortiz batting against Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang. Everything is nailed down in this series, from the wind blowing (and uniforms shaking because of the weather) to Ortiz stepping out of the box and spitting on his batting gloves.


Total Pitch Control - A revolutionary right analog stick pitching system where right stick motions and timing determine pitch type, speed and accuracy.

Again, there might be a handful of gamers out there that don't want to have to become acrobats or use telekinesis powers to throw a strike. Reverting to last years settings takes care of that problem.

Precision Throw Control - Unlimited throw types and trajectories using real-world physics and Inside Edge™ data bring realism and variety to every defensive play on the field.


All-New Baserunning - Intuitive and simplified baserunning controls featuring overhauled AI now play a key role in offensive strategy.

Baserunning better take a step up, Jose Reyes is their cover boy.

Full Minor Leagues - 90 Minor League teams available in both Franchise and Exhibition modes, with over 20 authentic Minor League Stadiums and additional authentic Minor League Stadiums post ship via digital download.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We're sick to death of having a Minor League System that is actually just a holding cell for players not on the 25 man roster.

2K Cards - Earn them, collect them, share them, and trade them. The most in-depth card trading system ever, taking the MLB 2K community to a new level.

Not exactly sure what's going on here.

2K Sports Online - Now with over 1 MILLION online gamers in the 2K community, go head-to-head against the best players on the planet.

Time to install a T1 line.

Best Booth in the Business - 2K Sports proudly brings back the duo Jon Miller and Hall of Famer Joe Morgan to the broadcast booth, delivering the deepest commentary available.

This is where we tend to shake our heads in disappointment with the folks at MLB 2K Sports. In our dream world, and this is almost borderline insanity, every team would have their own hometown announcer. Michael Kay for the Yankees, Jerry Remy for the Red Sox, and Will Ferrell doing his Harey Carey impersonation for the Cubs Fans.

Here's a recent video release of the upcoming 2K Sports release "MLB 2K8". Troy Tulowitzki homers against Brandon Webb:

2K Sports announced that the latest installment in their baseball video game franchise will be released March 3, 2008. Gamespot.com interviewed Ben Brinkman, 2k8's Producer. In the interview, Brinkman discusses some of the game's new features:

"Well, to start we added 90 minor-league teams to the game, including authentic uniforms, many authentic minor-league stadiums, and a few generic ones as well. Going hand-in-hand with that, we had to do a ton of work on the franchise mode, so you can expect a better and much more complete experience there.

We've also added many new unlockable "special" teams incorporating both current and legendary players. We've also got a pretty cool new approach to unlockables in general. We've implemented a new baseball-card system, in which you can earn players' cards by completing certain tasks. You can then sell duplicate cards for credits to buy new card packs, which consist of 10 cards and may include a stadium or special team. But by far the coolest part of the card system is the online card battles. When you have enough player cards to fulfill the requirements of a full team, you can then combine your cards to create a team and take head-to-head against other gamers' card teams online.

On the gameplay side, the big push was for realism. One area we knew we could improve from 2K7 was the hitting engine. Why am I able to hit an opposite-field home run on a pitch that jammed me off the handle of the bat? This shouldn't be. So first off, we completely gutted and rewrote the hitting engine, and the results are outstanding. Along with this, we tweaked the swing stick from 2K7 to increase your control and give it a better feel overall. This is dubbed "Swing Stick 2.0." The idea was to give batting more "oomph" when you swing. Baseball swings consist of two motions: back and forward. Basically we took the power swings from the swing stick and made them the default way to swing, minus the loft and power boost. We think it makes swings far more responsive, rewarding. and natural. Everything from going the other way with an outside pitch to checking your swing feels natural. My favorite is ripping that pitch in down the line. There is just something extremely satisfying about that!

We've also designed an entirely new and unique pitching interface which is unlike anything that's been done before. The main input comes from the right analog stick. The execution involves matching a gesture to throw the desired pitch. This enables a lot more granularity from the input than a digital face-button approach. We'll reveal more on this later. I know this might be met with mixed opinions on the message boards, but do us a favor and wait for the demo before you rush to judgment. We've spent a lot of time and iterations on this and, frankly, I will never pitch using buttons again. I really love it.

Finally, there is also a new right-stick throwing interface in the field. While you may have seen similar mechanics in the past, we've put a new spin on it which we believe is pretty innovative in its own right. The biggest goal was to give more control to the user and have the results be intuitive and realistic, and we're really happy with it.

Having said all that, we will still provide the option to choose between the pitching, batting, and throwing interfaces from previous years, but we believe once you've used the new ones, you won't want to go back."