Bitmob's Aaron Thomas and his friend, Shanker Srinivasan, journeyed to 2K Marin's studio in Novato, Calif. to play the part of Cubs and Athletics fans, respectively. Going into it with the same kind of "I can do that!" attitude we all have about voice acting, they quickly found how hard it was to be convincing when you're reading 300 lines of dialogue and cheering on phantom players - some of whom are long past dead.

Says Thomas:

After Shanker lit a fire under the Oakland A's, I went back into the studio to cheer for some all-time greats. It was a little weird to scream words of encouragement to Ty Cobb, Dizzy Dean, and Honus Wagner, but I quickly got back into character. I was perhaps a bit too excited when I saw Andre Dawson's name appear on screen. "The Hawk" is my favorite player of all time, but because I never was able to see him play in person, this was as close as I'd ever get to cheering him on. I think I did him justice.

When recording jeering and heckling, the two were reminded that as an E-rated game, wirty-dords were off limits. So was anything impugning the integrity or competence of an umpire. But that didn't kill their creativity.

"I mocked a pitcher's base running skills; Shanker screamed for a player to drop a pop-up. I told the opposing team that payback was coming after they hit one of our players; Shanker informed the opposing pitcher that he had seen Girl Scouts with better arms."

Unfortunately, after signing his contract to appear in the game, "2K Sports basically owns me now," writes Thomas, "but I do get my name in the credits, so that's pretty cool."

Check the whole thing out, it's a very cool read.

My Day as a Voice Actor For MLB 2K10 [Bitmob]

The purpose of the call was to announce Take Two's financial performance in the final quarter of its 2009 fiscal year, ending on Halloween. For that quarter, the company reported a revenue loss of $22 million off of earnings of $343 million. More than half of the company's revenue came from the Xbox 360, compared to a little over a fifth for the PlayStation 3 and five percent for the Wii.

For gamers, the highlight may have been the announcement that Borderlands has sold more than two million copies. In a press release accompanying the money news, Take Two affirmed the game's future, using the word "franchise" that usually suggests sequels are coming: "Borderlands from 2K Games has now sold over 2 million units worldwide and has established itself as a key franchise for Take-Two, for which the Company has long-term publishing rights." (They've been saying this a lot.)

The publisher has 33 games in development, chief financial officer Lainie Goldstein said, compared to about 36 in the past year. Her count would include both announced games such as the widely-publicized BioShock 2 and Max Payne 3 as well as lower-profile but significant developments such as a version of Civilization tailored for Facebook and Spec Ops: The Line, which debuted during the Spike Video Game Awards this past weekend. Goldstein said on the call that Take Two had unannounced "smaller titles" planned for its next fiscal year, ending on Halloween 2010 as well as an unannounced title for the August-October quarter. She gave no indication as to what that unannounced game would be, though her placement of it outside the "smaller titles" context and within the quarter Take Two often releases its biggest games raises the chance she was talking about a major game.

Company chairman Strauss Zelnick dodged a question about when the next Grand Theft Auto would be released, saying the publisher has not announced any new iterations. He also shot down an analyst's suggestion that Take Two should skip making baseball games next year in order to stop the $30-35-million losses projected due to the company's contract with Major League Baseball. "The projected losses are significant," he said. "W'ere taking them seriously... they wouldn't be further mitigated by not putting out a release."

Ten days ago Kotaku obtained and published a confidential marketing survey showing that Longoria, the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year, was 2K's choice. Today's announcement confirms the decision but also shows the covers leaked out were mock-ups and not at all the final design.

"Being on the cover, right now, it's a process, and we're working on the game and trying to get things going, we're focused on bringing out the best in it." Longoria told Kotaku today. "I won't get to step back and really appreciate this until down the line, when maybe a 10-year-old kid brings a 2K Sports box to the field and asks me to sign it. Then it'll hit me."

Longoria's selection is somewhat of a departure for the series; from 2002 to 2008, its cover athletes were all New York players, including the Yankees' then-first baseman Jason Giambi, and Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter three consecutive times each. Last year's cover athlete was Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants, still a large-market franchise in close proximity to 2K's Marin studio.

In Longoria, MLB 2K10 is selecting an up-and-comer from one of baseball's smaller market clubs - albeit one that stunned bigger spenders in 2008 to win its division and the American League pennant. Longoria has been selected to the AL All-Star team in both of his first two years in the league, and two weeks ago picked up his first Gold Glove award.

His role is not purely promotional; Longoria, an avowed sports gamer going back to Ken Griffey Jr. Major League Baseball on the Super Nintendo, will consult on the game's development and work on components such as its situational authenticity.

"When we met with Evan at the (2009) All-Star Game, we hadn't gotten to the short list about who we wanted on the cover," said Chris Snyder, the 2K Sports director of marketing. "When we met with him, he said he loved the (MLB 2K9) commercial with Tim Lincecum, but he said, 'You know, in it, I hit this home run and Torii Hunter robs me. Can we maybe cut back on that a little?' He was joking, but we caught notice of the fact that he paid close attention to detail, that he saw it was him in the footage int was Torii who robbed him."

Below is a gallery of all the cover options. Don't vote on them here in our comments; head over to the 2K Sports official site if you want to be heard. The game is scheduled for a March 2010 release.

"The quote is classic Greinke - honest, surprising, funny - and probably as good a way as any for him to mark a day on a national stage," writes The Kansas City Star. It'll also boost his nerd appeal - already stratospheric, since he toils for a small-market franchise where statistical analysis is the only thing keeping a fan interested as the team approaches its inevitable mathematical elimination.

Unfortunately, the Star goes no further in sourcing out Greinke's online life. What class? What level? Has he done nothing but grind since season's end? Actually, considering who is his girlfriend, I hope the answer to that is yes.

Greinke Proves He's the Best in the Game [Kansas City Star, thanks mrlogical]

Image via Beyond the Box Score

In that image you can see the four different designs survey takers were asked to consider. All have the 2K Sports 10th Anniversary branding which has graced the boxes of NHL 2K10 and NBA 2K10. This tipster sent us other screenshots - including one of the NDA (which of course the tipster broke by sending this) so I'm inclined to believe this is real.

Update: Another reader points out that the top two boxcover examples appear to be taken from Longoria's appearance on the cover of the May 18 edition of ESPN the Magazine. Based on additional screenshots and other information we have, I still believe this is a real survey, even if the top two examples are not original box art. As I wrote earlier, it's not confirmation of the official cover athlete or the box's final design. But asking survey takers how the box cover makes them feel about purchasing the game is a strong indication 2K Sports has settled on its man.

Second Update: The company responsible for administering this survey for 2K Sports complained to Kotaku and Gawker Media about this leak, and asked that the post be taken down. While we respectfully decline, we view such communication as confirmation that the survey and its subject are real.

Longoria is a two-time all star in as many seasons in the league and was the 2008 rookie of the year on a Devil (whoopsie!) Rays team that won the American League pennant. He just picked up his first Gold Glove.

Pasta Padre, on the ball as ever, speculates "no." Even though we're about four months away from the game's typical release date, "from a public relations standpoint 2K cannot feature Phillips in the game," he says, and I agree. Phillips is a recidivist philanderer, and the latest ESPN scandal is top-of-mind for baseball fans. If his only television appearance in 2010 is on a gaming console, it makes his dismissal more conspicuous by half, and it's 2K's problem to manage, not ESPN's.

Problem is, what can 2K do about it? It's one thing to not give Phillips any extra work. But his dialogue library is already in the game. To remove him entirely at this stage? Wow. Especially - as Padre correctly notes - Phillips' contribution was one of the few positives in last year's poorly received title.

Right now it is 11:30 U.S. Mountain time, so I don't expect this to be answered, but I have emailed 2K Sports to see if they want to swing at this. If they answer, it'll likely be updated in a new post tomorrow.

It's almost impossible to imagine that hanky panky in Bristol, Conn.. could actually send a game in Novato, Calif., down the toilet. But this is not a welcome development for them, either.

Steve Phillips News Affects MLB 2K10 [Pasta Padre]

Hell, yes it is. I've seen unranked and untelevised N.C. State and North Carolina squads get into a helmet-swinging brawl in 1993. Clemson and South Carolina's fourth quarter throwdown 11 years later - including cops on the field - left both schools sitting at home instead of going to bowl games. And we'll all be dead a long time before there is ever again anything like the unforgettably amazing Miami-Florida International gong show of 2006, which showcased state troopers, 13 ejections, a kickoff from the 10-yard line, and running back A'Mod Ned on crutches, striding forth into the maw of disaster.

Really, though, the answer here is so obvious as to be not worth asking: There's no way in hell the NCAA would license a product that featured fighting, no matter how awesome. And you can forget about it in Madden, too. Football is the most institutionally conservative and image-conscious of the major team sports, and clearly prefers to keep its violence well regulated and between the lines. Anything else is left for games like Blitz: The League.

Two licensed sports games, however, do acknowledge illegal or semi-legal aggression in some way: baseball has its beanings, and hockey, well, need anyone say more. In fact, the physicality is going into new realms in this year's NHL 10, says producer David Littman, himself a former professional hockey goalie who had brief appearances in the NHL.

But the violence isn't a gratuitous minigame, Littman said. It's intended to function as hockey fighting does in the real world: A means of policing opposing players' conduct, responding to intimidating tactics and relentless checking, or to fire up the home crowd and inspire solidarity on your team.

"For me, fighting has a place in hockey because it does have a calming influence," Littman says, making a case that many have - without fighting in hockey, massive guys with sticks would seek dirtier, and more injurious, means to dissipate aggression. "We have that authenticity in this game. If you're being checked all over the ice by the other team, and being run out of your own building, you can bring out your fourth line, start a fight, win it, get the crowd back into the game, and it takes away the effects of that intimidation."

Is the NHL cool with this? Absolutely, Littman says. "We work very closely with them [and the NHL players' union] throughout the development process, on what goes in the game," he said. "It's their names on the box with us, too. And we go through yearlong approval processes with them. They're very happy because of our sales and quality, but at the same time they have to protect their names. We worked with them all year, particularly on fighting this year, and no doubt, fighting is a hot topic. There's always controversy, but that was something we worked with them all year on."

In fact, the eminent Edmonton enforcer Zack Stortini was brought in to consult with NHL 10's developers on how to build a first-person fighting engine. His guidance is what tied the fighting to in-game performance boosts, Littman said.

"When you fight in our game, the lines get their energy back, you hear the commentators talking about that, you see the crowd on its feet, banging on the glass," Littman said. "That comes from Zack. He said that there's nothing like being at home, and you've showed the other team that your team's not gonna take it on your home ice."

NHL 10's openness about aggression is authentic to something else: The league's posture on fighting. It's always a prickly subject, because the lessons of hockey's fisticuffs are much more subtle than the beating one sees on a screen. It's also not tolerated in any league other than the North American professionals; in all other ranks, fighting players are ejected, not sent to the penalty box for five minutes.

But the league has repeatedly refused to crack down on fighting with the intent of its elimination, tacitly acknowledging its fundamental relevance to the game. Officially, the league considers the issue from the standpoint of player safety. And if that's its only concern, the fighting in NHL 10 is no problem, because no one is ever injured at the end of a brawl.

"It's a safe way to fight," Littman said. "You can punch people and get punched and you're still sitting on your couch, no bruises. I played professional hockey and was in a lot of fights. To be honest, fighting isn't really where you see the injuries happen."

If bench-clearing brawls are authentic to baseball, MLB has clearly said no thank you to the idea. Then again, it's a league that fines and suspends nearly all of its combatants. Drill a guy in the back in MLB 09 The Show and he'll glare at the pitcher, mouth some unpleasantries and argue with the catcher. You can put a fastball right in his earflap and the reaction is similarly sanitized - he trots down to first no problems. Do this repeatedly and someone might charge the mound. But the animation ends just as the batter breaks out of the catcher's restraint and, it is implied, goes for the pitcher.

This is similar to how beanings have been handled in other licensed MLB games, meaning that league has probably drawn a clear line to developers. (On Tuesday I emailed the game's publicity representatives to talk about beanings and fighting; unfortunately, no one could be made available for comment by the time this was published.)

Interestingly, the NHL games carry a slightly higher age-rating than their colleagues. NHL 10 and NHL 2K10 are both rated E10+, whereas Madden, MLB 09 The Show and others are all E. And there's only one reason: the fighting.

"We have to weigh the pros and cons of that," Littlman said. "Really, I don't think too many 8-year-olds are buying $60 video games. Their parents can for them, sure. Have we ever thought about taking fighting out? The answer is no, because we are striving to be authentic to hockey." Also, fans would desert the game.

And anyway, Littman points out, a concerned parent worried about video game athletes setting a bad example for their youth hockey players can just deactivate the fighting in the game's options.

Stick Jockey is Kotaku's column on sports video games. It appears Saturdays at 10 a.m. U.S. Mountain time.

"We are excited to partner with GamesCampus in offering fans this interactive baseball gaming experience," said Alex Pigeon, VP of international at MLBAM. "The ability to utilize current or historical teams and ballparks along with simulated on-the-field management will be an engaging way for players to interact with the game."

The press release speaks of a casual online baseball experience with 3D, cartoon-rendered graphic style that allows you to create your own team and play against the computer or other players from around the country. Exciting news for baseball fans and people who just like hitting things with bats alike. I wonder how much they'll charge for hot dogs?

GAMESCAMPUS.COM AND MLB ADVANCED MEDIA SIGN LICENSING AGREEMENT FOR A FREE ONLINE BASEBALL GAME

MLB Dugout Heroes will include MLB Licensing with All Major League Clubs and Ballparks

San Jose, Calif. (November 18, 2008) - San Jose-based online game publisher, GamesCampus (www.gamescampus.com, run by OnNet USA), announced today that it has signed an online interactive licensing agreement with MLB Advanced Media, LP (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, granting it the right to incorporate official Major League Baseball league and club marks and logos, MLB ballpark images and more in its upcoming micro-transaction based online baseball game, MLB Dugout Heroes. It will be a free PC-based baseball game, expected to be available in North America for the 2009 baseball season. Interested parties can visit http://MLBDugoutHeroes.gamescampus.com for more information and to register to receive updates as they become available.

"It is an honor to be working with MLBAM to bring baseball fans a fully licensed online baseball experience," said David Chang, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, GamesCampus.
"Baseball fans are so passionate about the teams they enjoy following, and now they will have the opportunity to play as their favorite team in a high-quality online game experience.

The multi-year agreement gives GamesCampus the rights to all current and historical Major League teams, ballparks, All-Star teams and jewel events such as the home run derby. GamesCampus will also have rights to the official 2009 Major League Baseball regular season game schedule, enabling fans to simulate real seasons through actual game and series matchups.

Fans can expect a casual online baseball experience with a three-dimensional, cartoon-rendered graphic style and easy to pick up and play mouse-only controls. The game will offer four different modes of play for fans to choose from: tutorial, practice, single player and multi-player. Fans will be able to experience the fun of strategically managing a Major League Baseball club by forming a team, fostering its players and making all of the base-running, batting and pitching decisions - providing true interaction with on-the-field baseball play. With realistic character motions and unique verbal exchanges occurring between pitchers, batters, and color commentary, MLB Dugout Heroes will offer a truly unique and engrossing baseball game play experience - free of charge.

"We are excited to partner with GamesCampus in offering fans this interactive baseball gaming experience," said Alex Pigeon, VP of international at MLBAM. "The ability to utilize current or historical teams and ballparks along with simulated on-the-field management will be an engaging way for players to interact with the game."

For more information about GamesCampus or the upcoming baseball game, please visit www.gamescampus.com.

###

Limited Edition Seattle Mariners DS Lite [The Tanooki]

PURSUIT FORCE(TM)
Developed by BigBig Studios, Ltd., Pursuit Force for the PSP system brings Hollywood-style movie action to life by delivering high-speed vehicle chases and thrilling shootouts, all in the quest for justice. In Pursuit Force, players take the role of a young rookie police officer, responsible for tracking down and thwarting five criminal gangs in and around Capital City. Pursuit Force presents a variety of gameplay elements for each criminal case, including collect and follow assignments, high-speed pursuit, on-foot action, and aerial attacks. Featuring an innovative gameplay mechanic where players can jump from vehicle to vehicle at speeds of more than 150 MPH, Pursuit Force keeps the action moving seamlessly. Players will hang perilously as they battle with enemy gangs and attempt to commandeer a number of vehicles. Players will skirt along city highways and dusty tracks in speeding cars, bikes, SUVs, and buses, and high-powered speedboats are available for chases through metropolitan waterways and scenic, canyon-lined rivers.
Available March 2006 — Rated T

SYPHON FILTER(R): DARK MIRROR
From the development team of the critically acclaimed Syphon Filter(R) franchise, comes their first project exclusive to the PSP system, set to deliver an intense, edge-of-your-seat thriller. Gamers assume the identity of Gabe Logan, a highly-trained Precision Strike Operative, commanding a black box United States Agency that legally doesn't exist. As Gabe, players will have to strategize quickly, as he is responsible to infiltrate, recon and execute decisively. Once inserted, Logan is his own authority — making life-and-death decisions, quickly choosing his course of action. An immersive single-player experience also delivering an evolving online multiplayer experience, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror features melee attacks, target lock, precision aiming, target and vision enhancements, enhanced artificial intelligence (AI), and high-tech weaponry. Gamers can choose between difficulty modes that monitor and adjust skill level, multiple unique online maps using both Ad Hoc and Infrastructure connectivity, and four types of gameplay modes in multiplayer.
Available March 2006 — Not Yet Rated

MLB(R) 06 THE SHOW
As the longest running officially licensed baseball franchise on
PlayStation platforms and already widely considered the most authentic baseball simulation available, MLB(R) 06 The Show picks up where last year's game left off and pitches the complete portable package for the PSP system. Gamers can play their entire career "on the road." An all-new Career Mode allows baseball fans to create a player and attempt to land a spot on the roster of their favorite team based on their abilities, while an updated Season Mode, now tracking multiple seasons, lets users take their team and make a run for consecutive rings. An all-new Rivalry Mode allows players to set up and maintain multi-game rivalries, while tracking stats for the life of the rivalry, and the Historical Greats option allows core baseball fans to go up against baseball's heroes of yesteryear. Sports fanatics can now stay up-to-date with news with an all-new online news service, providing users with MLB updates on current events from around the league or their favorite team.
Available March 1, 2006 — Rated E

DAXTER(TM)
After years of standing in Jak's shadow, Daxter finally gets his turn in the spotlight as he stars in his very own self-titled game. An all-new adventure platformer made exclusively for the PSP, Daxter is centered around the world of the famous orange ottsel made popular in the multi-million unit-selling Jak and Daxter franchise. As the first title developed by Santa Ana-based Ready At Dawn Studios, Daxter will push the popular Jak and Daxter world in new directions through the eyes of Daxter as it completes the Jak and Daxter story and allow players to find out how Daxter became a hero, freeing Jak at the beginning of Jak II(TM). Daxter, on his own in an unfamiliar place, realizes that being small and furry won't help his chances of survival or saving Jak, so he takes on a job as a pest exterminator — a job in high demand due to a mysterious metalbug invasion. His new job enables him to explore parts of Haven City in an effort to collect the clues that will lead him to Jak ... but Daxter soon discovers more excitement than he bargained for.
Available March 2006 — Not Yet Rated

NEOPETS: PETPET ADVENTURES(TM) THE WAND OF WISHING(TM)
Neopets: Petpet Adventures - The Wand of Wishing is an action/role playing game exclusively for the PSP system. Developed and created by Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. and Neopets Inc., Neopets: Petpet Adventures - The Wand of Wishing brings a hidden Petpet world of Petaria to life in 3D for the first time. Players move through the game using characters they create from among four popular Petpet species and, utilizing the wireless Ad-Hoc mode, can compete head-to-head in the Battledome using their characters from the single-player game. In their search to overcome evil and recover the fabled Wand of Wishing, players will discover more than 100 unique characters and enemies, as well as have the opportunity to collect and use over 800 items. With more than 30 million registered users worldwide accessing the site in 11 languages simultaneously, Neopets.com is the fastest growing youth-oriented website in the world. Neopets.com is consistently ranked among the top 10 stickiest sites on the Internet, generating more than seven billion page views worldwide per month.
Available February 28, 2006 — Rated E

APE ESCAPE(R) ACADEMY
Created by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, Ape Escape Academy delivers a whole new twist while retaining the fun and frenetic flavor of the Ape Escape series. Specter has failed over and over again in his attempts at taking over the world, all because of a few inept monkeys. To rectify his problem, he decides to form the Ape Escape Academy, where he will serve as principal and train the monkeys so that he can help improve their behavior. In a collection of more than 40 diverse mini-games that make up the academy, players can work their way through six school years by winning each mini-game. Combining the franchise's trademark personality, excellent visuals and featuring ad hoc wireless functionality, Ape Escape Academy will offer an engaging experience to players.
Available January 17, 2006 — Rated E10+