Out of the Park Baseball
Encyclopedia
Out of the Park Baseball, abbreviated as OOTP, is a text-based
baseball
simulator for career, historical, and fictional play. OOTP was originally written in 1998
, when lead developer Markus Heinsohn sought to combine realistic replay baseball simulation with career play to satisfy hardcore fans and casual gamers alike. OOTP does not hold a license from nor currently have any affiliation with Major League Baseball
.
, with the help of sportswriter Sean Lahman
, who sold the game through his website. This initial version received attention from several online gaming sites. The breakthrough release came in 2001
with OOTP 3.
In 2002
, Heinsohn joined with other independent developers to form .400 Software Studios to publish OOTP 5. Heinsohn and a few others split from .400 Software Studios in mid-2003
to continue work on the OOTP series as well as Inside the Park Baseball.
In 2005
, OOTP was purchased by Sports Interactive
, makers of Football Manager
and NHL Eastside Hockey Manager
, though Heinsohn remained the game's primary creative force. Out of the Park Baseball 2006 was released on May 31, 2006. Sporting a rewritten codebase and several new features, it was met with mixed critical reaction.
Out of the Park Baseball 2007, the eighth iteration of the game, was released on March 23, 2007, to much better reviews than its predecessor. Out of the Park Baseball 2007 is Metacritic
's second highest rated game on the PC platform, scoring higher than The Orange Box
, second to Half Life 2, regarded as some of the greatest PC games by critics and users alike.
Some feel that OOTP has received biased attention from critics, with many angered by the games' ranking.
Its high score is attributed to Metacritic's ranking system, where games with at least 5 reviews can appear in the top 20 list. The game has, in fact, only received 5 reviews globally, all generally positive.
On September 20, 2007 Sports Interactive announced the amicable severance of relations with Out of the Park Developments and the OOTP franchise.
In December 2007 Out of the Park Developments released Out of the Park Baseball 8, a simple update of OOTP 2007 that adjusted for the split from SI and added a few new features.
Since OOTP2006 the user interface utilizes the P.I.S.D. Ltd platform libraries for cross-platform portability.
OOTP Developments released OOTP X (10) on June 5, 2009. OOTP 11 was released to the masses on April 14, 2010.
In October 2010, OOTP announced that development had started on iOOTP, a version of the game for iPhone and iPod touch. iOOTP became available at the App Store on May 5, 2011.
On May 13, 2011, it was announced that OOTP 12 was expected to be released to the general public on June 22, 2011 and on June 20 for those who pre-ordered the game. OOTP 12 was shipped to the general public on June 22, 2011 and on June 20 for those who pre-ordered the game, as expected.
Some renowned sports figures have played the game, including writer and statistician Bill James
, sports journalist Roy Firestone
, and retired MLB pitcher Curt Schilling
.
reporting ample enough to engage baseball fans. Third-party developers have contributed utility programs that assist gamers in creating leagues, players, logos, and other game enhancements.
In 2004, Heinsohn released Inside the Park Baseball, which tracked the progression of an individual baseball player. Gamers followed a player’s career from before the draft, through the minor leagues, until possibly called up to the Major Leagues. Inside the Park Baseball was designed to work alongside OOTP 5, whereby one might insert a player into an OOTP 5 season.
Text-based
Usually used in reference to a computer application, a text-based application is one whose primary input and output are based on text rather than graphics or sound. This does not mean that text-based applications do not have graphics or sound, just that the graphics or sound are secondary to the...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
simulator for career, historical, and fictional play. OOTP was originally written in 1998
1998 in video gaming
-Events:*Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo to the AIAS Hall of Fame*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 1st annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards...
, when lead developer Markus Heinsohn sought to combine realistic replay baseball simulation with career play to satisfy hardcore fans and casual gamers alike. OOTP does not hold a license from nor currently have any affiliation with Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
.
History
The first version was released in May 19991999 in video gaming
-Events:*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards*March – Game Over republished as “Game Over: Press Start to Continue”...
, with the help of sportswriter Sean Lahman
Sean Lahman
Sean Lahman is an award-winning author and journalist.-Sports Research:He is most noted for the Lahman Baseball Database, a collection of baseball statistics for every team and player in Major League history...
, who sold the game through his website. This initial version received attention from several online gaming sites. The breakthrough release came in 2001
2001 in video gaming
-Events:* Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts John Carmack of id Software to the AIAS Hall of Fame...
with OOTP 3.
In 2002
2002 in video gaming
The year 2002 in video gaming saw the release of many games to sixth-generation video game consoles, predominately, the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.-Events:...
, Heinsohn joined with other independent developers to form .400 Software Studios to publish OOTP 5. Heinsohn and a few others split from .400 Software Studios in mid-2003
2003 in video gaming
-Events:*February 27 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Yu Suzuki of Sega to the AIAS Hall of Fame....
to continue work on the OOTP series as well as Inside the Park Baseball.
In 2005
2005 in video gaming
-Events:*March 6 — The television show 60 Minutes tackles issues within video game controversy. This segment of 60 Minutes has been criticized by video game players for encouraging video game censorship....
, OOTP was purchased by Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive Limited is a computer games development company currently based in Old Street, Central London and owned by the Japanese software and video game company Sega. It is the developer of the popular games Football Manager, NHL Eastside Hockey Manager and Championship Manager Quiz, and...
, makers of Football Manager
Football Manager
Football Manager is a series of football management simulation games developed by Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game began its life in 1992 as Championship Manager; however, following the break-up of their partnership with original publishers Eidos Interactive, Sports Interactive...
and NHL Eastside Hockey Manager
NHL Eastside Hockey Manager
NHL Eastside Hockey Manager is an ice hockey management simulation game developed by Sports Interactive and published by Sega. It was the first commercial release in the Eastside Hockey Manager series started by the freeware game Eastside Hockey Manager.The first version of the game was released...
, though Heinsohn remained the game's primary creative force. Out of the Park Baseball 2006 was released on May 31, 2006. Sporting a rewritten codebase and several new features, it was met with mixed critical reaction.
Out of the Park Baseball 2007, the eighth iteration of the game, was released on March 23, 2007, to much better reviews than its predecessor. Out of the Park Baseball 2007 is Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
's second highest rated game on the PC platform, scoring higher than The Orange Box
The Orange Box
The Orange Box is a video game compilation for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Mac OS X and PlayStation 3. The Windows and Xbox 360 versions were produced and published by Valve Corporation and released on October 10, 2007 as a boxed retail copy...
, second to Half Life 2, regarded as some of the greatest PC games by critics and users alike.
Some feel that OOTP has received biased attention from critics, with many angered by the games' ranking.
Its high score is attributed to Metacritic's ranking system, where games with at least 5 reviews can appear in the top 20 list. The game has, in fact, only received 5 reviews globally, all generally positive.
On September 20, 2007 Sports Interactive announced the amicable severance of relations with Out of the Park Developments and the OOTP franchise.
In December 2007 Out of the Park Developments released Out of the Park Baseball 8, a simple update of OOTP 2007 that adjusted for the split from SI and added a few new features.
Since OOTP2006 the user interface utilizes the P.I.S.D. Ltd platform libraries for cross-platform portability.
OOTP Developments released OOTP X (10) on June 5, 2009. OOTP 11 was released to the masses on April 14, 2010.
In October 2010, OOTP announced that development had started on iOOTP, a version of the game for iPhone and iPod touch. iOOTP became available at the App Store on May 5, 2011.
On May 13, 2011, it was announced that OOTP 12 was expected to be released to the general public on June 22, 2011 and on June 20 for those who pre-ordered the game. OOTP 12 was shipped to the general public on June 22, 2011 and on June 20 for those who pre-ordered the game, as expected.
Some renowned sports figures have played the game, including writer and statistician Bill James
Bill James
George William “Bill” James is a baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics...
, sports journalist Roy Firestone
Roy Firestone
Roy Firestone is an American sports commentator and journalist. Firestone is a graduate of Miami Beach High School and the University of Miami.-Television career:...
, and retired MLB pitcher Curt Schilling
Curt Schilling
Curtis Montague "Curt" Schilling is a former American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in and won World Series championships in with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in and with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling retired with a...
.
Gameplay
OOTP presents a minimal graphic depiction of a baseball diamond with text indicating positions and on-field action. Scrolling text allows one to follow the game as it unfolds. The game offers HTMLHTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
reporting ample enough to engage baseball fans. Third-party developers have contributed utility programs that assist gamers in creating leagues, players, logos, and other game enhancements.
Other versions
In 2001, a retail (physical media) version of OOTP3 called Season Ticket Baseball was released. Released a year later was its sequel, a retail version of OOTP4 titled Season Ticket Baseball 2003.In 2004, Heinsohn released Inside the Park Baseball, which tracked the progression of an individual baseball player. Gamers followed a player’s career from before the draft, through the minor leagues, until possibly called up to the Major Leagues. Inside the Park Baseball was designed to work alongside OOTP 5, whereby one might insert a player into an OOTP 5 season.