Topic: MLB 2K9 Baseball -- Update: PC Demo released (see Reply #3)

[MysterD]

As we know, MLB 2K9 Baseball is coming to the consoles.

Just like NBA 2K9, this 2K Sports game is ALSO coming to the PC, too.
2K Sports is really getting into bringing their sports game into the PC all of a sudden, eh?

All versions -- PC, X360, PS3, PS2, and Wii -- are planned for March 3rd.

Here's some details on the PC version.

More Signature Style™ – 2K Sports adds to its impressive library of player–specific animations with more than 300 new signature animations, bringing players to life at the plate, on the mound and in the field, allowing you to play ball like never before.

Franchise Mode – Take charge of your franchise and enjoy the all-new MLB.com presentation style, a new level of CPU customization, multi-player functionality, and real player ambitions.

Inside Edge™ 2009 – Inside Edge produces remarkably accurate player tendencies. With more than 6 years of scouting reports infused into the action on the field, Inside Edge ensures that players react to in-game situations as they would in real life.

Brand New Commentary – Gary Thorne provides the play by play calls alongside color analyst Steve Phillips, giving a new perspective and more depth for a true-to-life, insightful broadcast.

2K Presentation™ – An all-new Virtual Director brings in-game broadcasts to life in real-time with smart camera placement, angles, and cuts. Also included are in depth analysis with K-Cam, pitch and hit tracker.

2K Beats – Featuring Judas Priest, Cheap Trick, Coheed & Cambria, SR-71, The Romantics, Boys Like Girls, and Europe.

Minimum PC Requirements:
CPU: Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz Single Core processor or equivalent (2.8 Ghz for Vista)
RAM: 512 MB or more (1 GB for Vista)
Disc Drive: 8x or faster DVD drive
Hard Drive: 9.5 GB or more free space
Video: DirectX 9.0c compatible (*see below)
Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible
Input: Keyboard or dual-analog gamepad
* Video card with 128 MB or more memory and one of the following chipsets is required: ATI x1300 or better | NVIDIA 6600 or better | DirectX 9.0c compatible card with Shader Model 3.0 support.

Recommended System Requirements:
CPU: 3 GHz Dual Core processor or equivalent
RAM: 2 GB
Disc Drive: 8x or faster DVD drive
Hard Drive: 9.5 GB or more free space
Video: Shader Model 3.0 support with 512 MB RAM (Nvidia® Geforce® 7900 GT or better)
Sound: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
Input: Dual-analog gamepad

Other Requirements:
Requires disc in drive to play (unlimited installations); software installations required including Sony DADC SecuROM, DirectX, and Microsoft’s Windows Installer 2.0.

EDIT:
2K Admin Ron (of 2K Games) has claimed that the Living Rosters Features that'll be found in console version of MLB 2K9 WILL NOT BE in the PC version.

PC version will NOT have online play, either.

It's going to be just like NBA PC, in that most of the features will be the same, except for Living Rosters and Online play will not be in the PC version.

[angrykeebler]

At the very least, it should be slightly more interesting than actually playing/watching the game in real life.

You would still need copious amount of beer to play it. Just like real life!

[MysterD]

I wonder if your player can inject themselves with steroids....
*scratches head*
Hmmmm....

[MysterD]

MLB 2K9 PC DEMO released.

1.25 GB download in total

[wizall]

Yeah, I enjoyed the demo.  It seems to be a decent improvement over the past couple.  I had 2K7 and it was a colossal pain in the ass.

I second the beer, thing.  Oh, and chew.  I throw in a fat dip whenever playing a baseball game.  Kinda sad, really.

[MysterD]

Vicious review of X360 version of MLB2K9.
4.5 from GameSpot.

Hitting is too easy on all difficulty levels. Games often wind up being slugfests where the teams combine to clock something in the neighborhood of 30 hits. You don't have to be a good twitch gamer, either, because it's a snap to time your swings right and get big-time wood on the ball even if you're going up against a fireballer like Jonathan Papelbon. The left stick makes it easy to call your shot and place the ball wherever you would like, as long as you don't try to do something physically impossible like pull a hard outside pitch. Hit results tend to feel canned. While there are a good variety of flies, fouls, and grounders to cycle through, it seems like you're getting roughly the same results. A single to left is a single to left, in other words. You need to play a couple of dozen games to generate even a handful of "Huh, I've never seen that before" moments. And top sluggers get on absurd hot streaks. We hit multiple home runs with players many times, including a spectacular four straight in one match with A-Rod and three in a row in a game with teammate Nick Swisher. Expect these homer explosions to happen consistently. It's so predictable that if you send a ball over the fence in the first or second inning, you can pretty much bank on being able to hit a couple more with the same player before the end of the game.

Play-by-play commentary from newcomers Gary Thorne and Steve Phillips is loaded with absurdities like telling a pitcher throwing a one-hitter that he needs to buckle down to keep things from getting out of control. They also make the same weather observation during every single game--that it's getting a little colder. Music is a truly bizarre kitchen-sink mix of tunes. One moment you're listening to Europe's "The Final Countdown," and the next some Latin hip-hop number, and then you're on to Judas Priest bashing through "You've Got Another Thing Coming." We would love to meet the guy who came up with this soundtrack.

Stats appear to be unreliable. We hit seven home runs with A-Rod in the first four games of a season, yet the stats credited him with only three. Cutting down the Yankee star's home-run totals probably wouldn't be a bad idea given his recent confessions of steroid abuse, but there are better ways to go about it.