Backyard Sports
Backyard Sports (originally branded as Junior Sports)[1][2] is a series of video games released for consoles, computers and mobile devices. The series is best known for starring kid-sized versions of popular professional sports stars, such as Albert Pujols, Paul Pierce, Barry Bonds, Tim Duncan, Clint Mathis, Kevin Garnett, Tom Brady, David Ortiz, Joe Thornton and Andy Macdonald. The Backyard Sports series is licensed by the leading professional U.S. sports leagues: Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Soccer (MLS).
| Backyard Sports | |
|---|---|
 Series Logo | |
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Developer(s) | Humongous Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Android, Game Boy |
| First release | Backyard Baseball 1997 |
| Latest release | Backyard Sports: Baseball 2015 and Backyard Sports: Basketball 2015 2015 |
The series includes Backyard Baseball, Backyard Basketball, Backyard Football (American football), Backyard Soccer, Backyard Hockey (Ice hockey), and Backyard Skateboarding. In the games, players form a team consisting of Backyard Kids and pro players, which they take through a "Backyard League" season, attempting to become the champions. Players can create their own athletes, starting in Backyard Football (1999). Another aspect of the games is the use of Power-Ups, allowing players to gain "super-abilities". For instance, "Super Dunk" allows a basketball player to make an incredible dunk from nearly anywhere on the court, "Leap Frog" allows a football player to jump over the entire defensive line, and "Ice Cream Truck" causes the other team to be completely distracted for a brief period of time.
Some of these games are playable with the ScummVM emulator.[3]
History
The series began in late 1997 with Humongous Entertainment creating the first game in the franchise: Backyard Baseball. Humongous Entertainment was then owned by GT Interactive.[4] Later Infogrames bought GT Interactive[5] and along with it came all of the game titles. Infogrames allowed Humongous Entertainment to expand the series, and Humongous developed more titles such as Backyard Soccer, Backyard Hockey, Backyard Skateboarding, Backyard Basketball and Backyard Football. Following the buyout by Infogrames these titles from the Backyard series were released for game consoles, including the Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and Wii. Infogrames in North America eventually changed its name to Atari Interactive.
On July 24, 2013, private equity firm The Evergreen Group, bought the Backyard Sports franchise during the Atari bankruptcy proceedings, for its portfolio company Epic Gear LLC.[6] It was later sold by Epic Gear to Day6 Sports Group.
On December 11, 2014, Day6 Sports Group announced the relaunch of the Backyard Sports series with Backyard Sports NBA Basketball for smartphones and tablets, with Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry as the cover athlete.
In 2016, Day6 Sports Group was "acquired by a European investment group"[7]
On April 19, 2019, Humongous Entertainment tweeted an image of the original Junior Sports logo, hinting at a possible re-release of the original games and/or the developer having re-secured the rights to the series proper.[8][1][2]
Games in the series
| Title | Released | Developer | Publisher | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backyard Baseball | October 24, 1997 | Humongous Entertainment | Humongous Entertainment | Macintosh, Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Soccer | September 24, 1998 | Humongous Entertainment | Humongous Entertainment | Macintosh, Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Football | September 14, 1999 | Humongous Entertainment | Humongous Entertainment | Macintosh, Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Baseball 2001 | June 6, 2000 | Humongous Entertainment | Humongous Entertainment | Macintosh, Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Soccer: MLS Edition | October 3, 2000 | Humongous Entertainment | Infogrames | Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Football 2002 | September 19, 2001 | Humongous Entertainment | Infogrames | Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Soccer Junior Sports Football | September 28, 2001 (US) November 3, 2001 (PAL) | Runecraft | Infogrames | PlayStation |
| Backyard Basketball | October 30, 2001 | Humongous Entertainment | Infogrames | Macintosh, Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Baseball | May 30, 2002 | Game Brains | Infogrames | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard Baseball 2003 | June 7, 2002 | Humongous Entertainment | Infogrames | Macintosh, Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Football | September 25, 2002 | Torus Games | Infogrames | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard Football | October 10, 2002 | Left Field Productions / Humongous | Infogrames | Nintendo GameCube |
| Backyard Hockey | October 18, 2002 | Humongous Entertainment | Infogrames | Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Soccer 2004 | March 18, 2003 | Humongous Entertainment | Infogrames | Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Baseball | March 31, 2003 | Humongous Entertainment | Infogrames | Nintendo GameCube |
| Backyard Football 2004 | September 4, 2003 | Humongous Entertainment | Atari | Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Basketball 2004 | September 4, 2003 | Humongous Entertainment | Atari | Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Hockey | October 9, 2003 | Mistic Software | Atari | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard NBA Basketball Junior Sports Basketball | September 4, 2003 (US) November 19, 2004 (PAL) | Humongous Entertainment | Atari | PlayStation 2 |
| Backyard Baseball | March 23, 2004 | Humongous Entertainment | Atari | PlayStation 2 |
| Backyard Baseball 2005 | June 22, 2004 | Humongous Entertainment | Atari | Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Hockey 2005 | September 21, 2004 | Humongous Entertainment | Atari | Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Basketball | September 22, 2004 | Mistic Software | Atari | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard Skateboarding | September 27, 2004 | Humongous Entertainment | Atari | Microsoft Windows |
| Backyard Skateboarding | October 4, 2004 | Full Fat | Atari | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard Baseball 2006 | March 16, 2005 | Game Brains | Atari | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard Skateboarding - Kids Game of the Year Edition | October 4, 2005 | Humongous Entertainment | Atari | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard Football 2006 | September 20, 2005 (Windows) October 4, 2005 (PlayStation 2) | Humongous Entertainment | Atari | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 |
| Backyard Football 2006 | October 18, 2005 | Torus Games | Atari | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard Sports: Baseball 2007 | June 12, 2006 | Game Brains | Atari | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard Sports: Baseball 2007 | September 5, 2006 (PlayStation 2) September 11, 2006 (Windows) April 3, 2007 (Nintendo GameCube) | Game Brains | Atari | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard Sports: Football 2007 | September 26, 2006 | Torus Games | Atari | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard Sports: Basketball 2007 | November 14, 2006 | Mistic Software | Atari | Game Boy Advance |
| Backyard Sports: Basketball 2007 | February 13, 2007 (PlayStation 2) February 20, 2007 (Windows) | Game Brains | Atari | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 |
| Backyard Basketball | September 25, 2007 | Mistic Software | Atari | Nintendo DS |
| Backyard Hockey | October 9, 2007 | Mistic Software | Atari | Nintendo DS |
| Backyard Football 08 Backyard Football (Wii) | October 16, 2007 (PlayStation 2 and Wii) October 23, 2007 (Windows) | FarSight Studios | Atari | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Wii |
| Backyard Football | October 23, 2007 | Torus Games | Atari | Nintendo DS |
| Backyard Baseball 09 | March 25, 2008 (Windows) June 10, 2008 (PlayStation 2, Wii) | FarSight Studios | Atari | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Wii |
| Backyard Baseball 09 | October 23, 2007 | Mistic Software | Atari | Nintendo DS |
| Backyard Football 09 | October 21, 2008 (PlayStation 2, Wii) October 29, 2008 (Windows) | FarSight Studios | Atari | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Wii |
| Backyard Football | October 21, 2008 | Torus Games | Atari | Nintendo DS |
| Backyard Baseball 10 | March 27, 2009 (Wii) April 28, 2009 (PlayStation 2) | FarSight Studios | Atari | Wii, PlayStation 2 |
| Backyard Baseball 10 | 2009 | Mistic Software | Atari | Nintendo DS |
| Backyard Football 10 | October 20, 2009 | FarSight Studios | Atari | Wii, PlayStation 2 |
| Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers | May 25, 2010 | HB Studios | Atari | Microsoft Windows, Wii, Xbox 360 |
| Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers | May 25, 2010 | Powerhead Games | Atari | Nintendo DS |
| Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush | October 20, 2010 | HB Studios | Atari | Wii, Xbox 360 |
| Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush | October 20, 2010 | Powerhead Games | Atari | Nintendo DS |
| Backyard Sports: Baseball 2015 | February 6, 2015 | Day 6 Sports Group, LLC | Fingerprint Network | iOS, Android |
| Backyard Sports: Basketball 2015 | February 6, 2015 | Day 6 Sports Group, LLC | Fingerprint Network | iOS, Android |
Film
In 2016, it was reported that Cross Creek Pictures and Crystal City Entertainment were developing a film based on Backyard Sports with Brian Oliver and Ari Daniel Pinchot producing.[9]
References
- Schmidt, Eugene (April 24, 2019). "Humongous Entertainment coming to consoles". Barrelrolled. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- Frech, Ricky (April 24, 2019). "Humongous Entertainment is Bringing Their Collection of 90s Classics to Consoles". DualShockers. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- http://gamesdbase.com/list.aspx?in=1&searchtext=backyard&searchtype=1
- News, Bloomberg Business (1996-07-11). "COMPANY NEWS;GT INTERACTIVE ACQUIRES HUMONGOUS ENTERTAINMENT (Published 1996)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- "History of Infogrames Entertainment S.A. – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130724006402/en/Evergreen-Group-Agreed-Acquire-Backyard-Sports-Video/
- Kram, Zach (2017-10-10). "How 'Backyard Baseball' Became a Cult Classic". The Ringer. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- Humongous [@HumongousEnt] (April 19, 2019). "[Image-only tweet; image shows a red exclamation point on a transparent background overlaid with the words "It's Junior Sports" in blue.]" (Tweet). Retrieved May 17, 2019 – via Twitter.
- Fleming Jr, Mike (March 30, 2016). "'Backyard Sports' Video Game In Movie Deal With Cross Creek & Crystal City". Deadline.
External links
- Official website (2007 archive on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine)
- Backyard Sports series at MobyGames