Beloved Backyard Sports Video Game Franchise Is Officially Returning
Grab your glove, |A|
hop on your bike |B|
and race to Steele |C|
Stadium—because the iconic Backyard |D|
Sports franchise is officially |E|
coming back to a |F|
neighborhood near you. Playground |G|
Productions, a production company |H|
dedicated to creating family-friendly |J|
content, announced Tuesday that |K|
the beloved video game |L|
series is returning "in |M|
the coming months" with |O|
the same aesthetic of |P|
the games released in |Q|
the late 1990s and |R|
early 2000s. “Were incredibly |S|
excited to reintroduce Backyard Sports to |U|
a new generation of |V|
players,” Chris Waters, chief |Y|
product officer at Playground |Z|
Productions, said in a |A|
statement. “Were taking great |B|
care to preserve the |C|
look and feel that |D|
made the original games |E|
so special while updating |F|
them with modern features |G|
and gameplay that todays |H|
audience expects. I cant |J|
wait for fans to |K|
see what were building |L|
on the Playground.” The |M|
original Backyard Sports game titled Backyard Baseball was |O|
released in 1997, debuting |P|
the iconic cast of |Q|
"Backyard Kids" characters like |R|
Pablo Sanchez, Stephanie Morgan, |S|
Kenny Kawaguchi, Pete Wheeler |U|
and more. Originally developed |V|
by Humongous Entertainment and |Y|
published by Atari, the |Z|
franchise later added Backyard Sports games |A|
for soccer, basketball, football |B|
and hockey. In 2001, |C|
Backyard Sports partnered with |D|
MLB to feature one |E|
player from all 30 |F|
teams in Backyard Sports 2001 in |G|
addition to the 30 |H|
fictional characters, portraying each |J|
big leaguer as the |K|
kid versions of themselves. |L|
Randy Johnson, Tony Gwynn, |M|
Ken Griffey Jr. and |O|
Cal Ripken Jr. were |P|
among the athletes featured |Q|
in the first edition. |R|
The other Backyard Sports games followed |S|
suit, partnering with the |U|
MLS, NBA, WNBA and |V|
NHL to feature other |Y|
athletes from those sports, |Z|
including Kevin Garnett, Lisa |A|
Leslie, Brandi Chastain, Cobi |B|
Jones, Jerry Rice and |C|
Joe Sakic, among many |D|
others. Playground Productions did |E|
not confirm to Sports Illustrated if |F|
they will work with |G|
professional sports leagues to |H|
feature their athletes in |J|
the games, but additional |K|
announcements are expected to |L|
roll out in the |M|
near future. "Backyard Sports is |O|
more than just a |P|
game; its a cherished |Q|
part of childhood for |R|
millions of people," Lindsay |S|
Barnett, founder and CEO |U|
of Playground Productions, said |V|
in a statement. "I |Y|
look at media as |Z|
the largest classroom in |A|
the world. As such, |B|
our goal is to |C|
produce meaningful content that |D|
not only entertains but |E|
also educates and inspires. |F|
The return of Backyard Sports is |G|
the perfect embodiment of |H|
that goal." Although the |J|
rights to the franchise |K|
has bounced around for |L|
a decade-plus without much |M|
to show for it, |O|
the Backyard Sports series re-entered the |P|
mainstream last year when |Q|
now-retired Philadelphia Eagles center |R|
Jason Kelce brought up |S|
that he wanted to |U|
reboot the franchise. “I |V|
dont even know if |Y|
I want to mention |Z|
this," Kelce said on |A|
his New Heights podcast |B|
in January. "Ive secretly |C|
been looking into seeing |D|
if anybody holds the |E|
rights to Backyard Baseball |F|
and Backyard Football because |G|
I want to buy |H|
it and get this |J|
thing going again." Sources |K|
confirmed to Sports Illustrated that Kelce |L|
is not linked to |M|
this reboot. "While Jason |O|
Kelce isnt directly involved |P|
in this relaunch, he |Q|
represents an audience of |R|
people that, to this |S|
day, fondly remember Backyard Sports as |U|
a staple game with |V|
iconic characters beloved by |Y|
many," a Playground Productions |Z|
spokesperson told Sports Illustrated. "Just |A|
like Jason and the |B|
millions of other fans |C|
out there, Playground Productions |D|
recognizes the nostalgia of |E|
this franchise and is |F|
thrilled to bring it |G|
back to life to |H|
reach a new generation |J|
of players." In addition |K|
to releasing the video |L|
games, Playground Productions plans |M|
to relaunch the Backyard Sports world |O|
in other verticals such |P|
as merchandise, film and |Q|
television.
