2K Sports heats up MLB postseason

Baseball nuts are sticklers for the sport's stats and history. Fans may not know who the Vice President is, but they can tell you that Roger Maris hit 61 in '61. They may not remember their moms' birthdays, but they remember Bill Buckner cost New England's cherished Boston Red Sox the 1986 World Series, prolonging their agony for another 18 years.

As another memorable baseball season nears its close, 2K Sports is hoping that baseball fans will also be sticklers for rewriting history. The Take-Two Interactive subsidiary today announced Major League Baseball 2K5: World Series Edition for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, which will ship in October, in time for the real World Series.

Though it's unusual for a publisher to release two simulations of a professional sport in one year (MLB 2K5 was released in February), 2K Sports is hoping it's juicing the bases enough to entice baseball fans for a double-header. The World Series Edition will feature an "exclusive World Series DVD," updated rosters for the current season, the 2005 All-Star rosters (yes, even A's setup man Justin Duchscherer), and a few new game modes.

World Series mode will let disgruntled Red Sox fans have a shot at playing Game Six of the 1986 World Series all over again, this time closing up Buckner's five-hole. The mode will relive 10 memorable World Series moments, including the '86 New York Mets-Boston Red Sox championship series and the 1989 San Francisco Giants-Oakland Athletics' "Battle of the Bay."

For fans who would rather take a stab at changing more recent history, World Series Edition will include pennant fever mode. Though Kansas City was pretty much eliminated the second they marched into spring training, Royals fans can play "what if" and put the team into this year's playoff scenario. Gamers will be able to stick a team of their choice into the 2005 playoffs, with the rest of the playoff teams keeping their real 2005 records and stats.

Today's announcement wasn't exactly a surprise. Product pages had sprung up on online retailer sites prematurely, and posts on message boards had caught wind of the game before anything was officially announced by 2K Sports.

Rating and pricing for Major League Baseball 2K5: World Series Edition have not been announced, but a product page on EBgames.com lists the game at the price point of $24.99. The standard MLB 2K5 was released in late February for $19.99.

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