Sega's GameCube baseball game heads stateside

Sega of America has announced that it will release its GameCube exclusive arcade-style baseball game in North America under the title Home Run King. Shown at the most recent Tokyo Game Show under the working title Major League Baseball 3, the game is being developed by Wow Entertainment and carries a full MLB license, including players, teams, and stadiums. Home Run King will have four primary modes of play: exhibition, season, playoffs, and Home Run Derby. Sega promises a fast-paced gameplay system, with an easy-to-learn hitting interface and auto fielding. On the visual front, the facial models for each of the individual players in the game have been rendered to closely match their real-world counterpart. In terms of animations, pitchers and batters have their respective pitching styles and batting stances in the game, and there are other animation routines such as hook slides and wall catches.

Home Run King, which will feature Houston Astros star Jeff Bagwell on its cover, will be released for the GameCube in March.