R.B.I. Baseball 15 back this spring, better than ever

NEW YORK, February 9, 2015 -- Today, MLBAM officially announced R.B.I. Baseball 15 will be coming to baseball fans this spring, marking the second edition of the iconic video game franchise as developed for next generation consoles, smartphones and tablets by the NY-based media and technology company. Since the easy-to-play game returned last year, MLBAM has been working to deliver an all-new R.B.I. Baseball for 2015, which will include high-resolution graphics and a suite of new features, many driven directly from fan feedback during that debut season.

R.B.I. Baseball 15 also will mark the introduction of two prominent players as featured athletes, whose contributions on and off the field symbolize the importance of sportsmanship and giving back through charitable organizations, children's hospitals and local communities. Chicago Cubs All-Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo will serve as the game's first-ever cover athlete while 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Pedro Martinez has signed on to promote the title.

Rizzo, 25, will be the first Cubs player featured as a cover athlete for a baseball video game in more than a decade. A native of Florida, Rizzo was named to the 2014 National League All-Star Team, finished the season ranked among the top ten in nearly every offensive category, including second with 32 home runs, and was the youngest player ever to be honored with the Branch Rickey Award for exceptional community service.

Martinez, a two-time cover athlete for the World Series Baseball series, also was once-upon-a-time included as a pitcher in previous versions of R.B.I. Baseball during the early years of his playing career in the National League. A three-time Cy Young Award winner, Martinez was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year, receiving 91.1 percent of the votes the first time he was on the ballot. Martinez, who finished his 18-year career with 219 victories, a 2.93 ERA and 3,154 strikeouts, will be inducted July 26, 2015 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

NEW FEATURES IN 2015

BALLPARKS: Completely redesigned authentic Major League ballparks for all 30 franchises, each crafted with detailed design characteristics fans will easily recognize.

FULL ROSTERS: Play with complete 25-man Major League rosters for all 30 teams, modifying your batting order or pitching rotation at any point. Set the active 25-man roster from each franchise's 40-man roster.

STAT TRACKING: Track batting and pitching statistics in season mode for the first time ever, including viewable team, player and season league leaderboards.

ONLINE PLAY: Choose to play in online multiplayer mode in friendly and ranked games.

GAMEPLAY SETTINGS: Pick your competition level - Easy, Medium or Hard.

PC & MAC DEBUT: Introducing availability for personal computers on the Steam platform, coming this spring.

R.B.I. Baseball 15 will include the many features added in its off-season while remaining fast-paced and fun to play with the genre's classic two-button controls. Players can master the art of hitting and fielding easily with the retro controls and manually manage the movement and location of every pitch from release to crossing the plate.

With the expansion to include more than 1,000 active Major League players in its roster database, R.B.I. Baseball 15 will include detailed on-field attributes for every player, again updated from the hundreds of millions of data points collected and analyzed by MLBAM.

R.B.I. Baseball 15 is being developed by MLBAM and officially licensed by MLB and MLBPA. It will be available as a digital download this spring for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft via the ID@Xbox self-publishing program, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and supported Android smartphones and tablets.

For more information, please visit rbigame.com and follow @RBIGame.