A Sign Of Spring: R.B.I. Baseball 18 Coming This March

NEW YORK, Jan. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- R.B.I. Baseball 18, featuring a suite of new game enhancements including Franchise and Home Run Derby modes, will be available for baseball fans worldwide in March. This latest edition of the iconic baseball video game franchise, built exclusively by Major League Baseball for the first time, will be available across next generation consoles, smartphones and tablets.

As unveiled Saturday at Tribe Fest in Cleveland in front of thousands of fans attending the team's annual winter event, 24-year-old Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor is the cover athlete for R.B.I. Baseball 18.

In his first three MLB seasons, Lindor ("Mr. Smile") finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting (2015), led the Indians to their first World Series appearance since 1997 (2016), won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award (2016) and Louisville Silver Slugger Award (2017) and garnered a pair of consecutive top 10 finishes in the AL Most Valuable Player voting (2016, 2017). The switch-hitting shortstop, a native of Puerto Rico, finished 2017 with career highs across nearly every offensive category, including home runs (33) and RBI (89).

In its most significant update since the franchise was returned by Major League Baseball in 2014, R.B.I. Baseball 18 takes significant steps forward for baseball fans of all ages by delivering all-new Franchise mode, Home Run Derby mode, detailed player models, animations, high fidelity MLB ballparks, dynamic camera angles and a stunning UI presentation. These exciting additions have been made with the game staying true to its core identity principles ? fast-paced and fun play with easy-to-use controls.

Among the new features* for fans in 2018 will be:

• Franchise Mode: Take control of a favorite MLB team! Make trades, sign free agents or call up rookies across multiple seasons. A new player progression system allows players to develop, improve, and ultimately retire.
• Home Run Derby Mode: Challenge a friend in local head-to-head play or the CPU in the ultimate slugfest. See how individual skills stack up against friends and the rest of the world on the leaderboard.
• Authentic MLB Players: Completely redesigned player models, including more than 300 digitally modeled likenesses, along with hundreds of new animations and unique player-specific animations to deliver a whole new in-game experience.
• Better Ballparks: Witness the enhanced lighting, textures, revamped 3-D crowd system and get closer to the details with new dynamic camera angles and specially crafted cinematic sequences across all 30 MLB ballparks.
• MLB Legends: Add some of baseball's best legends to your Franchise mode and play as any of the more than 100 retired MLB players (list is below).
• Online Multiplayer: Jump into ranked and friendly exhibition games with friends and players around the globe.
• Soundtrack: Listen to new tracks and music from more than a dozen popular recording artists.
• Roster Updates: Keep a season up to date with rosters throughout the 2018 season, including within Franchise mode.

MLB LEGENDS AVAILABLE IN R.B.I. BASEBALL 18:
Mel Harder, Bobby Doerr, Lou Boudreau, Dom DiMaggio, Ralph Kiner, Bob Feller, Monte Irvin, Phil Rizzuto, Red Munger, George Kell, Bob Lemon, Pee Wee Reese, Enos Slaughter, Ted Williams, Richie Ashburn, Red Schoendienst, Robin Roberts, Bobby Richardson, Eddie Mathews, Ernie Banks, Jim Bunning, Hoyt Wilhelm, Frank Howard, Al Kaline, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Billy Williams, Brooks Robinson, Jimmy Wynn, Larry Dierker, Jim Fregosi, Catfish Hunter, Dock Ellis, Minnie Minoso, Willie Horton, Gaylord Perry, Johnny Bench, Fergie Jenkins, Bucky Dent, Rod Carew, Mike Hargrove, Rollie Fingers, Tom Seaver, Tony Perez, Bruce Sutter, Phil Niekro, Reggie Jackson, Steve Garvey, Ron Guidry, Graig Nettles, Jose Cruz, Mike Schmidt, Darrell Evans, Frank White, Keith Hernandez, Dwight Evans, Ken Griffey Sr., Mike Scott, Bert Blyleven, Gary Carter, Willie Randolph, Nolan Ryan, George Brett, Robin Yount, Mike Boddicker, Kelly Gruber, Dale Murphy, Goose Gossage, Rick Sutcliffe, Kent Hrbek, Willie Wilson, John Kruk, Ozzie Smith, Lenny Dykstra, Lee Smith, Rick Honeycutt, Paul Molitor, Terry Pendleton, Joe Carter, Wade Boggs, Mark Langston, Orel Hershiser, Harold Baines, Eric Davis, Brady Anderson, Matt Williams, Greg Vaughn, Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff, Jeff Bagwell, Kenny Lofton, Shawn Green, Luis Gonzalez, Eric Gagne, Troy Percival, Jim Edmonds, Jorge Posada, Chipper Jones, Johnny Damon, Jamie Moyer, Derek Lowe, Roy Oswalt, Paul Konerko, Jason Giambi

R.B.I. Baseball 18 is officially licensed by MLB and MLBPA. It will be available for the PlayStation^®4 computer entertainment system, the Xbox One family of devices including Xbox One X, Nintendo Switch, iPhone, iPad, supported Android smartphones and tablets. The game will retail for $29.99 (U.S.) on the next generation consoles and $6.99 (U.S) on smartphones and tablets. Launch dates for each platform will be available at a later date.

* Feature implementation may vary by platform. For more information, please visit rbigame.com and follow @RBIGame.

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SOURCE MLB