Baseball

{{Infobox video game | title=Baseball | image=Baseball NES box art.jpg | caption=North American NES box art | developer=Nintendo R&D1 | publisher=Nintendo | composer=Yukio KaneokaHirokazu Tanaka | platforms=Famicom/NESArcadePlayChoice-10Famicom Disk SystemGame Boy | released={{Unbulleted list | Famicom/NESVs. Baseball (arcade) | }} | designer = Shigeru Miyamoto | genre=Sports | modes=Single-player, two-player | series=Mario Baseball | arcade system = Nintendo VS. System }} is a video game from Nintendo. It was released December 7, 1983, after the July 15 launch of the Famicom in Japan. In 1984, it was ported to the VS. System arcade as VS. Baseball with additional graphics and speech, becoming a number one hit in Japan and North America that year. It was localized as a Nintendo Entertainment System launch game in North America in 1985, and in Europe in 1986. IGN said the universal appeal of the American sport made Baseball a key to the NES's successful test market introduction, and an important piece of Nintendo history. The game was also competing with Sega's arcade hit Champion Baseball, released earlier in 1983. Gameplay As in real baseball, the object of the game is to score the most runs. The game supports one player versus a computer opponent, or two players. Each player can select from one of six teams. Though lacking a license of official team names, their initials in the game correspond to the Japanese Central League or the American Major League Baseball teams in their respective regions. The only gameplay difference between teams is the uniform colors. Development and release Shigeru Miyamoto recalled that in 1983, he "personally really wanted there to be a Baseball game" for the Famicom, and was "directly in charge of the character design and the game design". The Famicom had only three launch day games on July 15, 1983, and Baseball was released on December 7totaling seven games by 1984.