Popular Millennial-Era Video Game Franchise Set for a Revival

I don't think I can properly express the excitement that I have about writing this article today. Absolute internet shattering news made waves this week and myself as well as thousands of other grown-up millenials like me were ecstatic when it was announced that an immensely popular video game franchise from our childhoods was getting its own revival.

The Return of 'Backyard Sports'

For those that don't know 'Backyard Sports' was a video game franchise that was incredibly popular during the 1990's and early 2000's. The premise was simple, neighborhood kids get together and play a variety of different sports like baseball, basketball, football, soccer, etc, etc.

The news of the revival of the franchise was confirmed earlier this week by Sports Illustrated. The iconic franchise is being revived by a company called Playground Productions. Playground Productions has become known for being "...dedicated to creating family-friendly content".

Though an official release date was not announced, it is expected the franchises long awaited return will be happening within the next couple of months. All these years laters, the franchise is getting a fresh coat of paint but appears to be retaining the same art style that fans like myself adored as kids. You can view the trailer below

Nostalgic Memories of Childhood

Maybe it's the fact that I just recently turned 30, but the nostalgia factor of this franchise returning hit me like a ton of bricks and I mean that in a good way. I can't even begin to quantify the amount of hours I spent playing 'Backyard Baseball' as a kid, constantly making new teams while always picking certain favorite characters.

Between the characters, the fields, the quirky power up's to give you an advantage of your opponent, everything about the game and franchise holds a deep spot in the old childhood memories.

The news of the games return also comes at an ironic time as Major League Baseball just a week celebrated its annual "Player's Weekend" where players throughout the league were able to customize their in-game equipment for one weekend. One of baseball's current top players, Bobby Whitt Jr of the Kansas City Royals used a custom bat with the image of 'Backyard Sports' icon and legend, Pablo Sanchez emblazoned on his bat. By the way, the answer is yes, he hit a home run with the Pablo Sanchez bat.

MLB in Backyard Sports?

One of the coolest and most nostalgic features of the original Backyard Baseball game was that when playing the game, you could actually use kid or child versions of some of MLB's greatest players. This was able to happen after MLB and Backyard Sports teamed up and allowed for one player from all 30 MLB teams to be featured in the game.

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Iconic players like Cal Ripken Jr, Tony Gwynn and Ken Griffey Jr were usable players after the agreement was made in 2001. This asks an interesting question though about the rebirth of the franchise and that question is, which players should be included in the game now. If current MLB players are allowed to be included in the game that is.

Call it my Yankee-bias but with the historic season he is having in 2024, Aaron Judge would likely be the first player out of many people's mouths if they were asked this question.

Another player would be Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani is synonymous throughout the world for his ability to both pitch and hit at an incredibly high level. Not to mention last winter, he and the Dodgers agreed to the richest free-agent contract in MLB history, a 10-year/$700 million dollar contract.

Other stars throughout the game that would be interesting would be Ohtani's teammates Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the New York Mets own Francisco Lindor, The Philadelphia Phillies Bryce Harper, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels and the previously mentioned, Bobby Whitt Jr.

There are endless possibilities about what could happen when the games return but that speculation can be saved for now. Myself and many other grown-up millenials and others who enjoyed childhood during the late 1990's and early 2000's can all just unanimously be excited that an icon of our youth after many years is finally making a comeback.