Beloved ‘Backyard Sports’ Video Game Franchise Is Officially Returning
Pablo Sanchez and the rest of the legendary
By Tom Dierberger
Aug 20, 2024 09:45 PM
Grab your glove, hop on your bike and race to Steele Stadium —because the iconic Backyard Sports franchise is officially coming back to a neighborhood near you.
Playground Productions, a production company dedicated to making children-friendly programming, announced on Tuesday that the cult video game series will return “in the coming months” with the same style and design as games released in late 1990s and early 2000s.
“We’re incredibly excited to reintroduce Backyard Sports to a new generation of players,” Chris Waters, the chief product officer of Playground Productions, said in an announcement. “We’re doing our best to preserve the design and feeling that made the original games so memorable, while also upgrading them with the latest games and features that the players expect. I’m excited for the fans to experience what we’re creating around Playground.” Playground.”
The first Backyard Sports game named Backyard Baseball was launched in 1997, and featured the legendary characters from “Backyard Kids” characters like Pablo Sanchez, Stephanie Morgan, Kenny Kawaguchi, Pete Wheeler and many more. The game was originally created through Humongous Entertainment and published by Atari The franchise was later included Backyard Sports games for basketball, soccer hockey and football.
in 2001 Backyard Sports partnered with MLB to showcase one player from each of the 30 teams of Backyard Sports 2001 as well as thirty fictional players depicting each major leaguer as a child version of themselves. Randy Johnson, Tony Gwynn, Ken Griffey Jr. and Cal Ripken Jr. were among the athletes who were featured in the very first edition. The subsequent Backyard Sports games were similar, joining forces together with MLS, NBA, WNBA and NHL to include other players from these sports, such as Kevin Garnett, Lisa Leslie, Brandi Chastain, Cobi Jones, Jerry Rice and Joe Sakic among others.
Playground Productions did not confirm to Sports Illustrated if they would collaborate in conjunction with professional leagues in order to have their athletes participate in the events, however more announcements are likely to be released in the near future.
” Backyard Sports is more than just a game; it’s a cherished part of childhood for millions of people,” Lindsay Barnett who is the chief executive officer and founder of Playground Productions, said in an announcement. “I look at media as the largest classroom in the world. As such, our goal is to produce meaningful content that not only entertains but also educates and inspires. The return of Backyard Sports is the perfect embodiment of that goal.”
The ownership rights of the franchise have been in flux for the past decade with nothing to show for it and it was the Backyard Sports series was reintroduced to the mainstream last year after now-retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce made the suggestion to relaunch the franchise.
“I don’t even know if I want to mention this,” Kelce stated in the New Heights podcast in January. “I’ve secretly been looking into seeing if anybody holds the rights to Backyard Baseballand Backyard Footballbecause I want to buy it and get this thing going again.”
Sources have confirmed the report by Sports Illustrated that Kelce isn’t connected to this relaunch.
“While Jason Kelce isn’t directly involved in this relaunch, he represents an audience of people that, to this day, fondly remember Backyard Sports as a staple game with iconic characters beloved by many,” an Playground Productions spokesperson told Sports Illustrated. “Just like Jason and the millions of other fans out there, Playground Productions recognizes the nostalgia of this franchise and is thrilled to bring it back to life to reach a new generation of players.”
Alongside the release of videos, Playground Productions plans to revive its Backyard Sportsworld in other segments like merchandise as well as film and television.