A typical day for the GamesCampus team involves an early wake time and arrival at the facility by 10 a.m. Set up is complete before the gates open at 11:00. Staff hands out 'draft cards' to fans which allow them a free player once they're ready to play Dugout Heroes. There is also a demo table with a large screen monitor to watch and the GC team is on hand to talk about their game. The day doesn't wrap up until after 5:00. This grueling schedule has been going on for almost two weeks with almost another to go. According to Chang, however, it's all been worth it. Getting the word out is essential to the game's success and from the numbers, it appears to be working.
Dugout Heroes offers both hardcore and casual baseball fans everything that console-only gamers have enjoyed for years: A fully featured, Major League Baseball endorsed, addictive game complete with quests, tournaments, leagues (aka guilds), customized teams, MLB draft, team and league rankings, simple controls, easy learning curve and even a World Series. Developers are committed to adding all the features that fans and players want, are dedicated to timely updates and to making the game work.
MLB Dugout Heroes has something that no console baseball game can even come close to matching. MLB Dugout Heroes is free to play. That's right. There is no $50 to get out the door. There is no subscription fee. MLB Dugout Heroes is FREE without caveat. There will be a microtransaction 'store' for players but Chang was very specific when he said that balance will not be thrown off by items purchased at the Item Mall. Most of the store items will be cosmetic such as custom uniforms, cleats, etc. In fact, most things that can be purchased with real world cash can also be purchased with in-game currency earned through quest completion. Not a bad deal considering the console alternative.
GamesCampus is so confident in the imminent success of MLB Dugout Heroes that it is already beginning to consider where to go with the sports MMO genre in the future. Tentative plans include reaching out to the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), boxing promoters, and even the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). It appears as if their future is indeed bright.
The open beta client for MLB Dugout Heroes can be downloaded at http://www.mlbdugoutheroes.com and the game is fully functional. There are certain features that are not yet activated and won't be until the game's official launch towards the end of April 2009 but there's no question you'll get a worthy look at the game.
In my few play sessions to this point, I have seen that MLB Dugout Heroes appears to be a solid entry into a new era of online sports games and a winner to boot. While I have never been a fan of sports themed games of any type, I have found myself curiously excited by the game and having a lot of fun. MLB Dugout Heroes looks to have everything a baseball fan could want except maybe the smell of hotdogs and roasted peanuts. That aside, however, I plan to spend a lot of time with my Dugout Heroes.
I'll have a 'first look' article for your perusal in the coming days. If you can't wait, head to the link above and try MLB Dugout Heroes for yourself! I suspect you won't be sorry. BATTER UP!
