Difference between revisions of "Batter Up (accessory)"

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{{AccessoryBob
 
{{AccessoryBob
 
| accessoryimage=BatterUp.jpg
 
| accessoryimage=BatterUp.jpg
| imgwidth=320
 
| accessoryprogramscreen=
 
 
| title=Batter Up
 
| title=Batter Up
 
| maker=[[Sports Sciences]]
 
| maker=[[Sports Sciences]]
 +
| type=Miscellaneous
 
| madefor=[[Sega Mega Drive]]
 
| madefor=[[Sega Mega Drive]]
| alsoworks=
+
| releases={{releasesMD
| releases={{releases
+
| md_date_us=1994-10{{magref|videogamesus|69|88}}
| md_date_us=1995?
+
| md_rrp_us=69.99{{magref|videogamesus|69|88}}<!--119.99{{magref|gi|20|70}}-->
 
| md_date_br=199x
 
| md_date_br=199x
 
}}
 
}}
 
}}
 
}}
{{stub}}The '''''Batter Up''''' controller is a special [[Sega Mega Drive]] peripheral designed with baseball games in mind. It was only released in North America and Brazil.
+
{{stub}}'''Batter Up''' controller is a special [[Sega Mega Drive]] peripheral designed with baseball games in mind. It was only released in North America and Brazil. A similar peripheral was also released for the [[Super NES]].
  
The Batter Up controller is shaped as a 24-inch bat surrounded by blue rubber foam. It responds to the user's movements, similar to the much later [[Wii]] remote. There are a number of buttons on the side of the controller meaning it can also function as a normal control pad. The controller is extremely rare and so little has been documented about it.
+
==Hardware==
 +
The Batter Up controller is shaped as a 24-inch bat surrounded by blue rubber foam. It responds to the user's movements, similar to the much later [[Wii]] remote (though the Batter Up is permanently wired to the Mega Drive system via a 12-foot lead.
  
A similar peripheral was also released for the Super Nintendo.
+
From a technical standpoint, the Batter Up controller is a glorified [[Control Pad (Mega Drive)|Control Pad]], and so is in theory compatible with the vast majority of Mega Drive games. All standard Mega Drive face buttons exist on the side of the controller, although the placement of these buttons and the lack of true D-Pad will make many games challenging to play.
  
==Games Supported==
+
No Mega Drive games, baseball or otherwise, were specifically engineered with the Batter Up in mind - Sports Sciences approach was to retro-fit Batter Up support by including four dip-switches on the controller, which re-map the D-Pad, {{A}}, {{B}}, {{C}} and how these buttons are meant to be pressed, to the action of swinging the bat. As most baseball games of the era play similarly, most baseball games experience some level of playability when controlled by a Batter Up.
The Batter Up controller is said to be compatible with "almost all" Mega Drive baseball games. This has yet to be confirmed, however the controller is known to work with ''[[World Series Baseball]]''. The following is a list of Mega Drive baseball games that ''may'' be compatible:
+
 
 +
The effectiveness of the bat depends on how the game was programmed.
 +
 
 +
A wireless version of the controller was planned (with an RRP of $129.99 in the United States{{magref|videogamesus|69|88}}), but does not appear to have made it to market.
 +
 
 +
==Compatibility==
 +
The following is a list of games Sports Sciences claimed to be compatible. It is likely that many more baseball games (e.g. ''[[World Series Baseball '96]]'', released after this accessory) work just as well, but this was never officially confirmed.
 
{{multicol|
 
{{multicol|
 
*''[[Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball]]''
 
*''[[Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball]]''
 
*''[[ESPN Baseball Tonight]]''
 
*''[[ESPN Baseball Tonight]]''
*''[[Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball]]''
+
*''[[HardBall '94]]''
*''[[La Russa Baseball 95]]''
 
 
*''[[MLBPA Baseball]]''
 
*''[[MLBPA Baseball]]''
*''[[R.B.I. Baseball 3]]''
 
*''[[R.B.I. Baseball 4]]''
 
 
*''[[R.B.I. Baseball '93]]''
 
*''[[R.B.I. Baseball '93]]''
 
*''[[R.B.I. Baseball '94]]''
 
*''[[R.B.I. Baseball '94]]''
*''[[Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball]]''
 
 
*''[[Sports Talk Baseball]]''
 
*''[[Sports Talk Baseball]]''
 
*''[[Super Baseball 2020]]''
 
*''[[Super Baseball 2020]]''
*''[[Super League]]''
 
*''[[Tecmo Super Baseball]]''
 
 
*''[[Tony La Russa Baseball]]''
 
*''[[Tony La Russa Baseball]]''
*''[[World Series Baseball]]''
+
*''[[World Series Baseball (Mega Drive)|World Series Baseball]]''
*''[[World Series Baseball '95]]''
+
}}
*''[[World Series Baseball '96]]''
+
 
*''[[World Series Baseball '98]]''
+
==Magazine articles==
 +
{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Magazine articles}}
 +
 
 +
==Promotional material==
 +
{{gallery
 +
|{{GalleryPrintAd
 +
|gamepro|64|198
 +
|egm2|5|177
 +
|egm|65|257
 +
|gamepro|66|141
 +
|gameplayers|0802|71
 +
}}
 +
|{{galleryPrintAd
 +
|egm|70|119
 +
|gameplayers|0807|77
 +
}}
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
==Physical scans==
 +
{{Scanbox
 +
| console=Mega Drive
 +
| region=US
 +
| front=Batterup MD US Box Front.jpg
 +
| back=BatterUp MD US Box Back.jpg
 +
| spinemissing=yes
 +
| long=yes
 +
}}{{Scanbox
 +
| console=Mega Drive
 +
| region=BR
 +
| front=
 +
| back=
 
}}
 
}}
It is assumed the unlicensed ''[[Shi Jie Zhi Bang Zheng Ba Zhan: World Pro Baseball 94]]'' won't be compatible.
+
 
==Gallery==
+
==References==
<gallery>
+
<references/>
File:Batterup MD US Box Front.jpg|Front of box (US)
+
 
File:BatterUp MD US Box Back.jpg|Back of box (US)
+
{{MDThirdPartyControllers}}
</gallery>
 
{{MegaDrive}}
 

Latest revision as of 11:05, 5 August 2024

BatterUp.jpg
Batter Up
Made for: Sega Mega Drive
Manufacturer: Sports Sciences
Type: Miscellaneous
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
US
$69.9969.99[1]
Sega Mega Drive
BR

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Batter Up controller is a special Sega Mega Drive peripheral designed with baseball games in mind. It was only released in North America and Brazil. A similar peripheral was also released for the Super NES.

Hardware

The Batter Up controller is shaped as a 24-inch bat surrounded by blue rubber foam. It responds to the user's movements, similar to the much later Wii remote (though the Batter Up is permanently wired to the Mega Drive system via a 12-foot lead.

From a technical standpoint, the Batter Up controller is a glorified Control Pad, and so is in theory compatible with the vast majority of Mega Drive games. All standard Mega Drive face buttons exist on the side of the controller, although the placement of these buttons and the lack of true D-Pad will make many games challenging to play.

No Mega Drive games, baseball or otherwise, were specifically engineered with the Batter Up in mind - Sports Sciences approach was to retro-fit Batter Up support by including four dip-switches on the controller, which re-map the D-Pad, A, B, C and how these buttons are meant to be pressed, to the action of swinging the bat. As most baseball games of the era play similarly, most baseball games experience some level of playability when controlled by a Batter Up.

The effectiveness of the bat depends on how the game was programmed.

A wireless version of the controller was planned (with an RRP of $129.99 in the United States[1]), but does not appear to have made it to market.

Compatibility

The following is a list of games Sports Sciences claimed to be compatible. It is likely that many more baseball games (e.g. World Series Baseball '96, released after this accessory) work just as well, but this was never officially confirmed.

Magazine articles

Main article: Batter Up (accessory)/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (US) #64: "November 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
also published in:
  • (US) #5: "November 1994" (1994-1x-xx)[2]
  • (US) #65: "December 1994" (1994-xx-xx)[3]
  • (US) #66: "January 1995" (199x-xx-xx)[4]
  • (US) #0802: "Vol. 8 No. 2 February 1995" (1995-0x-xx)[5]
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (US) #70: "May 1995" (1995-0x-xx)
also published in:
  • (US) #0807: "Vol. 8 No. 7 July 1995" (1995-0x-xx)[6]
Logo-pdf.svg

Physical scans

Mega Drive, US
BatterUp MD US Box Back.jpgNospine-smaller.pngBatterup MD US Box Front.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, BR

References


Third-party controllers for the Sega Mega Drive
  • Control pads
  • Arcade sticks
  • Computer joysticks
  • Wireless control pads
  • Others

Others | Clones