Mega Cat Studios, Crowd Control, and BackyardSports.Online are working together on the BackyardSports.Online Charity Stream, aimed at gathering funds to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The livestream will feature an array of guests, including game developers, content creators, and pro athletes.
People who take part in the stream will be able to play classic Backyard Sports games online, interact with the personalities involved, and be eligible for giveaways. The stream is taking place this Sunday, October 13 at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET on the BackyardSportsCenter Twitch channel.
The fundraising is matching the release of Backyard Baseball ’97 on Steam on October 10. Developed by Mega Cat Studios, this re-launch features Steam Leaderboards to track and compare your home runs, season wins, and more in real-time. There are three game modes available: Random Pick-up has the computer choosing a random team for you, Single Game tasks you with taking turns with the computer and picking players from a random pool of characters, and Season allows you to create and manage a team through a 14-game series.
In GameSpot’s Backyard Baseball ’97 review, Mark Delaney called it a “fantastic experience for young players overall,” highlighting the roster of kid athletes and the potential for kids and parents to play together. “I once enjoyed the game as a player, back when I was in the middle of the game’s target audience,” Delaney wrote. “Today, I’m well outside of that, but the game has taken on new meaning to me now that I have kids of my own. Because the core gameplay remains fun and easy to learn, passing down my favorite characters to my kids has been a heartwarming joy, and watching their favorites emerge has been exciting.”
