The interactive medium of video games have always struggled to gain a foothold of legitimacy in the eyes of the public. Being reliant on the TV never really let them shake the label of "casual entertainment", especially because their popularity came long before the Prestige Television boon that would occur in the 21st century. In trying to mimic real life games/sports they sought to have an in to the average homestead and prove their worth to the general public that games were a worthwhile pastime.

Of course I write this all to say that I can't believe they butchered the noble art of baseball with some shitty small ball simulator that lacks any of the charm of the sport itself. It's easy to call the game simple, or a proof of concept, but where does this leave us? To remove all intricacies of baseball and boil it down to hurl ball at different speeds and then hit said ball makes it an unimpressive toy. A game that won't let you steal bases, in the golden era of the stolen base?!? Ricky Henderson spits on your grave.

The Famicom was for all intents and purposes, a product. A toy for children that could hold their attention for a brief period of time while parents enjoyed a life independent of their chitlins. The fact that this became a medium of artistic expression seems almost impossible. Nintendo obviously started making more intricate and interesting games later, but there's still the idea of a world where nobody pushed the Famicom capabilities and it would be long forgotten toy of the 80s. A fad and nothing more.

Screw this game, baseball is cool.