Play World Series Baseball '98 Online Free for Sega Saturn.

World Series Baseball '98 is a 1997 baseball video game released by Sega for the Sega Saturn and Sega Genesis as a sequel to World Series Baseball II. The game was first released in Japan under the title Pro Yakyū Greatest Nine '97 which used the Nippon Professional Baseball license.

How to Play World Series Baseball '98

The app maps World Series Baseball '98 for you out of the box; the table below is the starting point, and Controller Mapping tunes it to a keyboard or any USB / Bluetooth pad.

The Story Behind World Series Baseball '98

Newly built or developing venues represented in the game included Turner Field, Tropicana Field and Bank One Ballpark, while changes to the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum were also incorporated. In GamePros July 1997 "Hot Rentals" chart, it ranked as the most-rented Genesis game at Blockbuster Video stores. More than 20 statistical categories could be recorded during a season.

The Genesis version of World Series Baseball '98 topped Blockbuster Video's rental chart for the platform in mid-1997. Sega also implemented artificial intelligence intended to emphasize baseball strategy rather than purely arcade-style play. For the Saturn version, Sega introduced a new 3D polygon-based graphics engine and used motion capture to reproduce the movements of professional baseball players.

What You'll Play

Each batter has areas in which they are comparatively strong or weak, and before a pitch the player can select one of four quadrants corresponding to buttons on the controller. World Series Baseball '98 is a baseball simulation in which players control batting, pitching, fielding and baserunning. Fielding ability also varies between players; stronger defensive players can make more accurate throws, while pitcher effectiveness declines with fatigue.

The Saturn version uses a four-part batting system based around the strike zone. The game contains four modes of play, including a full 162-game season, playoff play and a Home Run Derby. Next Generation described the pitcher–batter contest as requiring the batter to anticipate pitch type and location while the pitcher varies speed and placement and avoids the hitter's stronger zones.

Why It Still Hits

In a 2021 retrospective of the greatest baseball games on each major console, Bleacher Report chose World Series Baseball 98 for the Sega Saturn and noted that "it represented a massive step forward relative to previous baseball games in terms of making the batter/pitcher matchup the focal point of the game." Perkinson later described World Series Baseball '98s transition to polygonal characters and three-dimensional rendering as a major evolution for the Saturn series which helped set the direction for its subsequent development on Dreamcast. Kraig Kujawa and Dean Hager both said that it is inferior to MLB '98, but still very good, and Hager added, "I'll say for sure it's the best baseball game for the Saturn." The Genesis version was released at the end of the console's lifespan and was largely ignored by the press.

The series' transition to polygonal graphics was generally approved of, particularly since the game still runs as fast as its predecessors, though multiple reviewers criticized that the bats are grossly out-of-proportion, saying they look like two-by-four lumber planks. World Series Baseball '98 influenced Sega's subsequent baseball games on the Dreamcast. The Saturn version of World Series Baseball '98 received mostly positive reviews.

World Series Baseball '98 — Frequently Asked Questions