Triple Play series
Triple Play was a series of computer and video games based on Major League Baseball, published by EA Sports until their replacement by the MVP Baseball in 2003.
Most video game reviewers, including GameSpot, stated that other simulations (for example, Sega's version) were superior to Triple Play, and its sales were lower; therefore, EA Sports decided to move in a new direction, beginning with the name change to MVP Baseball. Here are the games in the series with the baseball athletes on the cover:
Games
| Game | Release date | Cover athlete (team) | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triple Play 97 | Jun 24, 1996 | Tony Gwynn San Diego Padres | PlayStation, Microsoft Windows |
| Triple Play 98 | Sep 24, 1997 | Brian Jordan (St. Louis Cardinals) | |
| Triple Play 99 | Mar 10, 1998 (PS) May 30, 1998 (PC) |
Alex Rodriguez Seattle Mariners | |
| Triple Play 2000 | Mar 22, 1999 (N64) Mar 27, 1999 (PS) Apr 5, 1999 (PC) |
Sammy Sosa (Chicago Cubs) | PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Microsoft Windows |
| Triple Play 2001 | Mar 14, 2000 (PS) Mar 25, 2000 (PC) |
Mike Piazza (New York Mets) | PlayStation, Microsoft Windows |
| Triple Play Baseball | Feb 27, 2001 (PS) Mar 13, 2001 (PS2) Mar 15, 2001 (PC) |
Jason Giambi (Oakland Athletics) | PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows |
| Triple Play 2002 | Mar 12, 2002 | Luis Gonzalez (Arizona Diamondbacks) | Xbox, PlayStation 2 |
All of the games contained the rosters and schedules of the beginning of the season of the year before the one described in the name except for Triple Play 2002. For example, Triple Play 2001 contained the rosters and schedules of the 2000 season, and Triple Play Baseball (without a year) contained the rosters and schedules for 2001. This is a result of the tradition of listing the year the series ends in, basketball, football and hockey ending in a different year from when they started. Baseball is the only exception, as it begins in March and ends in October of the same year.
The games were produced primarily for the PlayStation console, but also saw release on the PC and the Game Boy Color.