Baseball - for NES

Baseball is where Nintendo's long history with sports games begins. Nintendo R&D1 built it for the Family Computer in 1983, making it one of the first games released for that system, and it crossed over to the West as one of the 18 launch titles for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. There is nothing elaborate about Baseball, and that is rather the point: it takes the sport, reduces it to pitching, batting and fielding, and trusts that the rest will look after itself. For a great many households it was the first baseball game they ever played on a television.

The object is the same as the real thing, which is to score more runs than the other side. One player can take on the computer or two can face each other, and each side picks from one of six teams. The teams play identically and differ only in the colour of their uniforms, standing in for the six members of the Japanese Central League. Pitching is a matter of placement and nerve, batting comes down to timing, and fielding asks you to pick the right player and the right throw before the runner reaches the bag.

Baseball matters to collectors for its place in the story. It is a launch title, an early piece of Nintendo R&D1's work, and a game that still plays a clean nine innings decades later. The simplicity that once looked thin now reads as confidence, and a game between two people who know what they are doing can get genuinely tense. Anyone building a run of NES sports cartridges, or a shelf of 1985 launch titles, will want Baseball on it. It is the foundation that every other baseball game on the system was measured against.

• Genre: Baseball
• Players: 1-2
• Region: NTSC
• Release Year: 1983
• Developer: Nintendo R&D1

Cartridge Only: No Box or Manual
Please note that this listing is for the game cartridge only. The original box, instruction manual, and any other accessories are not included with this purchase unless explicitly stated in the listing. What you receive is exactly what you need to play: the cartridge itself, tested and confirmed working.

Condition & Authenticity
This game has been tested and is fully functional. We do not authenticate or certify originality, and listings are intended for players and everyday collectors rather than professional grading or authentication purposes.

Images & Regional Differences
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