Major League Baseball 2K9 - Reception

Reception

The high expectations for MLB 2K9 resulted in disappointment, as 2K9 actually received worse average reviews than its derided predecessor, 2K8. GameSpot in its 4.5 of 10 review complained, "Either MLB 2K9 shipped in a half-finished state or the developers have never seen a baseball, much less thrown one around," citing bizarre gameplay and noting the game was "crammed with bugs." 1UP.com in its scathing D+ score review for the Xbox 360 - and a lower D score for the PlayStation 3 - called it "...a game that tries so hard to prove that the series is progressing, but ignores fixing the issues that have plagued it for years: poor defense, sloppy animations, and catering to the home run..." IGN in its 6.8 of 10 review stated, "Major League Baseball 2K9 fixes some of the issues from the past and sets the groundwork for a great game, but there are far too many bugs to recommend." TeamXbox moaned, "Lots of great improvements to the game’s core mechanics, but the bugs will drive you insane," in its 7.1 of 10 review. Official Xbox Magazine panned in its 6.5 of 10 review, "The laundry list of annoying little problems is too substantial." GamesRadar in its 7 of 10 review called the game a "paradox", calling it "fun and accessible" but "suffers from too many gaffes that are impossible to ignore." Operation Sports noted in its 6.5 of 10 review, "...most games play out like a high-pitch summer softball league game... one of those leagues where all the players have $500 NASA engineered bats." GameSpy awarded the game 3½ stars, stating casual fans would be attracted to the game, while "hardcore" simmers would be turned off by it.

IGN's 6.4 of 10 review of the Wii version had some diametrically opposed criticism of 2K9, stating it was too easy to strike out hitters with too-precise pitching, as well as a "laughable" franchise mode that featured 1 year, $40 million salaries for players like Danys Báez and no online play despite promises for one after 2K8 was released.