Mar 4, 2010 6:04 AM, Brian Quinton for PROMO Xtra
As a promotion for the latest version of its new baseball videogame, 2K Sports has chosen quite a pitch: $1 million to the first registered player who offers documented proof that he or she pitched a perfect game on MLB 2K10, this year’s update of the videogame for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles.
The promotion is notable not only for the size of the offer—reportedly one of the largest cash awards ever—but because it involves a skill challenge rather than simple entry into a random drawing.
And skill is at the heart of the campaign. Game maker 2K Sports, a division of Take-Two Interactive, has revamped this year’s version to add more responsive controls for pitching, and the promotion is designed to highlight those features. Players can now choose a pitch type and then execute that pitch with joystick control, permitting more realistic variance in pitching and in effect turning MLB 2K10 into a pitchers’ duel.
Players must pitch that perfect game between March 2 and May 1 2010 and must document their entire game on video. To enter, they must purchase an authorized copy of the game for Xbox or PlayStation and click on the MLB 2K10 Contest prompt at startup.
For purposes of the contest, 2K Sports defines a “perfect game” as one without any pitcher substitutions in the game play, no pauses during play, no delays of more than 60 seconds between pitches, and no mound visits from the coach. All 27 batters in nine innings must be retired without letting any one reach base.
The manufacturers have also imposed explicit instructions about videotape proof of completion, including requiring that the quality is good enough to read the game controls on the monitor screen and turning the camera on at least 5 seconds before starting up the TV and game console. Those instructions are available at www.2ksports.com/perfectgame, including FAQs and a downloadable .pdf checklist. Players can also record their game digitally.
A player who completes a perfect game in this mode will instantly receive a verification code which must be input at the perfect Game Web site. They will then have to follow up by furnishing the entire recording in DVD form to the judges at 2K Sports to be eligible for the prize.
2K Sports marketing director Chris Snyder told the Kotaku gaming blog that the company is serious about handing out $1 million for the first perfect game in the contest period, and in fact expects to have to do so.
“I would be shocked if someone doesn’t get it,” he said. “It’s very doable. It’s been budgeted for. It’s in an escrow account, and we’re fully expecting to pay it.”
Still there’s no denying it will be tough, if real-world experience is any indication. Only 18 perfect games have been pitched in recorded major league baseball history, and two of those happened before 1900.
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