SPORT ACCOLADE HITS A GRAND SLAM WITH HARDBALL 4

Category: Baseball Simulation

Price and Availability:
  PC-based floppy and CD-ROM computers - $59.95 (November, 1994)

Specifications: 386-33MHz, 4 MB Ram; 256 color SVGA;
                640 x 400 resolution programmed in
                32-bit protected mode, with native and VESA
                support for most SVGA cards; supports all popular
                sound boards; Double Speed CD-ROM

SAN JOSE, Calif. - October 31, 1994 - The competitive field of computer
baseball games will soon draft a home run winner. Sport Accolade, a
leading publisher of sports simulations, has announced a November release
for HardBall 4 for PC-based floppy and PC CD-ROM computers. The fourth
generation of the most successful line of computer baseball games ever,
HardBall 4 will be the first baseball game designed completely in
256-color SVGA graphics. It boasts digitized-video player graphics and
features a number of new animations such as different pitching motions,
batting stances and swings. All the action takes place in 28 realistically
rendered ballparks, featuring different altitude, field and wind
conditions. Together, these new features result in a TV-like broadcast.
Sound enhancements such as the play-by-play commentary by Emmy
award-winning sportscaster, Al Michaels, promise to carry on the deep,
audiovisual tradition that typifies the HardBall! name. HardBall 4 will
carry a suggested retail price of $59.95.

Sport Accolade also plans to release HardBall 4 MLBPA Players Disk, an
accessory disk featuring the statistics and digitized color photographs of
real players from all 28 Major League Baseball teams. It will feature Al
Michaels announcing individual players' names from the Major League
Baseball Players Association, 700 players in all. HardBall 4 MLBPA Players
Disk is scheduled for a simultaneous release with HardBall 4. It will be
sold separately at a suggested retail price of $24.95. The CD-ROM version
of HardBall 4 will include all the players found in the MLBPA Players
Disk.

HardBall 4 tracks stats in numerous categories including batting averages
against left and right hand pitchers, put-outs, assists, wild pitches,
percentages of pop-ups and more. In addition, gamers can track the league
leaders in those same categories. HardBall 4 includes a new dramatic
close-up view of homeplate in addition to other bases, all of which are
20% larger than in HardBall III. Another new aspect is the zooming and
panning baserunner windows which move with the runner, so that he never
disappears out of the gamers' view. "We've been tweaking the artificial
intelligence for more than three years," said Pam Levins, executive
producer for the game. "The computer opponent is much tougher with more
aggressive base-running, run-downs and pick-offs. Everything about
HardBall 4 has been fined tuned and baseball fans will find the gameplay
superior to any other baseball game on the market."

"The bases are loaded in HardBall 4," Levins continued. "The editing
capabilities have been improved, and now gamers can import their own
scanned photos into the game. Their photo will appear just like real
baseball players in the familiar baseball card format, which Sport
Accolade introduced in HardBall III. This is a feature gamers will
definitely enjoy sharing with their friends."

HardBall 4 is a one or two player game in which gamers can control all the
action or assume the role of team manager setting the strategy. Gamers can
play an exhibition game, a complete 162 game season including an all-star
game, play-offs and championship games. Plus, the addition of the 1994
League/Division realignment will improve gamers' chances of reaching the
Championships. Homeruns and Grand Slam achievements are recognized with a
special celebration screen. Network and modem support will make it
possible for gamers to play HardBall 4 across the room or across the
country.

Accolade, Inc. is a leading interactive entertainment company with products
distributed worldwide under the Accolade and Sport Accolade labels. It
currently develops and publishes action/adventure, sports and other
entertainment software for CD and cartridge based platforms including
personal computers, Nintendo game machines, Sega Genesis, 32X, and Saturn
systems. Leading game brands include Bubsy, Ballz, Zero Tolerance, Jack
Nicklaus Golf, Charles Barkley Basketball and HardBall. Headquartered in
San Jose, California, with subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Germany and
France, Accolade is one of the largest privately held companies in the
interactive entertainment industry.

Accolade, 5300 Stevens Creek Blvd, San Jose, CA 95129
408-985-1700;  Fax: 408-246-1053

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