One could argue, but it's difficult to nail down a title that offers an immersive baseball experience like Ultimate Baseball Online (UBO) does. 18 players, one field, free to play - can you ask for more? Some of your questions may be answered with Gamasutra's interview with Netamin Communication Corp. Event Marketing Manager Sean Mackay.

As a level-headed gamer would guess, this entry to the sports genre was a wild attempt to attract a rather small market. Sure, MMOGs are big, but only a handful like Freestyle actually enjoyed success. UBO, however, doesn't see this as a problem. In fact, here's what Mackay said:

Freestyle has done some great things with their video game. It is important that sports MMOs generate market share in the gaming industry and they are making a move to help spearhead that initiative. Our games differ greatly however and I think that our communities can coincide quite easily. Building market awareness and increasing its depth is the most important key to sports MMO success. We are all helping each other in this regard.

Such ambitious titles that aim to put a lot of people together come with plenty of obstacles in development. Netamin had its share in problems, especially in network issues. Fortunately, a patent "that allow for the connectivity of a specific group - the players on the field - to send and retrieve data at the same rates" made it work.

Interested in what else the guys behind the massive baseball online game have to say? Click on the Read link below.

Netamin, the folks behind the baseball MMO title, Ultimate Baseball Online (UBO) recently announced that they are introducing new features and activities for players who prefer going solo in their latest edition of the game. Some of the new stuff you should expect are the following:

• One-player mini games - this will let players test their hitting prowess inside the UBO camp. Leader boards will track the top players in terms of homeruns, triples, doubles, singles, and batting average. Of course, online trophies would be awarded to the winners.
• Free Agent games - players without teams can now get in on the fun and in the loop. If you prefer going solo instead of touring with a team, you could still experience real-time online sports tournament in the world. The best part - you'll meet more UBO players, plus you need not deal with stubborn and power-tripping teammates.
• Power Ranking points for teams - this will be based on the team's performance in a variety of UBO leagues and tournaments. Points will be accumulated throughout the year, with the top 64 UBO teams earning a berth in The Best of UBO 2007. The global event features $10,000 in cash prizes and will run from November 26 to December 21.
• Graphical updates, new effects, and real-world advertisers in stadiums courtesy of Double Fusion

When given a choice, MMO players will usually shun away from in-game advertisements. They, with some analysts, have argued before that it actually disrupts gameplay experience as the presence of ads are somewhat out of place. Imagine your virtual world having banners of real-life commodities such as snacks ans soft drinks. It just feels weird.

Now, we guess it's kind of different for reality-based MMO games. Linden Lab's Second Life, for example, will definitely look fine with ads and all, because they are supposed to be there in the first place. Developer Netamin recently announced that they want to spice up Ultimate Baseball Online by adding in-game ads. Its CEO and president, Andy Wang, has even mentioned that this is something being asked by players:

UBO players have been eagerly awaiting in-game advertising as a way to increase the realism of their game experience. Through our partnership with Double Fusion, these stadium ads and videos have the potential to reach a huge international audience because of the worldwide popularity of baseball and our free-to-play game model.

Sadly, this is the reality for free MMO games. With them not getting subscription fees from players, they have to resort to other means to sustain their game. IGAs, as we've said before, are not inherently bad. They just have to be done in good taste.

The MMORPG genre is quite crowded right now but there are aspects of it that can still be exploited. Take for example the case of Ultimate Baseball Online. It is an MMO alright, but it is somewhat careening alone on the Multiplayer Online Sports Game avenue. As long as the situation remains like this, developer Netamin can afford to spend a year hosting nothing, but one competition.

And that is exactly what they plan to do with 2007 as they recently launched The Best of UBO 2007. The event is actually open to all players worldwide with a total number of 64 teams qualifying for the final stretch. The qualifying rounds are to begin soon while the thick of competition will happen from November 26 to December 21, 2007.

In case you're team is interested, please make sure that your roster is complete - meaning your team should be composed of at least five players but no more than nine players. Also, the following are the three various ways your team can qualify for a berth in the competition:

• Winning a UBO league: There are four seasons in 2007, and three levels of play for teams (Minor, Major and Elite)
• Winning a UBO Pay-to-Play Tournament: These are entry-fee events, held throughout the year, for each of the three skill levels above
• Power Ranking: To fill out the 64 team field, the remaining teams will be chosen from those that have accumulated the most Power Ranking Points (PRP) based on UBO event participation. Win or lose, playing in UBO events will earn each team PRPs that accumulate throughout the calendar year.

The winning team will be receiving a grand prize of US$ 4,500 while the MVP of the competition will get a cash prize of US$ 200 and a virtual trophy to be placed in the Trophy Room. The the other top 7 teams will also get cash prizes.

Having MyEvents, MyCharacter, and MyNews still isn't enough to make your Ultimate Baseball Online game your own, so Netamin decided to throw in their version of Xbox Live's Achievements. Just like any real-world sportsman who MUST have a trophy case to show their friends what a bad-a** they are on the court/field/whatever they play on, you virtual sluggers will get your very own Virtual Trophy Case (of pure, steroids-not-involved pwnage on the diamond).

Accomplishments on the field will unlock "colorful and meaningful" trophies that go up in the case. In addition, prestige awards will also find a cherished home somewhere in that virtual polished oak, such as the prestigious UBO Player of the Year award. In fact, tons of trophies have now been awarded to players to reflect their current performance and statistics.

Your Trophy Case should be visible via your personalized MyUBO page. Call it a visual incentive to actually work on your game, and not resort to, ahem, "performance-enhancing drugs" to strike that 700th home run or something.

Baseball is said to be America's national pastime...that is until technology changed our lives and MMOs became one of our favorite hobbies. So it wasn't that surprising if a company combines baseball and MMOs. And that is just what Netamin Communications Corp. had in mind when they came up with the MMO, Ultimate Baseball Online or UBO. Of course, the fact that you could play it for free is just the icing on the cake.

Recently, UBO joined the bandwagon called personalized info and social networking by launching a new capability called "MyUBO". This new feature is designed to give personalized info to each player upon game entry in order to keep them up-to-date with the latest community networking activity and possibility of event participation. The feature will include the following:

• MyEvents - highlights events including team happenings and tournament scheds that are available or assigned to a player.
• MyCharacters - displays game stats for each player's characters. It also shows the Experience Points each character needs to level up.
• MyNews - shows UBO news and updates as well as personalized messages for an individual character.

Netamin has announced a new Ultimate Baseball 2006 tournament called Summer Classic. It is comprised of Double Elimination-format rounds, and takes place from August 7 to August 15. 16 six-man (5 on the field, 1 as a substitute) teams get to play for the fame and money. Actually, it'll be 32, as Netamin has decided to run two tournaments simultaneously, one for players Level 30 and above, another for the players from Level 1 to 40, so that each player regardless of the amount of time he spent with Ultimate Baseball Online has a chance of winning.

The entry fee for the event is $6.95, but the prizes that are up for grabs should far outweigh that little investment. Here's what'll be available to the winners...

Upper Division (Level 30 and above)

1st: $100 toward game tickets/merchandise to any MLB, Minor League, or other professional baseball game
2nd: $50 gift certificate to shop.mlb.com
3rd: Custom UBO T-shirt

Lower Division (Levels 1-40)

1st: $75 gift certificate to shop.mlb.com
2nd: Custom-fitted UBO hat
3rd: Custom UBO T-shirt

The Summer Classic is the second Ultimate Baseball Online event after the Invitational Tournament ended a few weeks ago. The players of the winning team received a Playstation Portable system, once again proving that it's worth to spend a little time in the Sports MMO World of Ultimate Baseball Online.

Netamin has just announced the first pay-to-play Ultimate Baseball Online 2006 tournament, in which every member of the winning team will receive a PSP! It will cost you $5 to join the tournament - the game itself, one of the first Massive Multiplayer Online Sports titles, can be downloaded and played for free.
The qualifying rounds will take place from June 5 to June 11, using 8-team single elimination brackets, and the 16 best teams are going to be invited to play for the PSP systems from June 13 to June 16. If you don't make it through the first qualification round, you can register for a second one - however, you must pay the fee again.
 
The Ultimate Baseball Online website will keep players up-to-date with game results and statistics, and you can search for a place in a team in the forums.

Ultimate Baseball Online is an unique mix of sports simulation and typical MMO design - you'll interact with your team on the field in first person, and put your own strategical skills to use. At the same time, you earn experience for every game played, which you can spend to improve your character's abilities - running speed, throwing power, batting power and so on.

So if you're interested and intend to participate - QJ.net wishes you good luck!