AI hitters will now take strikes – unless their scouting report tells them to do otherwise; pitchers may not be able to locate the strike zone, AI pitchers may get frustrated if you take an at-bat deep into the count and foul off pitch after pitch, and so on. Almost everything discussed in the meeting was about how they made the game a more realistic representation of the sport and most of this centered on the confrontation between pitcher and hitter – which is certainly the most crucial aspect that must be perfected in order for any baseball game to succeed. If they pulled this off, then the game is going to be worth your time. If they didn’t – it won’t. Simple as that, really.

Franchise mode has a few new tweaks such as 40-man rosters, rookie drafts held in the summer, a trade block so that AI teams will realize who you are looking to move, compensatory picks for signing Type A free agents, and the ability to play any franchise game online against a buddy. Sadly it sounds as if there is still no salary arbitration or Rule 5 draft options, which is odd – especially the arbitration stuff as that is such a big component of baseball finances. We’ll have to wait and see how vital things like GM AI and player progression work. These are two areas that a franchise mode must be rock solid for it to work.

The new My Player feature is 2K’s spin on Sony’s Road to the Show – although in this version you’ll have defined goals that you will need to achieve in order to make the big league team – and you start in the minors and have to work your way up. It’s basically a mini RPG as you assign skill points to areas you like so you can customize your player how you see fit.

Finally, there’s the MLB Today which like other sports games nowadays will provide up to the minute roster updates and you can play games using the real schedule right alongside your favorite team.

On paper, MLB 2K10 sounds like a vastly improved game. Games are not played on paper, however, and this series has struggled for so many years now that it’s only natural to be a shade skeptical. The Xbox 360 in particular needs a viable baseball alternative to Sony’s juggernaut and here’s hoping that 2K is about to deliver one on March 2nd.