Major League Baseball released a modern update of the classic Nintendo game R.B.I Baseball, the 30-year-old cult favorite that was the first of its kind to include names, likenesses and abilities of real players.
The original game — launched in Japan in 1986 and North America in 1988 — carried a license from the MLB Players Association and recreated actual players on its teams that were represented by cities, but not nicknames, because the game was not licensed by the league itself.
The new adaptation, R.B.I. Baseball 18, which features Cleveland Indians star shortstop Francisco Lindor on its cover, has both MLB and MLBAPA licensing.