Skip to main content

With actual players and stadiums, 'R.B.I. Baseball 17' puts you in the game

rbi baseball 2017 rbibaseball01
Image used with permission by copyright holder
R.B.I Baseball is back in 2017 — and it’s more licensed than ever. Compared to the original games from the NES and SNES era, today’s versions are much more affiliated. With an official Major League Baseball license under its belt, R.B.I. Baseball 17 comes with players, stadiums and teams taken straight from the real game.

R.B.I. Baseball first surfaced in the mid-1980s, when it debuted on the original NES. It had a few sequels before taking a nearly two-decade break, but made a solid return in 2014 with R.B.I. Baseball 14 and has had an annual release every year since.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

R.B.I. 17 is coming to Xbox One, PS4, iOS, and Android. It will bring with it all of the benefits of an official MLB license, too. That means this game comes complete with all 30 MLB teams and their respective stadiums. There are more than 1,000 real-life players to choose from, all with their respective attributes and statistics.

The cover art features 2016 National League Rookie of the Year Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who becomes the second-youngest player to be featured on an official MLB game’s cover.

Seager will be just one of many players you’ll be able to have on your team. R.B.I. Baseball lets you modify your lineup with full rosters, or play with a classic roster from R.B.I. Baseball archives. Downloadble roster updates throughout the year will keep the game feeling fresh and accurate, while you play through one of the many different game modes, including season, postseason, exhibition, and online and local multiplayer.

Gameplay in R.B.I. Baseball remains as fast and easy to pick up as ever. Nine-inning games take around 20 minutes and feature a two button control system that help anyone learn to play in short order.

We don’t have a release date for R.B.I. Baseball 17 yet, but it is presumed to be coming soon, and will debut on Xbox One and PS4 at $20, and on iOS and Android for $5.

Editors' Recommendations

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…
The best PS5 controllers for 2024
Scuf Reflex Pro controller.

The DualSense wireless controller that arrives with your PlayStation 5 is by no means an inferior gaming product. However, it does fall short for players who want to do a little more with their control methods.

Sony has acknowledged some shortcomings with its release of the new DualSense Edge, as well as the upcoming project Leonardo that caters to gamers with disabilities, but there are some third-party options that can fit your needs just as well.

Read more
I would buy a PlayStation Portal 2 if it had this one feature
A Pulse Elite, DualSense, and PlayStation Portal sit on a table.

I've had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the PlayStation Portal since it launched. Initially, I was disappointed by Sony's cloud streaming device. I was impressed with its screen and appreciated its DualSense integration, but its slimmeddown features made it feel like a cheap version of a good idea. I've since learned to find a use case for my PlayStation Portal that turned it into an integral part of my gaming setup. It's very imperfect, but that doesn't mean it's not useful.

Ever since its launch, I've been hoping for a refreshed follow-up, whether that be a Pro model or a true PlayStation Portal 2. It may be way too early to start discussing that considering that the Portal just launched in November 2023, but the promising device has enough glaring flaws that I'd welcome a fast-tracked successor. If Sony were to make a PlayStation Portal 2, though, there's one feature that's nonnegotiable: Bluetooth.

Read more
The best games for laptops
A person gaming on the new Acer Nitro 16 gaming laptop placed on a desk.

Gaming on your laptop didn't used to be a serious option outside of very simple games. Newer laptops have a lot more power inside for gaming, but can't quite keep up with the latest and greatest of games on PC and consoles. Plus, you typically are restricted to a keyboard and touchpad that makes more intensive games uncomfortable or too difficult to enjoy. Since you won't always have access to a separate mouse or standard controller, you might need some games that still play great on your laptop without needing any accessories.

These are the best games you can either play with nothing but the keyboard or minimal mouse use to avoid any hand cramps.

Read more