STRAT-O-MATIC WEBSITE TO HOST NEW ONLINE BASEBALL GAME
‘Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online’ Will Move From Sporting News Website to
Strat-O-Matic.com This Spring
GLEN HEAD, N.Y., Feb. 3, 2012 – Strat-O-Matic is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online, a unique, online variation of Strat-O-Baseball. The game, which has been hosted on SportingNews.com under the same name for the past 10 years, will be transitioned over to strat-o-matic.com this spring. The Strat-O-Matic website will become the new, exclusive home for the game. An exact date for the launch of the game on strat-o-matic.com has yet to be determined.
Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online is not the same product as Strat-O-Matic Baseball 2012, SOM’s latest Windows game (based on the 2011 season). Whereas Strat-O-Matic Baseball 2012 is available via E-Delivery (and also optionally on CD-ROM), Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online can be purchased and will be playable directly on strat-o-matic.com. The two products also have a very different style of gameplay.
While Strat-O-Matic Baseball 2012 revolves around in-game decisions and strategies, with Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online, all decisions are made before the games are automatically played. To get started, gamers must first purchase one or more teams in a draft league. From there, they can either create their own league, join a customized league, or be assigned randomly to a league. Once the league has been filled, a draft will take place. Each team will consist of 25 players, and a hard salary cap is used to help fairly distribute the talent amongst the teams.
Once the rosters have been finalized, league play will begin. Rather than playing out the games live, gamers will be required to set their lineup and a starting pitcher at the beginning of each day (or the previous night). Three games per day are simulated. In terms of in-game managerial decisions, there are several preferences that gamers must select beforehand, such as how many innings to let the starter throw that night, how aggressively they like to steal/hit and run, and which bench players they prefer to use in a pinch hitting role, or as defensive replacements. At the end of each day, full box scores, game recaps and play-by-plays will be available from that day’s three simulated games. In many regards, Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online is like traditional online fantasy sports games. Each season will last approximately two months, and at the end of each season, winners of the league receive credits so that they can play again for free.
There are numerous players and seasons that will be offered in Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online, highlighted by the new 2011 season. In addition to 2011, the other available years will be: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 1999, and 1986. There will also be specialty games featuring pools of great players such as All-Time Greats VI, Back to the ‘90s, Back to the ‘80s, and The ‘70s Game. Other great seasons and players will be available in the future.
For those who currently play Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online on SportingNews.com, all existing credits will be transferred over to the Strat-O-Matic website. For those who have both a Sporting News and Strat-O-Matic account, provided that the registered email address is the same for both, all Sporting News credits will automatically transfer over to the Strat-O-Matic account as soon as the game is launched on strat-o-matic.com. Those who do not already own a Strat-O-Matic account (or users who listed a different email address for their Sporting News and existing Strat-O-Matic account) must create a new Strat-O-Matic account online using the same email address as their Sporting News account, and all existing credits will then transfer over. In addition, as part of the migration to the Strat-O-Matic website, the game code is being revamped and an extensive number of game improvements will be available as soon as it is launched. A new forum will also be created exclusively for Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online gamers to interact with each other.
Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online is the Company’s first new product of 2012. Last year, Strat-O-Matic introduced three new games: Baseball Express (a board game for kids, sold exclusively at Toys “R” Us), 3-Minute Baseball (an iPhone/iPad app) and Strat-O-Matic Baseball Hall of Fame Lite 2011 (computer game). The Company will have another announcement with more details closer to the launch of the Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online.
About Strat-O-Matic
Strat-O-Matic was invented by 11-year-old Hal Richman in his bedroom in Great Neck, NY in 1948 because he became frustrated by the statistical randomness of other baseball board games. He discovered the statistical predictability of dice would give his game the realism he craved. Over the next decade he perfected the game at summer camp and then as a student at Bucknell University. After producing All-Star sets in 1961 and ‘62, he parlayed a $5,000 loan from his father (and made a deal that if it didn’t work out he would work for his father’s insurance company) into the original 1962 Strat-O-Matic Baseball season game. Needless to say Hal never had to take a job with his father.
Strat-O-Matic, based in Glen Head, NY and on the Internet at www.strat-o-matic.com, produces the top selling sports board games and is the leading producer of realism/stats sports computer games. The company publishes baseball, football, basketball and hockey games to play both on and off your computer screen. “Strat-O” games are known throughout the sports community for their statistical realism and accuracy. The company has the world’s greatest sports game stat libraries with top-of-the-line seasons dating back to the early 1900’s. On the Internet, the company has partnered with Sporting News to create innovative fantasy/simulation games and previously with Sports Illustrated Kids to produce a line of new fantasy sports games for a younger demographic. Recently the company released Strat-O-Matic Negro Leagues, the first sports simulation game to accurately reflect more than 100 Negro League players who never had the chance to show their skills in the major leagues. All Strat-O products are available in both board and computer game formats.
The company has a loyal celebrity following including a bevy of sportscaster and sports journalists like Bob Costas, Buzz Bissinger, Jon Miller, former MLB’ers Keith Hernandez, Doug Glanville, Cal Ripken; and sports super fans including Bryant Gumbel, Tim Robbins, Drew Carey and Spike Lee. More information is available at: www.strat-o-matic.com).
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Media Contact- Doug Drotman (doug@drotmanpr.com – 631-462-1198)
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