Pro Yakyu Spirits 4 on 4/1/07

http://www.famitsu.com/game/coming/2007/01/31/104,1170247644,66450,0,0.html

Same pics, but without any crap on them. Also take a look at this pic of Kiyohara.

http://www.famitsu.com/game/coming/2007/01/31/small_104_66450_20070202spitop.jpg

The detail on his stubble is just great. I just bought a Japanese PS3 on PlayAsia.com and am getting the cables and upgrades I need to turn my computer area into a 7.1 surround sound game center. I made a pact to not show any alliance to any next gen system and strictly go where the yakyu games go. The yakyu is going to PS3, so I had to get a PS3.

Ok, here is more info I have gathered from this article.

-Arrange teams can now be in Maji Pennant. Hopefully, you can use them in all Pennant modes. This is huge news, IMO.

-Spirits Mode now gives you the option of using cards, cards/slots, gameplay, or a combination of both cards and gameplay to develop your player.

-MVP Mode goes up to 5 years.

-Helps to know Japanese when dealing with online play, since there will be guys who only want to play with people at a similar rank.

Well, my Japanese PS3 came in from PlayAsia.com yesterday. That is a shipping time of ONE DAY with the cheapest shipping coming from Hong Kong to Seattle. I heard bad stories about their shipping before, but that was godly.

Anyone thinking of buying a Japanese PS3, do it on PlayAsia, because they're charging RETAIL with that insane shipping. Other stores are charging like 700 bucks still for the 60 gig version.

My PSN name is BigManZam, obviously. Add me when April comes around.

Yes, I purchased my Japanese Versions PS3 yesterday from Ebay ($470 20GB). And this game is pretty much the only reason why I purchased a PS3 on top of XBOX360. (Of course, blu-ray dvd). Hopefully they will have a demo soon. Do you think I will be able to create Matsuzaka Daisuke with life-like pitching form and look?
I might also drop 3 grand on a new SONY KDL-46XBR3 that display the full HD.

Doubt a demo will be coming. It'd be great, but I don't think so. Seems like all the demos are first party. I'm not too sure you'll be able to make Daisuke. His pitching form should still be in there, but his face is pretty distinct. He'll definitely be in MLB 2K7.

I really hope there will be demos for PYS4 and 2K7. Just a couple innings with two teams would be nice.

BTW, I had to reject your post about selling your PS2. I can't have ads on this forum for modded consoles. I don't run the site, and I don't want to even have a slight chance to get Michael in any trouble. Try rewording it or making an ebay auction and simply linking to the auction.

Thats some express shipping to get a PS3.

http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/prospi/4/index.html

New pics for both PS2 and PS3. Be warned that these are pretty sloppy. For example, Darvish and Wakui have less appearances than decisions. Nishioka is also named TUYOSHI due to lack of space in name editing. He also doesn't have his wrist bands(long ones), elbow brace, or necklace. As a huge Lotte fan, I am really hoping this gets fixed. Konami will also have to update the Yakult batting order with Iihara and Guiel. Here are changes I've noticed.

-Picture In Picture of a clapping Bobby Valentine after Nishioka gets a big hit. This is just like Japanese TV presentation.

-Also to add a more realistic TV style presentation, there seem to be little blurbs on the top right corner. In the picture of Nishi in the PS2 pics it says, "Ohya Baystars Vs. Swallows first meeting of the season."

-Teppei has a new braided style necklace that was popular with Team Japan during the WBC.

-You can notice the texture of Fukudome's "under armor" style long sleeves.

-Obviously the dugout won't be as detailed as the actual players, but it looks like they have depth to them on PS3, rather than just being drawn on walls.

-NPB seals are clearly visible on uniforms.

I know for the fact that I will love both MLB2K7 and Spirits 4. But one thing I don't understand is why doesn't the 2KSPORTS put cursor batting system in the game? That would really make this game stand out. The Spirits series cursor system works perfect (at least for me) and it should be simple enough to put into the any baseball game. The sixaxis is a joke, you don't even need to focus on the pitch. Yes, timing is a key factor in hitting, but aiming plays a much bigger role so I don't understand why they only put this arcade hitting system in the game.

I think most Americans hate cursor batting, because it takes actual skill. I find that weird, because Americans love FPS and I can't aim in those to save my life. Give me a virtual baseball to hit, and I'll crush it.

WOW! Do you see the detail for the PS3?

That's incredible

Yeah, the only players I'm not too impressed with are Nishi and Nishioka. Those could just be the angles and will look better when moving. Here are the mistakes on pics that 2ch guys found.

1. Darvish had like 15 appearances.(they edited the pic to show 25 now)
2. Wakui has 13 appearances.
3. There are counts for Kokubo, Ogasawara(been updated), and Kudoh in scenes which the count should be 0-0.
4. Fujikawa has 80 appearances.
5. Nishioka looks terrible and has none of his trademark gear on.

The fact that the Ogasawara pic was fixed shows me that these pics didn't come straight from the game with score and stat displays intact. Seems like the high res pics were given to whoever uploaded the pics, and that person(who is a complete retard) made all sorts of mistakes in editing the score and stat displays.

Let's hope it's an issue with the people who run the site and not the actual game developers.

So are they not coming out with Pro Yakyu Spirits 4 for the xbox 360. Last year i bought a 360 strictly to play Spirits. I know that the 360 is not popular in Japan but its going to hurt not being able play Pro Yakyu Spirts 4. Guess i'll wait until I can get a good deal on a PS3.

I added a pic of Akahoshi from Dengeki PS that someone took with their cell phone onto my Photobucket.

http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e81/ProYakyuSpirits3/

Here's new info from the press release I got from Rakuten.

-With online play, everyday will have updated player rankings. Also, there will be real yakyu news displayed to the side.

-AI has been updated with a better batting/pitching balance.

-Player animations look like they could be updated.

-There are supposed to be fans walking in the stands, as well as vendors. This is in MLB2K7, so it's no surprise that Konami would try it.

-Big screens in the stadiums look like they may be realistic now. They really didn't use them much in previous games.

-Camera work has been improved during replays and in game.

I seriously can't wait to play this online. Online play could make this game fun all the way until it's time to play PYS5. There's nothing quite like human intelligence, especially in baseball. Even when you're crushing your opponent, you get the satisfaction of that win giving you a higher ranking. It just adds a whole new element of fun to the game. You can do lots of things that you can't do against the computer. For example, you can swing at first pitches without feeling any guilt for pitch counts. I know I'm going to be messing with my batting order a ton in anticipation of which pitcher my opponent will use.

me too!!! i cant wait to play this game. I have been a fan since PYS2.

Does anyone know if the online feature will provide roster update to reflect changes in NPB?

PS: hopefully there will still be improvement for the final release,,,but does anyone thing that the actual game graphics (not player close up or replay) does not have such a big jump from ps2?

thx

I emailed Konami about player updates and uniforms via patches, but have yet to get a reply.

You can't really say anything about gameplay graphics until you either play the game or see super high res pics. The pics you've seen so far are way too small to make any rushes to judgment. Also, the smoothness in animation will be a huge difference. It's really going to be difficult to see how much of a change it is until you see it in motion. I think a big difference can be seen in the close up high res pics, and that same difference will be present during gameplay.

Bigman, you are like an information super highway. Thank you for providing all of these updates and promoting the Japanese games. I was born a Japanese Baseball fan, goes all the way back to the Seibu era (with Kaku pitching and Akiyama, Kiyohara in their prime). Well, I have not pass up any japanese baseball games or any other baseball titles out on the market. I am currently live in NYC and now a huge Met fan. With that been said, I am sorry to say that I am excited and look forward to play with die heart Proyakyu Fans like you guys. Please add me when you get the game, here is my PS3 gamer's tag "GDub816".

Do you think there will be lags playing online games?
Maybe we can start a league or something (if that's allowed).

GDUB

I don't think there will be lags if you have a broadband connection. WiFi could have some lag. It's just a matter of the game taking pitch location, type, and release timing information and sending it over to you. Then batting location, type, and timing will be sent to your opponent. All the graphics processing will be handled by the super fast PS3.

If Resistance and Fight Night have no lag, this game will have no lag.

http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/prospi/4/index.html

Official site has been updated with new pics. Here is what I picked up.

-Yagi's grip on his fastball looks really good. Grips were decent in PS2, but the graphical power of PS3 makes for great little touches like this.

-PS3 graphics are so sharp that you can tell exactly who is behind the catcher's mask.

-Fireworks look very realistic.

-Making a player in Spirits Mode takes an average of 20 minutes.

-Umpire's fingers can clearly be seen calling "strike two!"

-Catcher's mit closes realistically during pitching now.

-Second base umpire moves realistically, rather than staying in place.

-Darvish looks to have his own pitching form now.

-Homerun cut scene has changed angle to show the ball in flight.

-Calender during Pennant is updated and looks better.

-And here's the biggest change for true yakyu fans. Self-made ouen songs can now be assigned to every player in the game, as well as during chance, big chance, and win scenes. For instance, I'm a huge Chiba Lotte fan. There is little chance that Konami put in songs for farm players like Hirashita, Takehara, and Kakiuchi, but those guys have some of the most distinct ouen songs on the team. Since I am a musician, I should have no problem making their songs in the sequencer. If there's a specific song you want fans to sing when you win, that's possible now. Lotte has many different songs, so there's a chance I'll have to make that. For PS3 users, since you have a huge hard drive on there, there's a possibility to have specific songs for EVERY PLAYER. I don't think it's realistic for one person to do that all, but there is a chance the Japanese community could make a site and split responsibilities between a group of people. In the end, there could be a save file that contains every song. Is this realistic?

This game is turning out to be godly, guys.

yeah, the new update screenshots look great, even the live action screenshot. i cant wait to play it!!!

i am wondering if matsuzaka and igawa are in this version,,,perhaps as a hidden/classic player that you have to buy....

http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/prospi/4/index.html

Official site has been updated with the first two movies of the game in action. Here is what I caught.

-Crowds move and cheer with the ouen songs on PS3. This is a huge addition that will make it seem authentically Japanese.

-Batting orders still need tweaking, because Tatsunami and Fujii are starters for the Dragons. Tsuboi is also a starter for the Fighters.

-Commentary doesn't seem like it's changed much at all.

-Gloves are shaped and move realistically for PS3.

-As I expected, uniforms are not animated in PS3. I don't mind this, because the MLB games have that and it makes the players all look like they have pot bellies. I'm sure it's something Konami will work on for next year.

-Fukudome's batting stance doesn't look too much like his 2006 stance. He had a straighter back and moved the bat back and forth.

-People say Darvish's pitching form doesn't look too similar to his real life form, but I think it's a generic pitching form. From looking at pics and this video, I think they redid generic batting and pitching forms all over again, which is a great thing.

-Batters have new movements after pitches now. Fukudome got out of the way when an inside cutter went too far inside. If they did this for all other scenarios, including strike outs, it'll be a very nice improvement. This could also possibly mean a more realistic number of HBP for both human and computer players.

-Runners sliding into second will try to take out the man turning a double play now. Also looks like double plays are harder to get, which is another huge improvement.

-Second base umpire moves even in PS2 version.

The big official site opens on 3/12.

Sounds great but whats with all the Japanese PS3 talk above? As far as I know the PS3 is region free for games so why does it matter if you have a Japanese one or not?

There is an issue with Resistance in which Japanese PS3s can only connect to Japanese servers. Since PYS4 is Japan only, this shouldn't be an issue. I'm being safe, however, and bought a Japanese PS3 just in case. In my experience, Japanese systems have better parts and don't break down nearly as much as American systems. My American PS2 and Dreamcast had tons of problems.

Thanks for all the info BMZ.

Game's looking good - got it ordered and can't wait for April to arrive.

Keep up the good work!

Seems like Konami is working until the last minute just in case Nori and Tuffy pass their try outs. Also, it's odd that there is no box art displayed on any of the online stores yet. I believe this to be a sign that they're working on the new Hanshin uniforms, so they can have that on the box art when the game is in stores.

the ps3 looks great so far..

hopefully they will not postpone the release

Oh yea for online play. Thanks for clearing that up. I detest online play in general and refuse to partake in it so I guess its a moot point for me then.

My USA PS2 I got on launch day is still working just fine and have never had a problem with any North American bought systems.

Two new videos up on the official site. Here is new stuff observed...

-New Hanshin uniforms!!!!

-Looks like there are load issues with the video clip they put up. Hopefully, you can load the game onto the HDD. PS3 hardly uses the HDD enough.

-Brand new bunt animation, and it's totally realistic to Japanese style.

-Fujimoto has a new dual color necklace that isn't quite like the braided Teppei style one. Very cool addition. Matsunaka will probably have this.

-Cabrera has a brand new white glove.

-Good to see fans not in the outfield stands being casual and relaxed. Blows away the crowd in MLB2K7.

-The little blurb on the top right when Fujimoto is shown says, "Will Hanshin be one game closer to clinching the title?" or something like that. This is part of the Japanese TV style presentation, so this is obviously from a simulated Nihon Series.

-Graphics and animations have been overhauled for PS2.

cant wait to play this game on april 01!

i wonder if they will put matsuzaka, igawa and saito in the game as secret player or "buyable player"....

it would be nice

(Note from BigManZam: Don't hold your breath)

I just started playing this series last year and I know I'm missing a LOT of the fun by not understanding it all. Hopefully this year I can get most of the info translated and really enjoy the game. I managed to get the career mode stuff down but that was it.

Hopefully when I get this game I can enjoy all it has to offer. Last year was my 1st year with Pro Spirits and I just barely got the career mode figured out. I love the game but know I'm missing so much by not understanding what's going on in other modes etc..

How come I've never seen any crazy defense style playing the game, like the ones that you see in the official movie trailer? Double play motions, fliping the ball with gloove and get the double play out, almost rolled over the second base umpire etc...? Are those motions only available in X360?
I've played a full season and nothing like these every came up. Disappointed!

Official site has been renewed with a ton of new pics and HD TRAILER for PS3. A higher quality version will be released on the Playstation Store on 3/16 along with the Minna No Golf 5 demo. Here is new info I have from this update.

-Kawakami is shown throwing a pitch in which the rosin is seen coming off the ball. As long as this is done sparingly, I think it's very cool.

-It looks like the player attribute screen will be on the top right corner while throwing warm up pitches. There's a chance those pics are from practice mode, though.

-Ranking Match regulations for online play are shown as follows...

Pitch speed: Middle
Meet cursor: Normal
Pitching style: Direct(release timing style)
Baserunning style: Assisted
Defense style: Assisted

I do NOT like the fact that baserunning and defense are assisted here. Hopefully there are different rules for different rank levels. The one shown is C level. I don't see Konami being dumb enough to do that.

-152 ouen songs can be made on PS2.

-Hanshin's official golf cart to send pitchers out is in the game. Very cool new addition.

-Fujikawa finally has an updated pitching form, if the pitch in the trailer is in the game.

-Judging from a few scenes, it looks like crowd participation may play a bigger role this year. This is thanks to the processing power of the PS3.

Next update will be by Friday night, Japan time. That's Friday morning in the states.

man.....3 more weeks left till the release...

cant wait to play this game anymore....>_<

hope to play you guys online =)

What's your PSN name?

I forgot to add that Yomiuri has official Adidas labels on their uniforms now.

Out of sheer boredom, I decided to make a list of differences between the PS3 and PS2 versions of the trailer.

PS3 version has intricate background with trees(one of the prettiest moments in the HD trailer) in Fullcast Stadium during the Matsunaka homerun shot. PS2 only has a few trees barely showing.

When Imae jumps up to catch a ball, you can see a few buildings in the background, along with more trees. Not in the PS2 version.

Once again, buildings in the shot of Yokohama Stadium, but none in PS2 version.

PS3 version shows Ishii Takuro during one scene while he is replaced by Yoshimura in PS2.

Jose Fernandez has facial hair in PS2 and not in PS3(this irritates me).

For some reason, Marty Brown has dirt on his pants in the PS2 version.

Braided necklaces look like they're different during the Jose Fernandez shot. Looks like PS3 may have the more intricate one.

Not really a comparison, but pause the HD trailer on 0:47 when they show the auroravision at Hiroshima Stadium. The weather in the background looks amazing. Classic miserable Japanese weather.

Looks like the main difference with the two videos is that PS3 has more processing power to show off things like trees, buildings, and nasty weather without slowing down the overall framerate of the game.

I was discussing this with Shinigami earlier, and I think all the animations in the trailer will be used somehow in game. They can all be applied to certain situations, and I don't see Konami going through the trouble to capture that stuff only to have it used on a trailer. The only real instance of trailer animations not being used in game that I can think of is from last year with the animation of the second base umpire being tackled. It's nice to think that it's possible, but I don't see that being programmable until PYS5(even then, it's a pretty rare event...happened once in the history of the entire NPB).

hi,
psn name..you mean the one that we use for ppl to add on their friend list?
i think this one is my psn name..Hataけんすけ (havent played any online game on ps3.....mingol5 and this one are the one i am most looking forward to)

what is yours?
よろしくね。

anyway, nice observation list you made for the 2 version.

i just watched the trailer,,i saw in one shot in which matsunaka hit a homer in an open roof stadium ...i think....the sky was cloudy and dark...

hopefully that is an indication of some kind of realtime weather system like twilight sky to dark sky for an evening game, temporarily shower between innings...that would be very cool.

jaggies/aliasing are still very obvious in some screenshots...hopefully that will be reduced or smoothed out in the final version

doesnt it seem the sleeves of the uniforms a bit too blocky..not natural enough....^^;;;;

Have you played MLB2K7? I'd rather have SLEEVES that don't look amazing and a consistent 60 frames per second gameplay experience. 2K7 looks amazing in stills, but it has major framerate issues. Why? Because PS3 is still young and programmers don't fully know how to get the most out of it. I said it before, and I think that Konami will work on the faces and uniforms in the future. They had a lot to tackle with making brand new faces, animations, better gameplay, and a fully functioning online experience. It takes a lot of work to make fully realistic cloth effects. I think they'd have to sacrifice time they spent on improving AI and mechanics. Trust me, the 2K7 games have nice cloth effects, but crap gameplay. It's not worth it.

I really need to make a new video on YouTube to show off just how much better the graphics and animations in this franchise got from 2003 to 2006. Keep in mind PS2 released in 2000. They just need time to get familiar with the hardware.

no...havent played 2k7...was thinking of getting it..but decided not after hearing all those problems...

so.. psy4 is the only yakyu game i am getting.

btw...what is your psn name? hopefully we can play online soon....

i wonder if there will be any roster update after the game is released.

Hi BigManZam.

I talked with you a day last year in IRC. I don't know if you remember me. I'm from Spain and I'm Fighters fan.

Game looks amazing! I've bought a japanese PS3 a weeks ago and I'm waiting this game. I'm looking forward to watch more videos and news.

My PSN name is: CarlosSB When I have the game I would like play some game vs you and others.
Online mode will be great.

Yeah, I remember you. I'll add you right now. I think you're the only Ham Fighters fan in all of Spain.

Haha maybe you are right I'm the only Fighters fan in Spain.

I sent a message to you now. When we got the game I want play a fighters vs marines with you. I think online mode will be great because with this mode we will be able to enjoy really of the game , because AI can improve but AI is AI and isn't as a person..
I've done my preorder yet to yesasia. Maybe 2 or 3 days after release I'll get it.

http://rasaloader.net/disa/src/rasadisa1185.jpg

Just uploaded this pic to show the activity in the stands.

My name on PSN is BigManZam.

Someone on 2ch was talking about how he got leaked news that Konami will have players who couldn't make the cut off date(Nori, Tuffy, new gaijin, breakout rookies, etc.) available for download on the Playstation Store for a small fee. Judging from other games, it should cost around a dollar per player. If this is true(and I'm very skeptical of this), would they have updates for commentary? Like the little blurbs before a player makes his first at bat of the year. I say that if you charge people for roster additions, you should give them their money's worth and that includes updated commentary.

I definitely want to see how they handle patches and roster updates, if they'll even have them. With EA and 2K, as crappy as they are, having those available for free, I find it hard to imagine Konami will do nothing. If people get word of roster updates and new players for download, they could spark a lot of interest in the yakyu community.

yeah, if they implement online roster update would be great; however, for those who dont have jp credit card would not be convenient if they do charge a small fee.

You can use the online wallet system that I believe you can use at convenient stores in Japan. You can also use an American credit card using a fake address when creating an account. They only check the address for fraud when the purchase is over 20 dollars, I believe.

Is pys4 going to xb360 as well?



(Moderator's note: No.)

yeah.. the edy card system

and i believe sony already patched the "hk acct with fake address" trick, my friends in canada tried using that trick, their credit card info couldnt pass through the verification process.

1. I need an Asian version of the ps3 to play this, right?
2. If I know nothing about Japanese, I should stay away from this game, correct? I'm worried about navigating though menus not knowing Japanese Kanji. I don't mind the play by play or commentary, but I'm worried about signing players, trades, etc.
3. Does this game have caucasian faces for create a player mode?

1. All PS3 systems and games are region free. This is very easy info to find.

2. I'm going to make a translation guide, but if you don't like working a bit to get the most out of the game, you should look elsewhere. Certain gamers are really lazy and only want straight up English patches of games. The Winning Eleven scene is full of these guys. Others are content dealing with the Japanese. A lot of the more obscure scenes are full of these people. We're one of the obscure scenes.

3. Yeah, but don't buy this game if you just want to make major leaguers. You'll be disappointed.

hi bigmanzam

if you need help in doing the translation guide, i would be glad to help =)

2 1/2 weeks more !!!

It would probably be easier if I did the initial stuff on my own, but if you want to add to it, that'd be great.

Heads up to PS3 owners. A 100 meg HD version of the trailer is on the Japanese Playstation store right now. Download it by making a Japanese user ID on your PS3.

Here are my observations from it.

-Framerate and "jaggies" are somewhat similar to 2K7 in this video. Now, I don't know if this is poor encoding or whatever. I found it very odd, but the framerate on this video just isn't as good as the one I watched on my computer. Perhaps it was a bad encoding and Konami will work quickly to get a new file up in exchange for it. Not sure.

-Colors definitely seem a lot better in this. Probably because of my HDMI and the fact that I'm going through the video frame by frame.

-Faces seem slightly better with this higher resolution.

-You really get an appreciation for the animations when going through frame by frame.

-Little things like the cloth texture of the Marines' uniforms can be seen in this version. You can also see the texture on the caps.

-I can see Toshihisa Nishi in the background during one of the scenes, and he looks a lot better than what I saw on the initial high def pics put on the site.

-Morikasa is playing centerfield for the Carp.

-I just noticed air holes on the top of Nishi's batting helmet during one scene. Was this in previous PYS games? Don't think I ever saw it.

-Throws look REALLY good coming out of fielders' hands. If it's a normal fielder, he'll throw a simple four seamer. I'm guessing with pitchers the grip releases will all vary. Looks really good so far, though.

-Some of the faces like Darvish, Wada, and Hillman look less awkward with the higher resolution and skin colors, but that could just be me.

Remember, new site update really early Friday morning.

Ok, huge update at the official site. They unlocked the Mode section, talked about gameplay, and uploaded the super high res HD trailer. This version is very smooth, so I'm just guessing the PS3 had problems encoding with it's built in software.

-Camera work with cinematic sequences and instant replays has been drastically improved.

-With the guide function on in the menu. Beginners can be given advice on how to improve their pitch or swing timing.

-Looks like Kaz Ishii has his own pitching form.

-They talk specifically about arrange teams being used in Pennant to reflect mid-season transfers, so that may be an indirect answer as to whether they're going to update rosters or not.

-If you want to play as default rosters at any time, hold R1 and pick your team.

-There is another way to develop players outside of clearing missions in Pennant. You now get experience points for in game results. You spread these points out to whoever you want and after a certain number of points, players will evolve. You obtain points with events such as first wins of the season, 200 hits, etc.

-Maji Pennant can be played by two players at the same time, playing on the same team.

-In Management Pennant, in addition to controlling all the normal things a manager controls, you can also motivate a player to put his all into an at bat. If you feel that at bat is the most important of the game, you can motivate your player to give a little extra. You can also ask batters to bat for contact or power.

-Relief orders can be controlled.

-MVP Mode can be started with a real player, one of 12 original players, or a created player. Original players range from a right handed 150 km/h with slider Koshien hero named Asami Kenta to what looks like his fictional brother Yuta(an infielder), a submariner, rocket arm catcher, etc.

-In MVP, you will earn a salary and get three goals at each signing. The one shown for the rookie making 50,000 dollars is appear in over 10 games, have an OBP over .300, and hit over 3 homers.

-You can install the game on your PS3's HDD to all but eliminate load times.

-There is a "Brown Shift" in which you can bring in the LF to the infield. This is inspired by Marty Brown.

-Since Jared Fernandez is a legit knuckleballer, they created a knuckleballer AI with a more realistic knuckler. There will be more pass balls committed by the catcher when a knuckler is pitching.

-New system called Turning Point(optional, I believe) allows batters to have temporary increase in power. For example, if you make a diving catch with a player. That player will have slightly improved attributes in his next at bat.

-Difficulty has been overhauled. In addition to the different difficulties being Normal, Hard, Perfect, Spirits, etc. There is now Hard+, Normal+, Hard-, etc.

-Online pitch speed is Middle Speed only. This is how it was with the 360, and I'm guessing it's a lag issue.

There's more to update with later, but this is the main info for now.

wow wow wow

this game sounds even much bettereach time with all those updates!!!
i really cant wait to play this game.

i really like the idea of earning points from match result and extra pts for 200hits..30homers is a really nice feature.

so...if they include a koshien hero in original player...i guess matsuzaka and igawa and saito could also be included as well...heheheheh

looking forward to play online against pys fans =)

hey....yeah..dled the pys4 trailer on ps3....it doesnt look as good as the one saw on pc, even the low quality vers....

btw...dont you guys noticed that whenever the game is showing some closeup or event or special sequence of actions...the images always seem to be a little bit fuzzy around the contour of the player model...it looks as if the player is surrounded by a white aura...

i guess that is one trick from konami for hiding the jaggies like they did for the silent hill series in ps2

It's fine by me. If Konami has to do that, chances are that there's a good reason behind it. Here is more translation work from the last update.

-When you get a hit now, it "feels a lot better". I'm guessing they made animatons smoother, updated sounds, and overall AI making hits tougher to get.

-Using pitches that go out of the strike zone is now a lot more effective and it feels good to use pitchers like Iwase and Williams with big sweeping sliders. The batter AI was tweaked so that these pitchers would be more effective.

-Pitchers who had high pitch effectiveness were strong in PYS3, but now the break of a pitch means a lot more. You don't need to challenge a batter by throwing a strike with a huge breaking pitch in order to strike him out.

-Touching the rosin bag has the effect of calming your pitcher down during a hectic at bat. The computer will also use this every now and then.

-In a full count situation, you'll want to challenge the batter by throwing strikes. However, since the AI is improved, the batter could foul off a ton of pitches. In this case, it could be best to throw a ball out of the zone and give up on that batter so your pitch count doesn't skyrocket.

-Since there is such a huge gap between normal and hard difficulty, they felt they had to make Normal+ and Hard- levels.

-Bunting has become easier. To reflect realism, pitchers fielding bunts will look to throw to second, give up on that, and throw to first.

-Zenryoku pitching has been modified. Instead of holding down the X button now, you press up on the right analog stick. The pitching form when using this also slows down a bit, so it'll be easier for a runner to steal on you.

-Knuckleballers have an advantage in PYS4 because it doesn't consume much stamina to throw a knuckleball. Knowing Konami, though, I'm sure they gave Jared Fernandez very low stamina. He finishes last in the team jogs, anyway.

-Update on Turning Point System. When a fielder makes a nice play, he will only have slightly improved batting if he goes up to bat in the next inning.

-They admit perfect double plays were way too many in PYS3, so they created that slide into second base. The great fielders will adjust and turn the double play, but this should definitely separate the good fielders from the poor ones.

-Defense seems tough at first with this new system, but you get used to it and adjust. I like this. Defense was way too easy before. They say that it's a lot easier to make an infielder look clumsy now.

-Defensive animations have been overhauled to look more realistic. This includes charging a slow grounder and taking steps before throwing to first.

-Throw speed has been adjusted.

-Stolen bases and caught stealing will be shown on instant replays now.

-Since base running is more aggressive, loading up the bases only to hit into a double play has been greatly decreased.

-Since they heard a lot of complaints about difficulty last year, they created something in VP Shop for super advanced player settings. It costs only 100 VP.

-They made a bigger normal batting cursor for beginners.

-Miyazaki of the Carp and Aida of the Giants are confirmed rookies in the game. Aida's inclusion is important to note, because he was a 7th round pick last year, didn't play at all at ichi-gun, and only really came on during spring training this year. If he's in the game, there's a very small chance Nakamura and Rhodes could be in.

-You can use codes in Spirits Mode to share player faces. They are fairly short, so this could be a big addition.

-Looks like Masao Kida has his own pitching form.

-I think this may be a new pitch, but there is a "super fast" sinker that goes 150 km/h in one screenshot.

-The different items shown in VP Shop are as follows...Spirits Difficulty(20000), Custom Difficulty(100), Assorted new difficulties for pitching and batting(5000), Assorted new pitch speeds(12000), Super advanced user settings(100), Always Climax(every game is manipulated to go down to the last out).

-The new pich speeds and difficulties increase upon the many that were already in PYS3. You can also buy special pitching forms for your Spirits Mode players. Two of the more ridiculous ones are behind the back and softball style.

-There are two kinds of online play, ranking and free. Ranking automatically puts you against someone with a similar GP with you. GP is the point system used to see what level you are. If you win, you gain GP, and if you lose, you lose GP. If you win against a higher ranked person, you gain a lot more GP. If you lose against a lower ranked person, you lose a lot of GP. You'll have the option of turning down automatic challenges.

-In online ranking, you can see just how often players are using certain teams and how successful they are.

-Seibu Dome is now called Goodwill Dome.

New update was pretty small and insignificant. Here is new info I got from it, as well as from 2ch posters.

-The director of PYS4, known as TOY in the updates, is actually Toyohara who was responsible for the late 90s Pawapuro games with Akada. Both men were replaced by Tanibuchi and Toyama after Pawapuro 10, and the series has slowly turned to complete crap. Toyohara's involvement is exactly why this series has enjoyed drastic improvements in the past couple years. We are very lucky to have at least one decent series, since it looks like Netsu Sta 2007 is basically a roster update.

-Ok, first thing they mention is the ability to play Maji Pennant with modified teams right from the beginning. You can add created players and make trades like the recent Kanazawa-Shoda trade. What I want to know is, can we edit player accessories? Say that you transfer a Chunichi player to Rakuten. It'd look pretty stupid if they still have blue wristbands with Rakuten.

-In Maji Pennant, a good team balance is crucial to having team harmony and good condition for everyone. For example, if you have too much power(think 2004 Giants) or too many veterans(2004 Giants again), the condition will be pretty poor. If you take a look at the dominant teams of the past couple years, the Fighters and Marines had a great balance of players in their championship seasons. They had veterans, players in their prime, and rookies. Maji Pennant encourages this style of play in order for you to have the highest possible condition.

-Player development in MVP is free, so you can give Akahoshi S power or Kiyohara S speed. Personally, I think this is a stupid idea that doesn't even deserve recognition in an update.

-Since interleague this year is 4 games with each team only, it's best to adjust your rotation to 4 man during this time.

Next updates are the morning of 3/22 for PS3 about online mode and 3/23 for PS2 with management pennant. Hopefully Konami's online team get their act together, because this update was pathetic and the updates are getting later each time. They updated 7 PM Japan time for a while, then it became 8 PM a couple weeks ago, 9 PM last week, and it was like 10:30 PM this time. That is far from professional, and judging from the mistakes the online team has made before, they should probably be fired.

Since this update was so bad, I decided to upload three pics onto my photobucket.

http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e81/ProYakyuSpirits3/

I forgot to update you all with the Famitsu scores PYS4 got. Here is how the scores went down.

PS2 - 8/8/8/8
PS3 - 9/8/9/9

Now, I am VERY skeptical of the integrity of these scores. I don't doubt the fact that they're real, but Famitsu has really been slipping in the past couple years. Pawapuro 13 got a score around all 8, and I know PYS4 can't be that bad. Also, I don't see any reason to score the PS2 version that much lower. I'm getting the PS3 version, but I think it's absolute nonsense to rate the PS2 version that much lower. Famitsu is trying to help Sony sell some PS3 units, though. I'm positive of it.

i think 3 nines out of four is pretty good anyway =)

1 more week!!!

Alright. There was a huge update last night. We'll see details on Management Pennant and perhaps a couple new videos very soon. This latest update has a ton of pics in the Gallery section and details on Online for PS3.

-They say that there will be ZERO DIFFERENCE IN QUALITY while playing online when compared to playing someone offline. Huge news, since 2K sports games are awful online.

-Batting is identical to offline and pitching release timing is also identical to offline.

-Since the pitching standard online is Middle Speed, it's crucial for lesser skilled players to spend their time in practice mode. I have no idea why Konami did this, but I think they're trying to push people to play at a certain level to enjoy the game most. Slow speed doesn't seem like it'd be too fun to play.

-GP won't increase or decrease if you're not playing a Rank Match. However, wins, losses, and winning percentage matter even in Free Match.

-You can setup password locked rooms when waiting for a friend. These games can also be Rank Matches.

-This is incredible news here. They say the game was setup with wired broadband in mind, but even ADSL and wireless play the game perfectly. Installing the game onto the HDD makes load times online even faster.

-While actual NPB games are being played, scores will be updated on the news ticker every 2-3 minutes while waiting in the lobby.

-Pawapuro Production staff members will be online every now and then to play people.

-Details in the PS3 stadiums even go down to the devices used to capture sound on the field and outlets on the wall.

-Chiba Lotte Marines and Hiroshima Carp have their own cars to bring players in from the bullpen.

-Clouds look amazing on PS3 and the weather looks to add a whole new atmospheric element to games. Just look at the pics of Kanemoto, Maeda, and Ichiba.

-Faces look really good in PS3. It seems like they look better with each update.

-Looks like Homerun Derby has been overhauled, because the pic of Hamanaka is during the derby.

-Buildings in the background for PS3 have lights on in certain rooms at night. Looks really good.

-As predicted, faces have been greatly improved in PS2.

-Looks a lot like there is a seperate celebration scene for when you throw a no hitter or perfect game. It's about time. I've thrown perfect games in a couple games, and I never feel like I accomplished anything when the game ends.

-Also looks like when you make a great defensive play, there will be a picture in picture of the crowd cheering for you. VERY nice touch.

-Fans are wondering what the "face codes" in Spirits Mode will be used for. Many think codes could unlock faces of players in the game, as well as guys like Ichiro, Nori, Tuffy, Godzilla, Matsuzaka, etc.

-Someone wrote that Famitsu made a point to mention how much smoother animations have become even in PS2. I'm guessing they mean little things like strike out animations, defense, etc. They said load times weren't too great on PS2, though. Load times aren't even there when using PS3's HDD. Graphics and atmosphere are supposed to be ridiculously good, but they also say PS3 motions can be slow, though it doesn't take away from the game. I have no idea what they mean by the last statement. If it got a score of 35 out of 40, I wouldn't worry about it.

Overall, it seems like the PYS4 team really worked their butts off on this one. Hopefully their hard work paid off and this year's game will get more sales than any other before. I definitely want them to keep evolving the series like this. It seems the theme for this year is making things as realistic as possible, both in gameplay and presentation. I wouldn't be surprised if the ball dogs for the Carp and Marines are even in the game.

I apologize in advance if this information is readily available somewhere, but I haven't been able to find it.

Is there any confirmation as to what resolutions the PS3 version of PYS4 supports? Does it go all the way up to 1080i/p or just 720p (which ends up being 480p for the CRT HDTV owners)?

No idea about the 1080. There's been no info about it. Japan really doesn't make a big deal about resolutions. I'm guessing it'll support 1080i, but 1080p is pretty rare still, right?

In official site news, both PS3 and PS2 sites were updated with rosters, gameplay videos, and info on Management Pennant. Here we go...

-Tuffy, Nori, Nakahigashi, Iwazaki, Ogino, etc. didn't make it on the roster. Basically if you weren't a #1 pick in the draft, you didn't make it this year. Since Tuffy is having a great first game and Nori just signed a top team contract, I wouldn't be surprised to see them up on the Playstation Store in the future. I say that because it seems like the Online section of PYS4 won't have a download area, so any additional content will be done on the Playstation Store.

-In Management Pennant, they say that belief in players is the most important. Even though you can give that word of encouragement to a player in a game deciding moment, the chance of success isn't high because players aren't robots. They wanted to reflect this in the game. They also say Management Pennant is fun in it's own way, because you can play while drinking beer and doing whatever. It's more of a relaxing mode. Seems like a way better sim style than even strict sim games like YakyuTsuku 3. You can give no sign to your players, but it's only encouraged against weak opponents. There's definitely an advantage to fully managing your team. I think I'm going to run a Management Pennant with the Swallows and a Maji Pennant with the Marines. Seems like a whole different kind of enjoyment when compared with actually playing the game.

-Looks like there are replays for even when you miss a double play. The music during these replays sounds terrible, so I'm probably going to turn them off.

-As expected, little things like animations between pitches, after Ks, and after hits have been tweaked.

-Breaking balls seem to move more realistically.

-PS3's wide screen support really makes you feel how wide the field really is. I haven't felt that ever in a game. You really only understand when you're in the stands and see a pro game.

-Also as expected, the crowds play a huge role this year in both PS2 and PS3 versions.

-Rosin bag effect looks great even on PS2. I think this is about as far as the PS2 hardware can be pushed.

-Bunting definitely looks a lot better this year.

Next update will be on the morning of the 27th and it will have details on Spirits Mode.

Since the next update isn't for another few days, I went ahead and uploaded a video I got on 2ch of a simulated series using PYS4 for PS2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgHOLXanXEs

What I notice about the video are these things...

-Defensive animations shown aren't different at all when compared to PYS3. Some of them are pretty annoying like the underhand throw from third and the final play shown on the video.

-Little things like Araki's finger being up in the close up shot but down during gameplay are still there.

-There are dramatic camera shots during base running and at bats. How these are used have yet to be seen. Fukudome is shown throwing his bat in a dramatic shot, but that's not what the actual homerun looked like.

-I think the slowdown in certain scenes was actually added by the TV show because they thought it looked good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r90krvUTqQ

PYS4 commercial is now up on YouTube.

Official site was updated a couple hours ago. Once again another 11 PM update by Konami. The fans deserve better than that, Konami internet scumbags. Can't even get the labeling right on the videos. Talk about phoning it in. I don't expect that level of laziness out of Japanese company workers, but there you go. It's a new era, I guess.

-Terahara either has his own pitching form or they work out kinks in the generic pitching forms to make them look less annoying. I'm guessing the latter.

-Kawasaki has an updated and accurate batting stance. The Munerin call gets imported from Pawapuro, though I've never really heard it before in real life.

-PS3 movie has catcher throwbacks and batter intros disabled. Could this possibly be how online will look? I know throwbacks are disabled in Rank Matches to keep games at a faster pace.

-Replays look much improved, but the music is still awesomely bad.

-Matsunaka's stance looks awkward with the elbow moving up and down. He's also been wearing armor on his elbow for a while now. Hopefully we can edit accessories.

-Hatakeyama's stance leads me to believe that generic batting stances have been tweaked to be a little less annoying now. His stance doesn't bother me at all.

-Iwakuma has an updated pitching form.

-Looks like the ball has different bounce physics on the grass than on turf. About time.

-All newcomers who are worried about jaggies from looking at the official site vids, I don't know what the deal is. Previous games really didn't have that issue, but they do look like that when run through a PS3 with HDMI. Perhaps they are doing that, since the online team has failed at everything else...why not fail at making videos look good? Could also be them trying to make the PS3 version look that much better.

-You can earn VP from completing the different beginner tutorials. I'll probably end up translating the gist of these for any beginners. Not knowing fully how to run bases, advance runners, etc. could take away a lot from the experience.

-If you complete the 100 knock challenge, you can earn 10000 VP instantly.

Next update will be about graphics on the 30th.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't get the embedded videos on the gallery page to work at all. Often, the movie will load up and the first few seconds will play, but then the picture will stall and the sound will keep going. Then, if I'm lucky, I'll get an impromptu photo slideshow of the rest of the clip. I've tried this in both IE and Firefox with no luck in either. Anybody know the timetable for this video to make it onto YouTube like the other videos have?

(Mod:I upload all videos to YouTube immediately.)

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=YabeKunDeYansu

Konami updated the official site, but once again the online team fails. The commercials in the gallery, as well as the online section of the PS3 site weren't uploaded properly. They probably won't even catch it until tomorrow's update. So here is info from the latest update, as well as people in Japan who were fortunate enough to get the game a couple days in advance.

-PS2 gallery shows off a brand spanking new running throw performed by TSUYOSHI. Looks really smooth.

-PS3 movie shows off Soyogi during MVP Mode and using the Brown Shift. They also show Fukudome using the Turning Point System in his at bat. This video also confirms that the Nagoya TV clip was edited heavily, since they use a walk animation after Fukudome's homer. They have nothing to do with each other.

-The development team were messing around with optimizing graphics on PS3 until the deadline. They focused on environments a lot more than they could on the PS2. They said it was pretty difficult to make dark gloomy weather like they wanted to when using the PS2, so making the realistic crappy Japanese weather was a huge accomplishment. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

-Details on PS3 uniforms are so minute, you can even see scratches on the helmets.

-Had to work on textures for 648 individual players.

-They show a few comparison pics to show you just how much of an impact lighting and shadows make on PS3.

-Pictures of the TV style presentation look ridiculously good.

-Even farm players like Noguchi of the Tigers look amazing on the PS3 version.

-As reported here before, PS2 graphics got an overhaul. They improved uniform textures, background environment filters, etc.

Now here's info I have from guys who have the game...

-Online has no problems. Two guys were able to play a 3 inning game with no problems at all. There was no stress, which probably means no change in gameplay.

-Tanaka Masahiro has his own pitching form, but it doesn't look too similar to his own form. We've seen this issue in PS2 screenshots, but he has dirt on his pants before even throwing the first pitch. Major bug there.

-Strike out animations are all completely new and look great. Batting forms look decent. They're not using old batting forms from PYS3, from what I can tell. Guys with their own forms are Ishii Takuro, Kinjoh, Murata, Yoshimura, Teppei, Takasu, Rick, Soyogi, Arai, Shima, Tsuboi, Akahoshi, Fujimoto, Sheets, Kanemoto, Kawasaki, and Tamura. Murata and Yoshimura may be generic, but if they are, they weren't in PYS3.

-Middle speed pitching looks a bit faster. Seems pretty difficult to hit it with the digipad.

-Teppei doesn't have the TEPPEEEEEI call in this video, which is kind of a bummer. The video is from the PS2 version.

-Kudoh has an updated realistic pitching form, as do Saitoh Kazumi and Fukuhara. Kazumi's pitching form looks amazing. He has that lean over, then turns his head from 3B to home plate. Looks just like as if you're watching him pitch in real life.

-Fukuoka Yahoo Japan Dome has the field level seats now.

-Here are the extra uniforms you can buy in VP Shop. Fighters Practice(Home/Visitor), Surpass Kobe(H/V), Shonan Searex(H/V), Goodwill Lions(H/V), Baystars Second(H), Buffaloes Kyocera Dome, Marines Second/Third(H), Giants Holiday, Hawks Alternate(all yellow top used only once a year, I believe), Eagles Interleague(H), Tigers Interleague(H/V), Baystars Interleague(H/V)

-I now know what the official site meant when they said fielders will step to first base before making a throw. Trust me, it looks nice and smooth.

-Uehara has come down to Earth with his stats, but Saitoh Kazumi is like a super hero. A fastball, A fork, A stamina.

-Ohmine looks like an old man.

-Softball pitching is ok, but the behind the back pitch is amazing. You throw normally for all your pitches and can use behind the back on a change up.

Next update is on sound tomorrow.

Is it possible to watch the CPU play itself i.e. as if watching a broadcast of a game?

Mod: Yes.