Baseball aficionados and gamers from more than 140 countries have rushed to download the new World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS game since it was published last month.
The WBSC teamed up with long-term partner Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. (KONAMI) for the release, which features iconic character designs from the POWERFUL PUROYAKYU series. Character designs, which have proven popular with fans since the original release of the series in 1994.
In Japan, WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS was the best seller on the Nintendo store for two weeks after its release, while it continues to rank high in the Nintendo eShop across the USA, Canada, Mexico and Brazil, with close to half of all downloads coming from outside of the Japanese market.
The game is also available on the PlayStation Store and, on 1 March, the International Olympic Committee announced that WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS will feature in the inaugural Olympic Esports Series 2023, with the finals to take place during the Olympic Esports Week held in Singapore in June.
WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari hailed its success: “I labelled our partnership with KONAMI a home run when we released WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS, but these figures show that it is more like a Grand Slam,” he said. “We are thrilled with the reception of the game and how popular it has proven in all markets across the globe, continuing to rank high a month after its original release.
“This news, combined with the news that WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS is part of the very first Olympic Esports Series and Olympic Esports Week, shows the pull that the game has, and we know that it will only continue to grow.”
The WBSC President added that there will be more, exciting announcements to come by the WBSC in the near future as, following the inclusion of eSport among its disciplines, the international governing body for baseball and softball aims to elevate eBASEBALL™ to a discipline at the same level as baseball, softball and Baseball5.
