Backyard Sports: Most progressive video game series of all time?
Growing up, I wasn’t the most active sports fan. I periodically watched NBA games and I watched the World Series for the first time ever last year. The main sport I paid close attention to for a while was American Ninja Warrior.
Despite this, sports video games contributed to my increased interest in sports in a level that games on television have never been able to accomplish. There were a few sports games that I played frequently: the Wii Sports games, the Topspin series, numerous licensed racing games, and of course, Backyard Baseball.
Backyard Sports is a series of video games where kids play sports in non-traditional settings, primarily in the characters’ backyards or . The series started in 1997 and has released games as recently as 2015. Over time, organizations like the NBA and MLB caught on and started putting kid versions of its players into the games.
Backyard Baseball was probably the first sports game I enjoyed playing as a kid. I remember playing it for the first time at my local library and watching these 2D characters run around. It fascinated me more than I expected.
Fast forward a few years when I bought Backyard Baseball 2005, an update for PC that turned these 2D characters into 3D. After finally buying the game for myself, I dumped many hours into it, eventually unlocking all characters and fields. Because of this, the 2005 game is what I’ll primarily focus on.
One of the most memorable aspects of the game is the characters. Even years later I can still name some of them: Achmed Khan, Kenny Kawaguchi, Tony Delvecchio, Pablo Sanchez. Every character had their own unique personality and skill set.
This is where the progressive influence comes in. The games had a wildly diverse cast. You have kids from a variety of cultures and backgrounds coming together to play baseball. I am a big proponent of representation in media, so having a series like this allows kids to see people like them in games.
You could argue that there are still many white characters and many of the POC characters are just real MLB players, but diversity doesn’t just apply to their race. Even their personalities, and how the game handles them, are important.
This game does something you don’t often see in games, especially ones that feature kids: It never discriminates or shames the characters for their interests, skills, or (dis)abilities.
Any and every type of person is welcome to play: the hardcore athlete, the ballerina, the nerd, the awkward/shy kid, the rich snob, the guy who only speaks Spanish even though he can speak English.
Even Kenny Kawaguchi, a Japanese-American kid who uses a wheelchair, is welcome to play. He uses his wheelchair to his advantage, making him one of the fastest characters in the game. And to break the mold of Asian stereotypes, he loves turntables and wants to be a DJ.
I love the game’s different approach to creating realistic, non-stereotypical POC characters. Every character can be any kind of person they want to be, regardless of race, but it never feels like they abandoned their identities and backgrounds in order to do it.
How many games, tv shows, and movies have Arab characters who are into rock music (Amir and Achmed Khan)? How many have a Mexican-American girl who is obsessed with ponies and the color pink, and her parents own a Mexican restaurant (Maria Luna)? How many have a black kid who wears an Afro and loves skateboarding and hamburgers (Dante Robinson)?
What makes Backyard Sports so significant is that it’s been doing this since 1997. While we’re still having conversations about the lack of diversity in video games, this series has had a diverse cast since its inception 20 years ago. Hopefully game developers in the future will look to Backyard Sports for inspiration.
