Greatest Nine
Baseball video game that launched a Japan-exclusive franchise.
Kanzen Chuukei Pro Yakyuu Greatest Nine, often shortened to Greatest Nine, is a baseball video game for the Sega Saturn. Sega CS1 handled development, and Sega published it in 1995. The game kicked off a series that stayed in Japan until Baseball Advance appeared on the Game Boy Advance in 2002. An altered version of the original Greatest Nine came out internationally as World Series Baseball on the Saturn that same year.
Takaya Segawa, a graphic designer new to Sega, led the project. He had just finished his first game, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, during his second year at the company. Motion capture for the game used Masahide Kobayashi, then a student at Nippon Sport Science University and later a professional player in Nippon Professional Baseball. Greatest Nine hit Japanese shelves on May 26, 1995. Later that year, an international version swapped in Major League Baseball players. Segawa later took the same role on Sega's Puroyagu Chīmu o Tsukurou! baseball series.
Next Generation gave the game four stars out of five, noting that aside from a few control issues Sega US promised to fix, it was an excellent sports title for the Saturn and a promising sign of things to come.
Greatest Nine quickly grew into a franchise. Including the original, six games came out for the Saturn between 1995 and 1998. The series revived in 2002 on the Game Boy Advance. Smilebit, which Sega absorbed in 2004, developed that version; they also made Motto Pro Yakyuu Team o Tsukurou!.
Sequels include Greatest Nine '96 (1996), Pro Yakyuu Greatest Nine '97 (1997), Pro Yakyuu Greatest Nine '97 Make Miracle (1997), Pro Yakyuu Greatest Nine '98 (1998), Pro Yakyuu Greatest Nine '98 Summer Action (1998), and Baseball Advance (2002).
- Release Year (Japan)
- 1995
Quick Facts
- Title
- Greatest Nine
- Developer
- Sega CS1
- Publisher
- Sega
- Platform
- Sega Saturn
- Release
- JP · May 26, 1995
- Genre
- Sports / (baseball)
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Kanzen Chūkei Pro Yakyū Greatest Nine was developed by Sega CS Research and Development No. 1. The project was led by graphic designer Takaya Segawa, who was new to the company and had only just completed his first game, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, in his second year there. Future Nippon Professional Baseball player Masahide Kobayashi (then in school at Nippon Sport Science University) was used for the game's motion capture. Greatest Nine launched for the Saturn in Japan on May 26, 1995. A modified version of the game with players from Major League Baseball was released internationally later that year. Segawa later served the same role on Sega's Puroyagu Chīmu o Tsukurou! baseball series.
Reader's Guide
Greatest Nine quickly became a franchise for Sega, with six entries released for the Sega Saturn between 1995 and 1998. It was later revived in 2002 on the Game Boy Advance as Baseball Advance, developed by Smilebit (absorbed by Sega in 2004), which also created Motto Pro Yakyuu Team o Tsukurou!. The game received a four-star rating out of five from Next Generation, which noted that 'minus a few malfunctioning control features that Sega US promises to fix, Greatest Nine is an excellent sports title for the Saturn and an extremely encouraging sign of what's to come.' The franchise remained exclusive to Japan until the 2002 release of Baseball Advance, and its international version became the 1995 iteration of World Series Baseball on the Saturn.
Did You Know?
- The game's motion capture was performed by future Nippon Professional Baseball player Masahide Kobayashi while he was a student at Nippon Sport Science University.
- Lead designer Takaya Segawa had only completed one previous game, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, before working on Greatest Nine.
- A modified version of Greatest Nine was released internationally as the 1995 iteration of World Series Baseball on the Saturn.
- The franchise was revived in 2002 on the Game Boy Advance as Baseball Advance, developed by Smilebit.
More in Sports video games 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record