2K Sports Announces In-Game Soundtrack and Music Partnership with Pitchfork Media for Major League Baseball® 2K8
Pitchfork Media and 2K Sports join forces to rock stadiums in Major League Baseball 2K8 and at
South by Southwest (SXSW 2008)
New York, NY – February 29, 2008 – 2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today a partnership with renowned and influential music outlet Pitchfork Media in support of the highly anticipated title, Major League Baseball 2K8. Pitchfork has made a name for itself since its inception in 1996 as the de facto online source for quality and discerning music reviews and news. The Pitchfork staff also shares passion for the game of baseball and it is the combination of their passion for music and baseball that makes them the perfect partner in constructing a truly epic soundtrack for Major League Baseball 2K8.
2K Sports has invited Pitchfork Media to select half of the music to be featured in Major League Baseball 2K8, guaranteeing that, along with the deepest and most authentic baseball simulation experience available, fans will also be able to enjoy a cutting-edge selection of the hottest music around - including artists such as Modest Mouse, Peter Bjorn & John, The Cure, The Strokes, LCD Soundsystem, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Each artist and song selected for the game by Pitchfork Media will be denoted as a “Pitchfork Pick,” and will include additional bio information as well.
In the shared spirit of promoting independent artists and music, 2K Sports will join the 3rd Annual Pitchfork/Windish Agency day party at the SXSW 2008 conference in Austin, Texas on Friday, March 14th. The lineup will include Major League Baseball 2K8 “Pitchfork Pick” and garage-rock mainstay Jay Reatard performing alongside other breakout acts. Featuring over fifty stages and venues in downtown Austin, SXSW 2008 showcases hundreds of musical acts from around the globe and is known as one of the premier and most influential music events of the year.
“Pitchfork Media is a respected and reliable part of the independent music community and an integral part of the lives of hundreds of thousands of music enthusiasts worldwide,” said Tim Rosa, director of brand and lifestyle marketing at 2K Sports. “This is the first time Pitchfork Media has partnered with a videogame publisher, which is exciting since we share the same dedicated passion for highlighting new artists and being involved in independent music. We’ve always respected their impeccable taste and no-holds-barred voice in the music industry because it complements our approach to games – we both want to push our respective industries further by supporting independent substance over mainstream smoke.”
“Baseball and video games are two of Pitchfork's favorite hobbies, so the opportunity to select music for Major League Baseball 2K8 is a dream come true,” said Chris Kaskie, associate publisher at Pitchfork Media. “Partnering with 2K Sports is a natural fit for Pitchfork, as they're a like-minded company that shares a passion for music and a desire to promote forward-thinking and exciting new projects instead of following a more traditional path. We're thrilled to work with 2K Sports to select one half of the Major League Baseball 2K8 soundtrack, and can't wait to play the game.”
Below is the list of songs that will be included in the soundtrack of Major League Baseball 2K8.
- Battles -- Atlas**
- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club -- Need Some Air
- Blitzen Trapper -- Wild Mountain Nation**
- Dinosaur Jr. -- Almost Ready**
- Jay Reatard -- My Shadow**
- Kasabian -- Reason Is Treason
- LCD Soundsystem -- Watch The Tapes**
- Modest Mouse -- Dashboard
- Peter Bjorn & John -- The Chills
- The Cars -- Moving In Stereo
- The Cool Kids -- 88**
- The Cure -- Never Enough
- The Flaming Lips -- The W.A.N.D. - no MF edit
- The Hold Steady -- Stuck Between Stations**
- The Presidents Of The United States Of America -- Cleveland Rocks
- The Revolution Fox Experiment -- Hyper Charlie
- The Strokes -- Someday
** Denotes a “Pitchfork Pick” selection
Major League Baseball 2K8, rated E for Everyone by the ESRB, will be available in retail stores on March 4, 2008 for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, and Wii™ home video game system.
For more information about Major League Baseball 2K8, please visit www.2Ksports.com.
Pitchfork picked the tracks? That's a really interesting collaboration. MLB isn't so "indie."
Garden State Baseball 2K8.
Some good picks and some weird ones. Had no idea MBL 2K is marketed towards indie kids like me...
They can Cleveland Rocks for the Indians but no Shipping Up To Boston for the Red Sox? I call bullshit for that 2K.
The Cars
The Cool Kids
The Cure
Kids these days and their original band names, my word!
Also, what the fuck ever happened to lyrics in songs?
I remember back when songs had verses and werent the same two sentances repeated over a scale for an entire song.
Great. Now I feel old. and at my age, that's a bad thing.
I'll be honest, I like to think I'm pretty well-versed in indie music, but the only "Pitchfork Pick" I know there is LCD Soundsystem (good band, I might add). Then again, Pitchfork Media is usually too pretentious and jaded, even for me, and that's saying something.
Still, I suppose it's good exposure for indie bands. I'm not player of sports games, but aren't 17 tracks a little short for what are usually heavily-played games?
I assume "Cleveland Rocks" will be played during games at Jacob's Field. So I suppose its inclusion is pointless, as anyone with a copy of MLB 08 and half a brain will know that Cleveland, in fact, sucks.
I've been to Indians home games and when they play "Cleveland Rocks" during the seventh inning stretch, it seems as though the crowd isn't so much excited as they are skeptical of the song's message.
Cleveland Rocks is from the Drew Carey show so why did you put a picture of The OC up? :P
I'm not that interested in the soundtrack either, bunch of bands that suck, who could have predicted that?
Pitchfork? Why would they pick a publication with such horrible taste in music?
Speaking of pretentious indie music, I sometimes miss Nex.
good stuff, cant wait to hear, its not the most indie stuff, but its good
the less heard=the more indie
Battles is fucking amazing, fuck all of you.
I've heard a good deal of these bands- I guess it comes from once being in a mildly popular indie band.
Still indie music and 2K sports doesn't mash.
Or should I say:
".stillindiemusic&2ksports(doesn't mash)"
Oh indie...
rucksack-what band were you in?
also, Dinosaur Jr ftw!
@Reaprar
You do know the Cure and the Cars are from the 70s/80s right?
And Battles are pretty good, but that song takes like a good 5 minutes to get going. I just don't see how a lot of these songs fit in the game.
good to see that previously unknown indie bands like lcd soundsystem, modest mouse and dinosaur jr are getting some exposure [/sarcasm]
Dashboard FTFW!
"the cool kids"
man, any real hip hopper will tell you these dudes are queerer than a 3 dollar bill.
I guess it applies to all hipsters, but some people just try TOO hard.
the whole thing about *cool* is, its supposed to be a natural thing.
fuck this hipster rap shit.
OOOOOF!
I like most of those bands, so whatever.
Also now I really miss The O.C.
battles for the math rock win
There are few good bands up there (KASABIAN!!!!) but seriously pitchfork can lick my balls. Not only do they have terrible taste in music but are by far and wide one of the most bias and narrow minded publications around
I would only listent to maybe 5 of those bands....
hey at least they've got some Kasabian on there, they kick ass!
Wow, bands people pretend to like and a sport people pretend to watch! its a match made in heaven.
Wow, there are some really good songs there. Kudos to MLB for taking some time to pick out a decent soundtrack.
Pitchfork Media. Ugh.
Like Pitchfork or hate em, they managed to put together a very, very good soundtrack.
I know nearly all of these bands and I must say that is a really good selection, really diverse. The last games I remember having as good a selection as this was the burnout games (guitar hero and rock band don't count) but they weren't as diverse as this track listing.
I'm also glad to see they didn't op for the well known singles from the bigger bands
There's a pretty decent selection there, but Pitchfork is a little too pretentious in their approach to reviews. This is saying a lot, because The Arcade Fire is about as mainstream as my tastes get. I'm glad Pitchfork media put together a good set, but I'm genuinely surprised that they didn't make every track The Pavement.
blahblahblah, sports and music snobbery, blahblahblah.
Let's get to the important information already - specifically, what is the name of that ultra h4wt redhead on the left, and where can i find naked pictures of her?
I got an erection when I saw Battles.
Yay Cure, boo Never Enough
too bad I'll never play this game.
"The Cars
The Cool Kids
The Cure...
Great. Now I feel old. and at my age, that's a bad thing."
You'd think if you were feeling old you'd maybe recognize The Cure and The Cars =).
I think this is a great idea. People who don't eventually disable the music can become very sick of the songs in the game if it's something they hear a lot both in game and out of it. Picking indie tracks will expose people to new artists AND limit people from getting sick of the songs (since they're likely to only hear them in game).
It's a great tracklist on its on but I honestly can't see a lot of those songs fitting together with baseball.
@RyderStorm: That would be Melinda Clarke; she was on The OC, of course (see header image), but you may also recognize her from a guest-starring role on an episode of Firefly. Yeah, she’s a total MILF...but as for naked pictures, I can’t help you ;)
Rachel Bilson > j00.
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