Now free-to-play.

DEC. 14, 2010 • To correspond with the arrival of the next Major League Baseball season Sega of America will launch the F2P MLB Manager Online in North America, Japan and South Korea. Backed by licenses with the MLB Players Association and MLB, players can select from more than 900 players from all 30 U.S. Major League Baseball teams.

Impact: The console MLB games market in the U.S. is currently dominated by Sony and 2K Sports and was abandoned all together by Electronic Arts after the 2005 season.  Given the cost involved and difficulty gaining share among core sports console gamers, it is not surprising that Sega is choosing to approach the business via the F2P model.  With baseball still a hugely popular sport in the U.S. and Asia, Sega may be able to tap into a fanbase where computers and wireless devices are ubiquitous in households but willingness to spend on console baseball games is not.