The first gamer to pitch a perfect game in 2K Sports’ Major League Baseball 2K10 video game will win a grand prize of one million dollars. The creative firm hired to develop the contest claims it is the largest contest prize in video game history.
2K Sports consulted with Los Angeles-based 72andSunny, a marketing firm with experience in campaigns for the CW, G4, Microsoft, and Nike. It is this company that came up with the million-dollar idea, literally.
“With the added stakes of the million dollar reward, the player experiences similar performance pressure of standing on the mound, staring down a hitter in a clutch situation,” said the firm’s creative director Bryan Rowles.
MLB 2K10 came out in the US yesterday. The race is already on to win the million bucks. In the history of the major leagues, only 18 perfect-pitched games have been recorded. This latest installment in the video game franchise may mirror that extreme level of difficulty and luck required that pitchers face in real life.
The contest is an online campaign called “Pitcher vs. Hitter” and users will soon see spots for this on TV, in print publications, and online through Web sites and social media.
