A Louisville Slugger® for gamers: new baseball-bat attachment
for Wii® controller makes baseball video games more realistic
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Anyone who’s played Wii® baseball knows that holding the Wii controller isn’t even close to the feeling you get when wrapping your hands around a real Louisville Slugger®. But that’s changing. Now, with the help of Company X Accessories®, there is a baseball bat attachment for the Wii controller, which gives you the sense of really stepping up to the plate.
The controller slips into the bottom of the device transforming it into a Louisville Slugger-style bat. “Anybody who picks it up gets the sense that they can now swing like the pros,” says Rick Redman, vice president of communications for the Hillerich & Bradsby, Co., which owns Louisville Slugger.
“With the Louisville Slugger bat attachment, you finally get to put your hands in the appropriate hitting position. This not only makes the game more fun, it helps as a training device for players who want to work on timing and form,” adds Redman.
The device is approximately 15.5 inches long with the wood portion made of foam. The handle has a spot where the Wii controller slides into place and is fully compatible with Wii Motion Plus and IR functions. Games like Major League Baseball 2K9TM, The Bigs2TM and MLB Power ProsTM become more realistic and enjoyable, as well as the baseball function on Wii ActiveTM and Wii SportsTM.
“Louisville Slugger is excited to partner with Company X as we find new ways to extend our brand to ball players and gamers,” says John Hillerich, president of the Hillerich and Bradsby, Co. “The gaming frontier is doing more and more things to replicate real sports action, and that’s great for a company like ours which has been working with some of the world’s greatest athletes for five generations.”
This year marks Hillerich & Bradsby’s 125th anniversary. In 1884, John “Bud” Hillerich used his father’s woodworking shop to turn a baseball bat for Pete “The Old Gladiator” Browning of the Louisville Eclipse baseball team. The rest is history. Louisville Slugger is still the most-used bat in professional baseball and a favorite in the non-wood bat ranks with top amateur, collegiate teams, and youth players.
Under a licensing agreement, Company X Accessories will manufacture and distribute the Louisville Slugger baseball bat attachment for the Wii controller. “It’s great to work so closely with a heritage brand,” says Matt Segal of Company X. “Louisville Slugger is synonymous with big league baseball. And at Company X, our mission has been to associate ourselves with companies that are the best in their field and develop products that help gamers get real-life experiences.” Company X has had success with Everlast® in producing Wii boxing gloves and with Prince® with their Wii tennis racquets.
The Louisville Slugger baseball attachment will retail at $14.99 and will be available in stores and online in mid-October.
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