Project Manager for MLB 2K7 Ben Brinkman has started a blog on 1UP. One of the more significant revelations is a comment on the amount of time they had to develop this year's title.
I started at Kush Games in July of 2006. MLB 2K6 finished in April of 2006. The typical development cycle for a seasonal title is 11-12 months (which we will have for 2K8, though I can already imagine people on the boards reading into this comment as, "they didn't put a full year into it! The game is going to suck!" For you, please keep reading). The progress that has been made since I've been here has been astounding. MLB 2K7 is a HUGE leap forward from MLB 2K6 in many, many ways. Some ways you will notice right off the bat (pun intended) and some you'll notice after playing a bunch of games. All together I believe this is a great first step in bringing the 2K baseball series, what used to be known as WSB to you old schoolers, back to prominence. The goal we set out to accomplish with 2K7 was simple: make baseball games for next-gen systems that look great and play a great game of baseball. At the same time we set out a three year plan for the MLB franchise so that once 2K7 ended we could get right to work on 2K8 and have a set of goals and features to accomplish.
Brinkman was formerly the Lead Designer on EA Sports MVP Baseball series. Given the success he had turning the Triple Play franchise into MVP, its not unrealistic to expect this first offering under his control to be a vast improvement from 2K6 despite the shortened development cycle. It appears they've concentrated on the fundamentals instead of gimmicks or flashiness, and that would be reminiscent of the first MVP release in 2003.
