Home Run King is a baseball game developed by MLB and released exclusively on the GameCube. It’s more of a pick-up-and-play game than a realistic simulation, with fast-paced gameplay and limited modes. Exhibition, Season, Playoffs, and Home Run Derby are available modes. The game allows for squad customization as well as player creation and trade. The players will control pitch, batting, fielding, and running. The throwing interface includes a pitch type selection, which displays the angles accessible to the current player as lines, with the length of the lines indicating their effectiveness. Pitches are picked by sliding the control stick in the desired direction and then hitting the corresponding button for normal, slow, or rapid pitches or pick-off throws.
A timing gauge should be stopped at the maximum point for the most outstanding results. The pitch type selector is reused in the batting interface, this time to forecast the pitch that is thrown. To hit a ball, the batting cursor must be moved to meet it. If the correct angle was predicted, the cursor becomes larger, making it easier to hit. Bunts, regular, power, and contact swings are all possibilities. During fielding, an indicator indicates the height and position of the ball, and the A button can be used to do a super play, such as diving or sliding after the ball. Runners can be made to increase their lead for an attempted steal before the pitch is made. Otherwise, running is automatic, with only the destination base chosen.
