<s>
The	O
Backyard	O
Sports	O
series	O
is	O
licensed	O
by	O
the	O
major	O
professional	O
U.S.	O
sports	O
leagues	O
:	O
Major	B-Application
League	I-Application
Baseball	I-Application
(	O
MLB	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
National	O
Basketball	O
Association	O
(	O
NBA	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
National	O
Football	O
League	O
(	O
NFL	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
National	O
Hockey	O
League	O
(	O
NHL	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
Major	O
League	O
Soccer	O
(	O
MLS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
series	O
includes	O
Backyard	B-Application
Baseball	I-Application
,	O
Backyard	B-Application
Basketball	I-Application
,	O
Backyard	B-Application
Football	I-Application
(	O
American	B-Application
football	I-Application
)	O
,	O
Backyard	B-Application
Soccer	I-Application
(	O
association	O
football	O
)	O
,	O
Backyard	B-Application
Hockey	I-Application
(	O
ice	B-Application
hockey	I-Application
)	O
,	O
and	O
Backyard	B-Application
Skateboarding	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
can	O
create	O
their	O
athletes	O
,	O
starting	O
in	O
Backyard	B-Application
Football	I-Application
(	O
1999	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
these	O
games	O
are	O
playable	O
with	O
ScummVM	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
series	O
began	O
in	O
late	O
1997	O
when	O
Humongous	O
Entertainment	O
,	O
owned	O
by	O
GT	O
Interactive	O
,	O
created	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
franchise	O
:	O
Backyard	B-Application
Baseball	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Infogrames	O
allowed	O
Humongous	O
Entertainment	O
to	O
expand	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
and	O
Humongous	O
developed	O
more	O
titles	O
such	O
as	O
Backyard	B-Application
Soccer	I-Application
,	O
Backyard	B-Application
Hockey	I-Application
,	O
Backyard	B-Application
Skateboarding	I-Application
,	O
Backyard	B-Application
Basketball	I-Application
and	O
Backyard	B-Application
Football	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
buyout	O
by	O
Infogrames	O
,	O
these	O
titles	O
from	O
the	O
Backyard	O
series	O
were	O
released	O
for	O
game	O
consoles	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
GameCube	B-Application
,	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Advance	I-Device
,	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
,	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
Wii	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2013	O
,	O
private	O
equity	O
firm	O
The	B-Application
Evergreen	I-Application
Group	I-Application
bought	O
the	O
Backyard	O
Sports	O
franchise	O
during	O
the	O
Atari	O
bankruptcy	O
proceedings	O
for	O
its	O
portfolio	O
company	O
Epic	O
Gear	O
LLC	O
.	O
</s>
