World Stadium

World Stadium (プロ野球ワールドスタジアム), is a arcade game that was released by Namco in 1988 only in Japan. It runs on Namco's System 1 hardware, and was inspired by the company's 1986 Famicom game Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium (released in the United States as R.B.I. Baseball) along with its immediate sequel, Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium '87.

At the start of the game, players must select one of twelve different teams in the "Urban League" (the Giants, Cars, Drasans, Sparrows, Wheels and Titans) and the "Country League" (the Lionels, Bravos, Hornets, Fires, Orients, and Buckaroos); they must then select one of 3 different stadiums (Kōrakuen, Kōshien, and Mejā) for the game's match to take place in, before selecting one of their chosen team's five pitchers (the rear views of whom will be displayed on the screen, as you push the joystick up and down to highlight them). Both of your chosen teams' full 9-player lineups will then be displayed on the screen, before all eighteen players run out and take their positions on the field of the chosen stadium.

This is the first game in the World Stadium series. It was followed by thirteen sequels. Kyūkai Dōchūki (1990) and Great Sluggers (1993) also seem to have similar gameplay to this series - that former title also features characters from Namco's first sixteen-bit game.