2K Sports' annual $1 million Perfect Game Challenge returns this year for a third inning with MLB 2K12 -- but this time they've thrown us a curveball.

Where the two previous Perfect Game Challenges awarded $1 million to the first player who recorded a perfecto, effectively ending the contest before it gathered any momentum, this year 2K Sports is fashioning an eight-player MLB 2K12 tournament to coronate a winner at the end of April.

Much of the detail is in the fine print, but we know that the contest will officially open on April 4 -- Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season. From there, Xbox 360 and PS3 users can enter the Perfect Game Challenge Mode and play a game using teams of their choice. Successful perfect games will snag gamers a code that they can use to join a dynamic leaderboard on the game's website; the more perfect games you toss, the better your standings on the board. At the end of the month the top eight finalists will compete in a live face off to see who wins a cool million.

The full list of what constitutes a legitimate attempt, and certain factors that may void such an effort, has yet to be released. However, last year's perfect game contest seemed to have the legalities refined to a tee.

MLB 2K12's Perfect Game Challenge has been a major marketing arm for the series since it was devised for MLB 2K10, but its one-and-done premise has seen it come to an end on the first day of each year's competition. Last year's winner, for example, was a 25-year old music teacher who merely studied baseball statistics before purchasing the game, and wound up a millionaire and the subject of a Google chrome commercial.

The fact that this year's contest is guaranteed to draw out for a month will open up access for more gamers and will greatly benefit 2K Sports from a marketing standpoint.  It's a small wonder that they took this long to crack the code, but then again, for a series some say is losing money in New York Mets proportions, it's the quite the metaphor for the franchise as a whole.

Will you try a hand at this year's Perfect Game Challenge?

MLB 2K12 will be released on March 6, 2012, for the Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii, PSP, and DS.

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Source: 2K Sports Perfect Club