MLB 14 The Show News Post

MLB 14 The Show: Questioning the Online Experience

11:25 AM - May 27, 2014 by RaychelSnr

Much like the Nintendo Power Glove, or Panasonic’s decision to charge $699 for its 3DO game console in 1993, certain decisions in the gaming industry seem like a good idea in the board room, but fail miserably when they hit the retail market. At times you want to champion the idea of non-conformity in an industry full of it, and other times you wish you had access to the decision makers who come up with this stuff and ask them simply: why? This subject we deal with today falls more under the innovative category, but despite the valiant effort, the implementation of this idea is where the troubles start.

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Game: MLB 14 The ShowReader Score: 8.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS Vita / PS3 / PS4Votes for game: 12 - View All

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# 1 SVCbearcat10 @ 05/27/14 12:01 PM

Primarily being an offline player, I wouldn't mind them ditching the online component completely to employ those resources elsewhere. I can't see there being that many people out there buying this game for its online capability.

However, if you cut online, then you cut out a lot of potential sales down the line. That's just where the industry seems to be heading, everything has to be online. Despite how good offline is, I'm not sure if an offline only game will increase sales year over year. Getting the online correct would be a HR and really elevate this title.

So while I would like them to ditch online since I don't really play games online and it isn't very good right now, I think there is much more upside for them to continue to improve that side of the game. The one on one nature of baseball (hitter vs pitcher) makes it a much more enjoyable game versus others than Madden where most of what happens is out of your control.

# 2 Sigma4Life @ 05/27/14 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVCbearcat10


	Primarily being an offline player, I wouldn't mind them ditching the online component completely to employ those resources elsewhere. I can't see there being that many people out there buying this game for its online capability. However, if you cut online, then you cut out a lot of potential sales down the line. That's just where the industry seems to be heading, everything has to be online. Despite how good offline is, I'm not sure if an offline only game will increase sales year over year. Getting the online correct would be a HR and really elevate this title. So while I would like them to ditch online since I don't really play games online and it isn't very good right now, I think there is much more upside for them to continue to improve that side of the game. The one on one nature of baseball (hitter vs pitcher) makes it a much more enjoyable game versus others than Madden where most of what happens is out of your control.

Removing online would be a terrible decision since as you said, most games are headed towards online, not away from it. Personally I play 100% online so if it were removed I'd never play The Show again. Playing another human is infinitely more gratifying than playing the CPU, IMO.

# 3 JukeAllStar @ 05/27/14 12:16 PM

I agree, playing human opponents makes the game unpredictable in infinite ways than competition against the CPU. I wouldn't be able to go back to playing against the CPU only after experiencing competitive online play.

# 4 HustlinOwl @ 05/27/14 12:42 PM

the day they remove online is the day I stop purchasing

# 5 bfindeisen @ 05/27/14 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JukeAllStar


	I agree, playing human opponents makes the game unpredictable in infinite ways than competition against the CPU. I wouldn't be able to go back to playing against the CPU only after experiencing competitive online play.

I agree that the CPU cannot come close to replicating a human opponent, and it is far more gratifying when you play against a person who actually plays in a realistic way. For me, however, 9/10 times online I end up playing a guy who abuses the mechanics of the game and it because a competition over who can game the system the best, not the best baseball "player". My ideal online experience would be the theoretical Online Franchise mode, but the current iterations are so far from being satisfying for a number of reasons...so, for now, I mainly stick to highly customized offline modes.

# 6 bluengold34_OS @ 05/27/14 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CubsSuckButILoveThem


	umm idk how long online franchise has been around but its definitely not new cuz i played it last year..

You played online franchise last year?

"MLB 14 does introduce a new mode of online play, called Online Franchise, in which a player and several friends may play out a schedule of games, with playoffs and even some player management decisions"

# 7 Zonekeeper @ 05/27/14 02:14 PM

I must agree, playing online is the only way to play for me.

# 8 Seyheykid23 @ 05/27/14 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HustlinOwl


	the day they remove online is the day I stop purchasing

Agree 100% if online is not fixed or removed will be last game I purchase

# 9 loganmorrison1 @ 05/27/14 07:19 PM

Online has been a mess every single year. SCEA just can't get it right. I agree, either scrap it or fix it

# 10 videobastard @ 05/27/14 09:59 PM

I play mostly online in leagues and enjoy the game when it works. But its the same old story every year waiting for patches to improve freezes, bugs, and server issues. What i hate the most is seeing repeated bugs continuing in the series.

# 11 fballturkey @ 05/27/14 11:40 PM

Online is pretty bad, but I don't think the answer is to scrap it. My biggest complaint is fielding synchronization. When batting I never have any idea where the ball is relative to the fielders. I'll see it zoom out into center field past an outfielder then a second later it's in the air headed toward second base on a throw I never saw from the fielder I just watched it go by. And I know based on some of the baserunning decisions I've seen people make that they aren't seeing on their screen what I saw on my screen. And don't even get me started on passed balls.

But no, the answer isn't to scrap it, the answer is to make it good.

# 12 The JareBear @ 05/28/14 12:05 AM

The worrisome thing for me is that it seems like online play in the show has been lacking for a long time. Do they just not know how to fix it?

# 13 skrody @ 05/28/14 01:52 AM

i only play online to play my friends.

baseball is too precise of a game (vs hockey, football, soccer, basketball) for there to be lag.

# 14 Teirminator @ 05/28/14 07:39 AM

"Maybe the time and resources could be spent perfecting other areas of the game." Maybe the time and resources ARE spent perfecting other areas of the game, which is why online has issues. I wonder what percent of people who buy the game spend any significant time playing online modes? I'm sure SCEA knows that number and I'm sure they allocate resources accordingly.

# 15 NAFBUC @ 05/28/14 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nwo4Life75


	I to am a offline player! I've never been into going against a human. I prefer going against the computer,and I'm talking all sports games not just the show. To many people cheat and exploit some things in the particular franchise they play. I like the online for roster updates,some dlc and patches/updates! Apparently there are a lot of people that like playing again humans than the computer! I really don't care about the online issues,I feel bad for the people that really like playing online! I really do! In short online play has never done anything for me! I'm interested to know how many people like to play online vs the people who just like playing offline,and that goes for any sports game. Does anybody know?

Operation Sports has conducted several polls over the years and offline always has the higher % of users. But, according to Ramone, only around 10% of The Show users play franchise as the main feature.

#release slow mode

# 16 DGuinta1 @ 05/28/14 12:12 PM

This year is the first bad year for me online play. LAG! I enjoyed playing against another human, but you do come across so many cheesers online. It's a double edged sword, online play.

# 17 Picci @ 05/28/14 05:10 PM

Disappointed with online results but by no means stop. Keep trying for perfection.

# 18 jeremym480 @ 05/28/14 05:12 PM

Unfortunately, our league has been canceled due to various bugs. Things like games not processing correctly are some what understandable but still extremely frustrating. What killed it though was we had games that were played not registering properly and being counted twice after being resolved. It was just a mess really and easily the worst experience that I've had in an online league. If this is the best they can do, then they really need to look into scrapping the whole thing and starting over from scratch.

# 19 geisterhome @ 05/28/14 05:59 PM

Online is alright for a change from time to time but nothing more than that for me. Some head to head online exhibition and maybe smth like a playoff/postseason online mode would be enough. I don't really see an online franchise with the mlb 162 game schedule happening in an for me satisfying way.anways so yes I'd be all in for scea neglecting online play in the future. surveys on here have shown that for the majority of games offline gaming is still by far the most important.

# 20 HustlinOwl @ 05/28/14 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeremym480


	Unfortunately, our league has been canceled due to various bugs. Things like games not processing correctly are some what understandable but still extremely frustrating. What killed it though was we had games that were played not registering properly and being counted twice after being resolved. It was just a mess really and easily the worst experience that I've had in an online league. If this is the best they can do, then they really need to look into scrapping the whole thing and starting over from scratch.

counting twice in my 4 leagues I have yet to see such a thing

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