MLB '09: The Show.........

[Atocep]

I've only had a chance to play a little bit so far, but I'm impressed with what I see. Defenders act much more realistically in this version and pitching seems a little more difficult (in a good way).

[Big Fo]

I've played the demo three times and have yet to score a run. Hitting off Hamels/Kazmir with practically all lefty lineups on both sides is rough. I have gotten my share of hits, drawn a walk or two, so the runs will come though.

Game looks sweet.

[cody8200]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

I've played the demo three times and have yet to score a run. Hitting off Hamels/Kazmir with practically all lefty lineups on both sides is rough. I have gotten my share of hits, drawn a walk or two, so the runs will come though.

Game looks sweet.

I finally hit a 2 run homer with Utley to "win the game". Good times

[MrDNA]

Sounding quite good so far. This is only available for PS3? At some point I'm going to need to upgrade my console so I'm looking for things to help me make a decision - a great baseball game would be priority 1.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by MrDNA

Sounding quite good so far. This is only available for PS3? At some point I'm going to need to upgrade my console so I'm looking for things to help me make a decision - a great baseball game would be priority 1.

PS3/PS2/PSP

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by MrDNA

Sounding quite good so far. This is only available for PS3? At some point I'm going to need to upgrade my console so I'm looking for things to help me make a decision - a great baseball game would be priority 1.

The problem is the game is only available on the PS3 but the 360 is a better system IMHO.

[rowech]

I'm hopeful the PS3 is going to see a price cut in March as I've read rumors of and I will buy it solely for this game and the Blue Ray player.

[duff88]

I have not touched a baseball game since MVP 2004.

This demo is unbelievable. I'm going to buy the game for sure. Can't wait!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Great deal for the PSP version of the game. $10 under retail with free shipping at Amazon. It's a great portable game with the same RTTS mode that makes the console version so good.

http://www.amazon.com/MLB-09-Sony-PS...4028710&sr=8-4

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MrDNA

Sounding quite good so far. This is only available for PS3? At some point I'm going to need to upgrade my console so I'm looking for things to help me make a decision - a great baseball game would be priority 1.

If a great baseball game is truly your #1 priority, The Show is without question the best game on the market. It's honestly that good.

[MrDNA]

MBBF - do you know if the PS2 version also has the same bells and whistles (just with lesser graphics) as the PS3 does?

[Sweed]

Just finished my first game on the '09 demo and the best just got better, at least in the looks department and real world immersion. Umpiring crews are named in the pregame. Lighting, shadows moving with time of day, game starting in daylight and ending in darkness all very well done.

Very cool to see the sun shining on the field through gaps in the stands and then have a player walk through the area. RF corner in the sun one inning and in the shade the next. The lights taking effect as the sun goes down and the sky darkens etc., etc.

Hard to comment on game-play with only four innings but the infield throws are certainly improved. Made a snap throw from C to 1b that actually had something on it. It wasn't a rocket but I only tried one and may not have held the button long enough to get maximum velocity.

Definite buy again this year for me. We do have a 360 also but if I could only have one "The Show" would be the deciding factor for me in selecting a ps3, but then I love baseball so YMMV.

[cody8200]

Originally Posted by MrDNA

MBBF - do you know if the PS2 version also has the same bells and whistles (just with lesser graphics) as the PS3 does?

Last year's PS2 game was good but was missing a few bells and whistles. Still, the game engine in this game works well for all 3 systems (at least it did in 08'). I bought a PS3 earlier this year during Christmas specifically for The Show. Sony does so well with this game. I don't understand how they screw up the basketball game so much.

[CraigSca]

is there a /jawdrop emoticon?

[MrDNA]

Craig, because I care:

[RainMaker]

That is unreal. I'm wondering if they throw the ball back on the field at Wrigley when the opposing team homers.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Couple of new articles on the game. Gameshark has a Q&A with the developer......

GameShark | Features | MLB 09: The Show Team Q&A

A blog about the new bells and whistles in the game.........

PlayStation.Blog » Attention To Details: The Little Things That Help MLB 09 The Show Shine

[RainMaker]

Is anyone concerned about the MLB exclusive license being eaten up by EA in two years? Take-Two has seemingly been dropping out of the sports gaming market over the years and it wouldn't surprise me if they decided to pass on renewing this. Would give EA an opportunity to come in and get an ironclad agreement which would kill The Show. Couple years away but scary to think they could destroy another sport.

[dervack]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Is anyone concerned about the MLB exclusive license being eaten up by EA in two years? Take-Two has seemingly been dropping out of the sports gaming market over the years and it wouldn't surprise me if they decided to pass on renewing this. Would give EA an opportunity to come in and get an ironclad agreement which would kill The Show. Couple years away but scary to think they could destroy another sport.

I don't see it happening. I would imagine that MLB would continue to allow 1st party titles to be produced to go along with whomever has the license.

[Big Fo]

Perhaps EA would take over the current agreement where they're the only third party publisher that can put out an MLB licensed game (Nintendo and Microsoft could right now but they just don't) instead of buying full exclusivity. Even that would suck since it'd likely mean the loss of Power Pros coming to the states unless EA and Konami worked something out.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by dervack

I don't see it happening. I would imagine that MLB would continue to allow 1st party titles to be produced to go along with whomever has the license.

What is there motivation though if EA can fork over a ridiculous amount of cash? I really don't believe Take-Two will have interest in renewing and MLB will want to re-coup that cash from somewhere. If EA demands it, which they would be silly not to, I don't see any motivation for why MLB wouldn't allow it.

[spleen1015]

I don't think EA does it because doing it for the NFL hasn't made them any money. They have lost too much there.

[dervack]

I don't see EA forking over that much cash, especially with the fact that they aren't probably making the money back in the NFL deal right now. Besides, the more people who sell baseball games, the more money MLB gets.

[Karlifornia]

That looks awesome.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Another trailer............



New MLB 09 The Show PS3 Trailer - Loot Ninja

Release date cannot come soon enough.

[Ajaxab]

For those of you who played RTTS last year, how does it compare to the Power Pros individual career mode? Obviously, there won't be the interactions with friends and restaurant owners and equipment sellers, but does one work their way through the minors? Can you be traded? It does looks like contract negotiations are part of the game.

I also noticed that some people over at Operation Sports have already created audio files for parks and walk up music for a ton of players. Very cool...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

For those of you who played RTTS last year, how does it compare to the Power Pros individual career mode? Obviously, there won't be the interactions with friends and restaurant owners and equipment sellers, but does one work their way through the minors? Can you be traded? It does looks like contract negotiations are part of the game.

I also noticed that some people over at Operation Sports have already created audio files for parks and walk up music for a ton of players. Very cool...

1. You start in AA ball usually. Yes, you do progress through the minors. The '07 version of the game relied far too much on ratings rather than statistics, which often left your player in the minors despite huge offensive numbers. They did a good job of adjusting that in the '08 version. They did a bit more tweaking of it this year, so it should be pretty good.

2. You can be traded.

3. Yes, you negotiate your contract when needed. Also, they've added arbitration into the game this year, so you'll be able to negotiate before finally going before the arbitrator in this year's version.

I saw that thread with all the audio files. Lots of VERY nice mod options for this year's game.

[RainMaker]

I feel like a kid again with this game. I honestly haven't been this giddy for a release date since I was in high school waiting for Madden to drop.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

New blog entry out with details on the online play and online leagues. This was one of the weaker areas of the game last year. We'll see if their improments make a noticable change in the online arena.......

PlayStation.Blog » MLB 09 The Show Online Season Leagues and Improvements

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

For those of you who played RTTS last year, how does it compare to the Power Pros individual career mode? Obviously, there won't be the interactions with friends and restaurant owners and equipment sellers, but does one work their way through the minors? Can you be traded? It does looks like contract negotiations are part of the game.

I also noticed that some people over at Operation Sports have already created audio files for parks and walk up music for a ton of players. Very cool...

I've played both and like The Show a lot better.

The last two years The Show had very different problems.

In 07 they based everything off of ratings, not actual numbers. After rearing up the minor leagues that year, I got called up to The Show and proceeded to sit on the bench for 45 straight days. Sitting that long caused my ratings to stagnate and threw me into sort of a loop. The next year I started in the minors on fire, got called up and away we went again.

In '08, they fixed that issue. Then they broke something else. You couldn't fast forward through your base running duties. It doesn't sound that bad, but it was actually a killer. I'm a power hitting left fielder, station to station baserunner. If I get a walk or single to start an inning, I might be standing on first for 10 minutes watching other guys hack away.

With all of that said, it was still a blast to play and I put hours and hours into those careers. This year both of the issues are supposed to be fixed. If that really happens, I'm worried my soon to be wife will be filing papers on me.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by TroyF

In '08, they fixed that issue. Then they broke something else. You couldn't fast forward through your base running duties. It doesn't sound that bad, but it was actually a killer. I'm a power hitting left fielder, station to station baserunner. If I get a walk or single to start an inning, I might be standing on first for 10 minutes watching other guys hack away.

Let's be honest here. It wasn't broken. It was an annoyance for people who wanted to play a lot of games quickly. In some cases, it could be annoying to the point where you might stop playing the game, but it's not a 'broken' feature. It was a poor design decision.

As you mentioned, they allow you to skip baserunning now, so that's in the past thankfully.

[SunDevil]

The last version I played was '07. I loved that game. The game looking at only the ratings were annoying.

The other issue I had was every 3rd or 4th game the manager would bench me, even though I was the best shortstop ratings and stats wise on the team. I wanted to see how many games I could play in a row, but could never get around the manager benching me.

Also I wanted to be lead-off hitter. Had maxed speed and base stealing abilities, but pushed my right and left power ratings passed 60 and was regulated to the clean up slot for rest of my career. Which affected my chance of breaking Ricky's records. And when I asked the manager to move me up the line up, all he did was get angry.

Hopefully, these are fixed in '09.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by SunDevil

The other issue I had was every 3rd or 4th game the manager would bench me, even though I was the best shortstop ratings and stats wise on the team. I wanted to see how many games I could play in a row, but could never get around the manager benching me.

I had the same issue in the '07 version. It wasn't a problem in the '08 version of the game. I played 150-155 games a season with my RTTS player in the majors.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Let's be honest here. It wasn't broken. It was an annoyance for people who wanted to play a lot of games quickly. In some cases, it could be annoying to the point where you might stop playing the game, but it's not a 'broken' feature. It was a poor design decision.

As you mentioned, they allow you to skip baserunning now, so that's in the past thankfully.

You can call it what you want. In my opinion, the poor design decision broke the game for me. As many hours as I put into last year, it would have been triple the time if that had been handled correctly. They pulled an EA and took a solid, working feature out of the game. Now, unlike EA, they listened to their users and made the proper changes. Good for them.

[Big Fo]

Watching Spring Training on ESPN they've been showing a pretty good commercial for the Show almost every break. Pedrioa is complaining about how he's rated in the game, it reminds me of those old PS1 NFL Gameday commercials where Robert Brooks was playing the game and whined "that doesn't show off my breakaway speed."

Looking forward to getting this next week.

[Neuqua]

When did Troy get married?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

When did Troy get married?

I was wondering the same thing. Anyway, congrats Troy!

[SunDevil]

Originally Posted by TroyF

If that really happens, I'm worried my soon to be wife will be filing papers on me.

I do not think he is married yet. And I am sure everyone's invitation is in the mail...

[RainMaker]

My first full year with this game coming soon. Is there going to be a league or a lot of you guys playing online? I'm always a little leary of just playing randoms as they rarely end in good experiences.

Note: Folks on OS are saying it's a lagfest so far.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Note: Folks on OS are saying it's a lagfest so far.

Shouldn't be a big surprise there. They had some lag issues early on last year. I think it's one of the primary reasons they don't allow anyone to play leagues for 14 days. They say it's because they don't want random players quitting on the early leagues, but I've heard that they also use it as a public beta time to clean any loose ends up on the online play. Not a good excuse, but it's an excuse.

I honestly played nothing but RTTS in the first two versions on the PS3. No online play at all. Probably will be the same with this version.

[RainMaker]

Sad how very few game companies can have good online play. 2K has been a laughing stock and from the sounds of it, SCEA has its issues. For all their faults, EA is really the only company that puts out satisfactory online gameplay.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Sad how very few game companies can have good online play. 2K has been a laughing stock and from the sounds of it, SCEA has its issues. For all their faults, EA is really the only company that puts out satisfactory online gameplay.

It's somewhat of a trade-off. The problem with console sports is that there are actually very few gamers who play sports games online. 2K released a study a couple of years back that showed only 1-2% of their gamers even used the online league feature at all. There's not a huge motivation to invest a lot in online play with very few gamers even playing online.

[Logan]

I don't buy that figure. Maybe it's so low because their games don't work well online. I'm sure EA (Madden, NCAA) have a much larger user base playing online. Everyone I know sure as hell does, and they fit the casual gamer definition.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

It's somewhat of a trade-off. The problem with console sports is that there are actually very few gamers who play sports games online. 2K released a study a couple of years back that showed only 1-2% of their gamers even used the online league feature at all. There's not a huge motivation to invest a lot in online play with very few gamers even playing online.

I'm talking basic functions. Lag in regular games is unacceptable to me. If after all these years you can't figure out how to run a lag-free game, you just aren't trying.

As for leagues and stuff, I think the numbers are so low because of how bad those features have been. They've gotten bette rof late, but a couple years ago online leagues were a joke. I think when they become more customizable and easier to maintain, people will join up with them on a more frequent basis. My biggest wish is for games to have online leagues where it's treated more as a multiplayer dynasty I could play with a few college buddies of mine.

[Calis]

Count me among the group who has never played a sports game online, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Do the EA games allow cooperative play online against the AI? That might on me more. I do my sports gaming either in person with other people or solo. We play most ly cooperatively though which is one reason I'd love to see one of the baseball games go back to the method that the EA College baseball game did(maybe MVP also) of allowing you to either alternate batters, have one person pitch and the other field, and switch that up at will. It seems the ones that add it now you have one person batting and the other does the pitching, and that makes it pretty dull for the other guy during half the game.

So I don't care about the lag issues, but it does seem pretty shoddy and can't blame people for being annoyed. If I can play an almost flawless game of Street Fighter 4 online, they should be able to manage about anything.

I had no idea they'd removed baserunning from RTTS which was among my biggest complaint. That makes that mode a lot more interesting to me. I had counted on just using Power Pros when I had that urge because I found that so mind numbingly tedious. I usually find the fielding to be pretty dull as well, but at least that is short.

Had no idea this was coming out so soon. Now I have a tough decision this week between this or Empire.

[Big Fo]

All the reports of people getting the game early are painful to read, there are no mom and pop stores around here that will break street dates. Two more days...

[Icy]

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKKK

My PS3 just died.

I was playing Fallout, the game froze, turned the Ps3 off and now it doesn't read any disc.

I have been searching around and it seems i finally got the broken lens problem that a good amount of 60gb Ps3 have.

The good news is that i have two years warranty and my Ps3 is 20 months old.

The bad news is that if i send my Ps3 to Sony, i'll be probably over 2 months without console if i want mine repaired, else i can ask them to send me a new 80gb model (they don't have 60gb models anymore) and it will take 1 month or so. I'll probably take that offer for a new console, but with the 80gb one i'll loss the compatibillity with Ps2 games, the card reader and 2 USB ports.

And all this when i receive both killzone 2 and MLB the show next week :/

Now i need to explain my wife that i'm going to buy another PS3 and then will sell it once my original one is returned from Sony.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Icy

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKKK

My PS3 just died.

I was playing Fallout, the game froze, turned the Ps3 off and now it doesn't read any disc.

I have been searching around and it seems i finally got the broken lens problem that a good amount of 60gb Ps3 have.

The good news is that i have two years warranty and my Ps3 is 20 months old.

The bad news is that if i send my Ps3 to Sony, i'll be probably over 2 months without console if i want mine repaired, else i can ask them to send me a new 80gb model (they don't have 60gb models anymore) and it will take 1 month or so. I'll probably take that offer for a new console, but with the 80gb one i'll loss the compatibillity with Ps2 games, the card reader and 2 USB ports.

And all this when i receive both killzone 2 and MLB the show next week :/

Now i need to explain my wife that i'm going to buy another PS3 and then will sell it once my original one is returned from Sony.

Two months? That's nuts! My 360 died on me a month ago and I literally had it back in just over 1 week.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Two months? That's nuts! My 360 died on me a month ago and I literally had it back in just over 1 week.

The problem is that they do not have stock of Euro 60gb Ps3 (the first released one that was discontinued shortly), so they fix old ones as they get them and return them to you. The new 80gb ones do not have that big delivery time, its more about 3 weeks (still too much, but this is Spain).

The only advantage we have for living in Spain is that we get two years warranty instead of the standard one, as every electronic device sold in Spain must have those 2 full waranty years.

That is why they are offering us old model owners to get the 80gb one instead, but missing some features that the new one doesn't have. In exchange you get 20gb more of HD and the new chips that heat less.

Tomorrow morning ill call Sony to get more details, but this couldn't have happened at a worse time.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Calis

Count me among the group who has never played a sports game online, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Do the EA games allow cooperative play online against the AI? That might on me more. I do my sports gaming either in person with other people or solo. We play most ly cooperatively though which is one reason I'd love to see one of the baseball games go back to the method that the EA College baseball game did(maybe MVP also) of allowing you to either alternate batters, have one person pitch and the other field, and switch that up at will. It seems the ones that add it now you have one person batting and the other does the pitching, and that makes it pretty dull for the other guy during half the game.

So I don't care about the lag issues, but it does seem pretty shoddy and can't blame people for being annoyed. If I can play an almost flawless game of Street Fighter 4 online, they should be able to manage about anything.

I had no idea they'd removed baserunning from RTTS which was among my biggest complaint. That makes that mode a lot more interesting to me. I had counted on just using Power Pros when I had that urge because I found that so mind numbingly tedious. I usually find the fielding to be pretty dull as well, but at least that is short.

Had no idea this was coming out so soon. Now I have a tough decision this week between this or Empire.

I'm also someone who rarely plays online. My reasoning is simply that it's filled with jagoffs. I think a lot of people feel the same way. If games could clean up their online system and add some interesting features like you mentioned above, I think we'd see online become a more important part of the game. I know these game makers think that they don't lose customers over online, but I would definitely buy more sports games if their systems were better.