Year-to-Year Stats?

[TheLooseCannon]

Does anyone know if it costs more, be it from the MLBPA or MLB itself, to include a full year-by-year breakdown of stats for players in a video game? I've always wanted to be able to see a yearly breakdown for a player's key stats on their in-game Player Card. Kind of like on the back of a baseball card, or I guess in a more modern way like on baseball-reference. Is including current players' previous stats (other than last year's) an added cost for licensing like when classic players and stadiums are acquired to be put in games?

[Mrmagoo]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

Good question

[Bobhead]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

This issue is really divided into two sections. You need the rights to the stat itself, and you need the right to display it, use it in a TV segment, or otherwise use it in any other sort of commercial product or platform [like a video game]. You don't need "permission" to use or display anything in casual conversation, or in a casual manner, but once you get into the act of intentionally selling something, things generally get more complicated.

To rephrase, I need the right to the information that David Ortiz has 5 WAR this season, and then I also need the right to tell you that David Ortiz has 5 WAR this season, if you are paying me money. In general, the acquisition of something, and the commercial use of it are separated in this way.

Using the statistic
A few (very few) stats are proprietary, in that the concepts and equations themselves were invented by a person who copyrighted (or trademarked or w/e) them. An example would be if I created a new formula that multiplies Home Runs by 2, and adds total diving catches, then divided that by 9 to come up with a new overall rating for a player... and I called that metric... BACON (Bases and Catches Over Nine). I could file a trademark for BACON and that formula would become my intellectual property, and I could file suit against anyone who used it to make money, etc... Note that in the real world if I did this, I would typically have to keep the formula/rating process (or at least part of it) a secret.

So even though people might reference my new stat in conversation (like with QBR in football), the formula itself (which, in real life, would be a secret) would be my property, and you could not reference it on a commercial platform, like a video game.

But most stats are not proprietary (or the proprietary-ness has expired), and just about any baseball stat you can think of is public domain. Basically, anything you know the formula for, or could find the formula for, is probably public domain.

~~~

As far as displaying the statistic goes...
Announcing, or otherwise sharing a statistic (if the statistic itself is not propietary) is always "free use," because facts about real people, animals, countries, companies, etc... are always public domain. I'm always allowed to say that David Ortiz has X HR, because home runs is a noun, and David Ortiz is a real (not fictional) person, who hit those home runs on television for the world to see. I never need permission to report (even in a video game or film) how many movies Spike Lee starred in, how many dunks Jordan had in his career, or how many shoe stores Nike has.
Note that displaying the NBA logo, a picture of Spike Lee, or the Nike logo is an entirely separate matter, no matter what I am talking about.

So as far as regular stats and metrics that are not proprietary goes, there should be no additional cost at all in reporting them, displaying them etc...

Anything you or I can find on the internet, from Fangraphs, Bball Ref... wherever.... they could easily throw into the game without paying anything extra. There are a couple exceptions (there is at least one or two proprietary metrics for fielding, I think), but for the most part, the answer to your question is no, it does not cost more.

[Benz87]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

Does anyone know if it costs more, be it from the MLBPA or MLB itself, to include a full year-by-year breakdown of stats for players in a video game? I've always wanted to be able to see a yearly breakdown for a player's key stats on their in-game Player Card. Kind of like on the back of a baseball card, or I guess in a more modern way like on baseball-reference. Is including current players' previous stats (other than last year's) an added cost for licensing like when classic players and stadiums are acquired to be put in games?

If you are attempting to conclude a reason on why SCEA has yet to include any respectable amount of stat tracking in The Show, whether it be past real life stats or future in game stats, this is not it. Whenever this question is asked in any developer Q&A it is ducked. I have scene others mention that SCEA has blamed it on too in-depth of coding, and it wouldn't be possible to add in-depth or improved stat tracking without re-coding the entire game. I do not have much knowledge on programming or coding so i'm not sure how valid of an excuse this would be.

[Steven78]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

MLB 2k did it great.

[Benz87]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

MLB 2k did it great.

For as much as that game failed in comparison to The Show, this is the one area in which it succeeded.

[billyboy316]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

As much as I would love to see the stats being used in games, I would be more than thrilled if we could have a page where we can look back on years past to see stats.

I believe it was Madden 2000 on PS1 that had something like that. It was great to look back on past Super Bowl winners and player stats from past years. Madden also did a nice job with their player cards. It would show when they were drafted, all stats, and any awards they received.

It was a nice feature for players who go 10+ years into a franchise.

[Benz87]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

As much as I would love to see the stats being used in games, I would be more than thrilled if we could have a page where we can look back on years past to see stats.

I believe it was Madden 2000 on PS1 that had something like that. It was great to look back on past Super Bowl winners and player stats from past years. Madden also did a nice job with their player cards. It would show when they were drafted, all stats, and any awards they received.

It was a nice feature for players who go 10+ years into a franchise.

I feel like i'm beating a dead horse here, but every now and then I will see a thread mentioning stat-tracking for the show, and almost every time I take the opportunity to go on my rant in hopes someone from SCEA will recognize and address the issue.

Every year I dig deep into my franchise, but the further I get, the less immersion I feel. Not just the lack of rudimentary statistics such as career SB, but on top of that no tracking of All-Star game appearances or cumulative awards. Stats are historically more instrumental in baseball than any other sport, it is a game of numbers and the show whiffs on this. Actually, to whiff a batter would need to swing first, The Show gets caught looking every year.

[dalger21]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

From what I can remember Ramone or a dev saying, it's more of the code than anything else. I think I read that before.

[ItAllFades]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

From what I can remember Ramone or a dev saying, it's more of the code than anything else. I think I read that before.

God forbid they actually try to change the code from 2008. 2K had yearly stats, and their coding sucked, right? Laziness because people buy this regardless. It's got Maddenitis.

[NAFBUC]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

I feel like i'm beating a dead horse here, but every now and then I will see a thread mentioning stat-tracking for the show, and almost every time I take the opportunity to go on my rant in hopes someone from SCEA will recognize and address the issue.

Every year I dig deep into my franchise, but the further I get, the less immersion I feel. Not just the lack of rudimentary statistics such as career SB, but on top of that no tracking of All-Star game appearances or cumulative awards. Stats are historically more instrumental in baseball than any other sport, it is a game of numbers and the show whiffs on this. Actually, to whiff a batter would need to swing first, The Show gets caught looking every year.

Agree 100% Benz87..... I love The Show, but for some reason stats are less important than how many individual hairs on a players head. You have to wonder if SCEA understands the history of baseball along with the future (sabermetrics) which is STATS!

[wolfpack23]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

The thing that kills me the most is not being able to see minor league stats after the season ends. As much as I would love to see all of the stats/awards on a player card (i.e. nba 2k), I can't stand that I can't see basic stats of what my prospects did the year prior when deciding to renew contracts and assign players to new levels.

I know nothing about coding but I would be happy if they somehow incorporated the locker room from Road to the Show in franchise mode. I personally would like to see players career trajectories when you develop them.

[Mrmagoo]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

The thing that kills me the most is not being able to see minor league stats after the season ends. As much as I would love to see all of the stats/awards on a player card (i.e. nba 2k), I can't stand that I can't see basic stats of what my prospects did the year prior when deciding to renew contracts and assign players to new levels.

I know nothing about coding but I would be happy if they somehow incorporated the locker room from Road to the Show in franchise mode. I personally would like to see players career trajectories when you develop them.

To me these kind of things in a baseball FRANCHISE is a no brainer. Really don't understand why these things were not included from day one, I mean planned and pre-planned before the first edition... Nonetheless years later and still nowhere to be found...

[baseballphanatic]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

The thing that kills me the most is not being able to see minor league stats after the season ends. As much as I would love to see all of the stats/awards on a player card (i.e. nba 2k), I can't stand that I can't see basic stats of what my prospects did the year prior when deciding to renew contracts and assign players to new levels.

I know nothing about coding but I would be happy if they somehow incorporated the locker room from Road to the Show in franchise mode. I personally would like to see players career trajectories when you develop them.

ya this messes me up constantly! I like checking stats to see who is where in progression blah blah....but i always forget and poof! they r gone! smh....I started a new franchise tho and am taking into my own hands for now by tracking it on dynastynation until hopefully next years The Show fixes this issue.

[Godgers12]

Re: Year-to-Year Stats?

Is sortable career, and league stats too much to ask for? When scrolling through team stats there should be an; AL, NL and MLB option. I've also been asking for sortable career stats for years now, but SCEA keeps on ignoring the most basic and important component of the sport...STATS!!!!!