For Those Who Are Not Buying MLB The Show 18, Why Not?

[Maxflier]

The removal of online franchise mode.
I didn't buy last year because I decided I wouldn't buy The Show again until they added the Expos uniforms back in. So I was back in for purchasing this year when I saw they were added back, but then the bomb dropped about removing online franchise mode, so no sale from me.

[zello144]

I mainly play RTTS and have bought the game every year since I got 14 and my PS4 before then I bought it every other year. While I play a bit of Franchise and DD every now and then RTTS is my favorite mode and Aside from the very small changes they've made every year it hasn't really motivated me to buy it I'm not hyped anymore you grind through the minors reach the show and the game has pretty much stayed the same.

Sure they got rid of training points but from what I've seen and read people have been having issues. The mode was fine with them honestly I've made lots of players reach high Overalls pretty fast without ever spending any irl money.

The changes that are being made to it kinda make it worse we're not able to pick our teams like we used to in years before. Yeah I understand realism but this is a fantasy mode. The new player types restrict the kind of player you want to be.


I might still buy the game when there is a price drop though just to transfer over my files from 17. But as of right now I'm not going to buy it.

[ralphus8]

This will be the first time in 15 years that I didn't buy a console baseball game. I've pretty much played RTTS exclusively for the past couple of years, and even with all the changes for this year's game I'm not biting. The game is fundamentally stale in all facets except for Diamond Dynasty (a mode that I'm not particularly interested in). In fairness, it's not just The Show that's stale it's sports games in general over the past decade. The only one I've enjoyed recently is EA's NHL series, but that's only because I took 15 years off between releases.

Card collecting game modes and micro-transactions have ruined console sports games. Not in the sense that the mode itself can't be enjoyable -- for the handful of hours that I've put into Diamond Dynasty it's actually a fun mode. The problem is that you can buy progression with real money. Progression from actually playing the game is intentionally slower to tempt you to spend money in the micro-transaction shop. I would have less of a problem with this if the game itself were free-to-play. Instead, the micro-transaction mode is wrapped inside a $60 sports game that has barely progressed since the introduction of the micro-transaction mode. The rest of the game only exists as a vehicle to get you into the micro-transaction mode. The money from micro-transactions aren't going into improving the "core" game, it's going into perfecting the micro-transaction model to extract maximum profit from exploiting human psychology (i.e. pretty much any EA game, Destiny 2).

In fairness to SDS, I have never felt The Show to be a predatory game in the vein of an EA Sports title or the NBA 2K series. I don't have a problem with Diamond Dynasty as a game mode, it's just not one that I see a point in investing in where there is an in-game progression reset every year. If the profits from the micro-transaction mode were being reinvested to make the core game better I think I would feel different about it. But five years into the PS4 era this doesn't feel like that's the case. And there's always been that one "killer" feature despite the slow progression that made me buy every year (PBR, HDR, HFR, ball physics), but this year's feature set isn't really doing anything for me.

[jcmreds]

I've been buying these games before it was even called The Show. I haven't bought it yet because I just don't see any new features or improvements that excite me. I played The Show 2014 on PS3 a month or so ago, and was perfectly happy with it.

Anything outside of the Franchise mode being drastically improved to match NBA 2K, or the fielding being revamped to feel more natural isn't going to excite me much. I think The Show has had a great batter vs pitcher mechanic for a while know, and most of the improvements in recent years have been marginal.

The only thing I miss not having it new is Challenge of the week.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Quote: Originally Posted by WaitTilNextYear

What (briefly, please no wish lists!!) would get you back in for MLB The Show 19?

Carefully not trying to make this into a wish list thread (please, God, no not another one!)...although I really hope to have reason to purchase MLB 19. Allow me to take a stab at my own question...

One of the main reasons I'd hope for SDS to give me (and other sim/franchise players like me) reasons to buy next year is the ability to perhaps make one of the greatest roster sets ever. See, with Steamer projections and Brooks Baseball and piecemeal fielding metrics, we've been able to make some pretty good ones in the past. But, now that Statcast is churning out some of the missing hard data (sprint speeds, OF defense metrics, catcher pop times, and probably INF defense is coming later this year) you can make a fully objective and accurate, data-driven roster. And that's really enticing to little old me.

In order for this to happen, though, I think I'm gonna need them to: (1) put Season mode back in or make Franchise mode more a la carte and able to handle Season mode people's style of play (toggles for shorter seasons, shorter games, simplified roster sizes, files that convert between Season/Franchise saves); (2) add at least one major, new Franchise mode feature that works and provides depth/immersion...not gonna list out any possibilities because we all know a major Franchise mode addition when we see one (which phases ain't); and (3) continued improvement with gameplay and visuals. If SDS can do those 3 things I will gladly come back to purchase next year.

I think they really do need a "come to Jesus" type of moment in their development meetings for next cycle. There are some big questions that need to be asked/answered about adding/removing modes, communicating with their customer base, and the impact this has on their customers. Who are they trying to be? A studio that produces an addictive and feature-rich DD mode that just sucks people in? A studio that wants to faithfully represent the game of baseball and your ability to play as a player/manager/GM/owner? All of the above? I don't know.

[Unlucky 13]

Quote: Originally Posted by cch99

I did not buy last year and am not buying this year and it is based solely on the lack on innovation in Franchise Mode. The Show IMO has the same problem Madden does in that it doesn't integrate you into the feeling that you are part of a bigger universe. Sure the Radio Show was a step forward but as a whole the game just doesn't do enough to keep you aware of what is happening in other games while you are playing and to other teams. You can dig through menus, etc but I am waiting on a weekly/monthly highlight show or at least weekly text based "magazine" that has all the weekly going's on, etc. I never know when someone has a 3 homer game or pitches a no hitter. This stuff should pop up in your game, if people don't want it to interrupt their game then have it happen between innings. Franchise mode is just stale. While the Show's gameplay is great even the updates don't do enough for me to justify a $60 purchase when 16 honestly didn't feel that different from 14. I am sure if I hadn't bought since 14 it would feel like a big jump but at this point I am fine with sticking with 16 if I feel like playing a baseball game. I want to add that the bad thing for me is that it's not just The Show that has this problem. This year coming up is the first one at this point I have no plan to buy Madden unless I read and hear how the franchise has improved. I hadn't bought NBA 2k in a couple years either until this year and while they added a bunch to franchise mode it still has the same issue with immersion. I agree with others that the sports games seem to be going away from Franchise Modes because they don't bring in the extra money so I feel pretty much resigned to the fact that this is where we are headed and I will end up eventually not playing many sports games anymore. I am 44 for what it's worth and have been playing these games for years and enjoying them and have been disheartened by these games. I used to be a Football, Basketball, Baseball buyer every year and sometimes games from multiple publishers in the same year, i/e Madden & NFL 2k, College Hoops, NBA 2k and Live. Now I am to the point where Madden was the last one I was on a year to year basis and I don't see myself even getting that this year. The other big problem I have is they(sports devs) are constantly sighting the metrics that say people aren't playing the modes as much or they aren't getting far into them when the reason they aren't is because the developers aren't improving them enough. it's like a Negative feedback loop. The franchise mode is boring so people quit which leads the developers to say people don't play franchise mode and we have the numbers that prove it which puts less effort into the mode. Either that or they are seeing people still playing it when they haven't improved it much anyway so they take that to mean they don't need to improve it much people will still play it. I wish I knew what the true answer was. I don't know when I'll buy MLB again, maybe PS5 when that eventually comes out and I decide to upgrade to it. Lastly, If it was free sure I'd take it and play it instead of 16 but it wouldn't stop it from feeling more of the same in franchise mode if they haven't done enough to improve it.

I'm exactly the same in many ways. I'm 40 years old, and all I want is a deep and immersive offline franchise mode. Broadly speaking, I'm as sad as you are about the state of things in sports video games. Specific to The Show, I did not buy it last year, and still haven't decided about this year. 18 just doesn't seem all that different from 16 for the things that are important to me.

I haven't been a Day One guy for the game in a while. I skipped it last year. Might decided to get it later one after a price drop, or as part of some other big sale.

I also don't have access to broadband right now, and am a bit worried that the game may need to be patched from how it shipped, and I cannot do that.

[FairBolFL]

Quote: Originally Posted by WaitTilNextYear

However, enough about me, I am more interested in those of you who are not buying this game this year and what your red line issue turned out to be?

After much consideration, I have decided to pass on buying this year's game for the time being. My main reasons for this are as follows:

1. No "season mode".

It would be nice if I could play a full season, albeit with shortened games, as my favorite team. However, that feature apparently didn't make the cut.

2. No classic stadiums added.

You would think that to satisfy customer demand, SDS would add at least two classic ballparks to the game (perhaps Tiger Stadium and The Astrodome?). Nevertheless, this feature was overlooked.

3. Not enough innovations.

Sure, it's great to have rain delays and specialized parts of stadiums (such as "the Judge's Chambers" in New York), but it seems like SDS just put last year's game in a new package.

4. Cost.

MLB The Show 18 is currently going for around sixty bucks at GameStop. With the limited budget that I have for games, I just don't think this year's edition is worth that price. I'd consider buying the game if, perhaps, the price were to come down in a month or two. However, as it stands, I think I'd be better off buying RBI Baseball (that is, if I really have a baseball jones).

This year's game seems to be a MAJOR disappointment...I'm better off without it.

[saintloue28]

I didn't purchase this year (first time since 989 days) because of lack of content. I'm not an online guy, I play franchise almost exclusively. They've not done anything to warrant another purchase. I'm not going to pay $60 for a roster upgrade. I get it, DD is where the money is at, but it feels like the franchise guys are getting the boot.

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