MLB: The Show

"MLB: The Show is a baseball simulation in which, depending on the gameplay mode, the player controls one or all of the players on a Major League Baseball team or some select Minor League Baseball teams. Depending on the gameplay mode, the player may control a team for a single game, season, or franchise, and can also create a player and control his career."

"wrinkliest game ever made" -j.cobo

Im debating to buy a PS3 Slim just to put some quality time in with this game. Hows the franchise mode? Does it have semi accurate MLB minor leaguers? Can you do sage like trades of veterans for prospects or is it kind of random and shitty like in other games?

Finally gave in and picked up the latest one over the weekend after reading so much endless praise, and while I've yet to play much (games are really long), I've really liked what I've seen. I guess this is the Gran Turismo of baseball games?

Hitting is quite the challenge - I already appreciate the practice mode. Developing patience seems important. I'm not totally sold on the betting mini-game before each pitch. The extra hint helps, so it's hard not to take advantage of it, but it's the one aspect that feels less sim.

09 looks so good in the standard batting view and in any long or medium shot, but some of the close-up stuff can look pretty monstrous and strange. If they can't get it right, maybe they should take out those close-up views from the next game. All the cut scenes give it a very relaxing TV broadcast like feel, but I feel a little bit like it makes things too slow and/or I have to hit X too often to skip thorough that stuff.

I don't know how pitching could be better.

Is there a way to shake off the catcher's call if you don't like it though?

What's the online experience like? Don't know that I want to play a game against a stranger when a game could last over an hour.

i got '08 for free when i bought my ps3 and sold it cuz i don't like sports games :(

but this looks cool

JeffLev is OTM about the games being really long, but they're a lot more doable in the single-player career mode (Road to the Show) since it only presents you w/ your plate appearances & defensive opportunities. RttS is AWESOME, btw; it starts w/ you being drafted and then makes you work your ass off to get through the (incredibly extensive) minor league system to the pros. it's v. possibly the best hardcore next-gen RPG to date.

also I had 08 and sold it back in an indignant huff since the loading times were so, SO awful (1 min+ between plate appearances in RttS WTF). let the record show that that's not a problem on 09.

The length of games doesn't really bug me, but limits how often I can play (thinking about blocking out an hour+ of time, etc). Perhaps you can save mid-game... I haven't checked. The other baseball game I've been playing lately is MLB Power Pros, where games zip by in 15-20 minutes, so that probably made the relaxed pace of The Show stand out more.

Will start Road to the Show mode sometime this week.

Just played a grueling minor league game that went 0-0 into the 11th inning. I'm really surprised by just how much this feels like baseball. The same highs and lows and also the same stretches of a kind of nothing feeling. It's also cool that they've modeled the minor league stadiums, but not so cool (at least where we played our game, in Portland) that parts of the background cityscape still looks like it was left in from the ps2 era.

It seems so far like the commentary doesn't repeat at all in single games, but over the course of several games a few of the same stock phrases do obviously get repeated. It's understandable that they can only do so much, but I probably will have to turn the commentary off at some point or go mad. Does the game have tracks in other languages besides English (I couldn't find it, but there are lots of menus)?

man i wish i could dedicate the time to get good at this :(

I got this yesterday and started up RTTS. My first game I hit a home run and drew a walk like a true beisbol stud. Then after which I hit sub-.250 struck out a ton and never walked again. I was hoping to feast on minor league pitching when I got sent down and then proceeded to suck even more and hit .150. Then I made a pitcher.

Still love it tho. My one beef still remains intact from earlier games. Granted this would be boring, but its kinda ridiculous how much pitchers pound the strike zone in this. Usually mlb pitchers will get ahead in the count then throw some purpose pitches for you to look at. Not so much in this when 90% of the balls thrown are either barely out of the zone or bad calls.

Or maybe I suck way to much to have an opinion on this.

Against all odds, I finally won my first game 2-1, thanks to a solo home run hit by Ichiro Suzuki in the bottom of the 8th! I need to spend some serious time just working on hitting though and learning some patience and how to judge pitches better.

I like how the developers took a look at collision detection and were just like 'nah'

Sometimes the game is so amazingly perfect in its TV style presentation that it weirds me out when there's no commercial break, but yeah, other times there are all those little things they missed that just make you shake your head. It seems like the lack of collision detection is just after a play is already over? I've mainly noticed it on plays to first, so as the hitter is walking off, his path crosses the pitcher's path and they just pass through each other? Very weird as it doesn't seem like something that would be hard to fix. I've definitely noticed players moving around each other and/or bumping against each other in other instances. I guess they need some stuff like that so they have something to fix in next year's version. Can two players collide in the outfield going to the same ball?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxFY9jnXUmY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6s1OCM37S8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR7ssz8VhI8

I didn't know you had to go specifically to the online mode to download the latest (weekly?) roster update. I thought it would be automatic, but whatever - pretty cool to have such an up to date roster. So much content to this thing - not sure I'm into Road to the Show though... created a character and played a few games and I just didn't connect to it

I only played this a couple of times at my friend's house; didn't know it was also deep sim-wise. the pitch guessing bothered me too - like knowing whether it's going to be an off speed pitch or a fastball is a pretty big advantage...

I guess the betting mini games with the batting is just to help out a little with how hard it is to pick up the pitches - it does give you a little edge, but not so much that I was seeing crazy batting averages or huge scoring games. You can also turn it off.

Tried out the psp version today at a store and it looks surprisingly good and seemed to play (mechanically) about the same as its big brother. Import friendly too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CdYrVBep2A

Pitching question...

After you've selected your pitch, you have to hit X to start your pitch, then hit X to select the power. My question is, is there an ideal power? I know the meter goes from blue to green to yellow to red, and if you hit X before it gets to green, it automatically puts the power at green, but what's best? It's a little confusing so far, as I'll seem to do the same things, but get different results - say selecting yellow power and hitting the release point perfectly, the pitch will sometimes seem to hit its spot, yet other times it'll miss. Just a little confused about how to throw the ideal pitch (and the booklet and in game hints don't help to clarify the situation)...

Whether the pitch hits or miss has to do with your command points for the specific pitch. Sometimes it hits, sometimes it doesnt, even if your command is in the 70s or higher.

My beef with the pitching in this game is that sometimes it decrees that you are going to get absolutely shelled by the opposing team. Does it have to do with pitching clutch?

Thanks - make sense, so location is sort of a dice roll.

What about the power of the pitch? Is there an ideal power you should be aiming for or is it pretty much just up to whatever you feel like aiming for?

^ meant to say, thanks, that makes sense!

I think if you add more power to the pitch it just affects the meter coming on the way back to control.

After two games, my only hits have come on grounders, and I am striking out a ton. :/

I lost my first game of the season on a wild pitch in the 9th inning.

This is supposed to be fun? ARGHHHH

urgh, really want this game but UK price of £44 is just too steep for any game purchase!

Ste - price will surely drop shortly as the baseball season is going to end tonight (or tomorrow). Usually I think they drop it in half?

Polyphonic - hitting is hard! Are you playing as Oakland or San Francisco? If so, I recommend picking a good team (LOL) to start as it really makes a difference. Also play the batting practice mode for a while (use the custom soundtracks feature as it makes this mode tolerable). I'm no expert, but I find hitting is mostly about timing and trying to pick up the pitch as early as possible, really watching the pitcher and the ball as it comes out of his hand. Aiming in different directions seems less important. I kind of try to sit on a good pitch, i.e. be patient and wait until you see a pitch you like.

Do you have to be a stats geek to love this game? I like baseball career games but I don't like all the tweaking.

Polyphonic - hitting is hard! Are you playing as Oakland or San Francisco? If so, I recommend picking a good team (LOL) to start as it really makes a difference.

Actually, I am using San Diego, but the first thing I did was trade Peavy, Hairston, Meredith, etc. and then created representative versions of Everth Cabrera, Kyle Blanks, and Luis Durango that actually mirror their real life ability levels, so that might be part of my problem!

Aiming in different directions seems less important.

So are you aiming at all? Are you playing on Veteran?

By "less important" I just meant the timing of your swing seems more important than aiming with right stick. It's still good to aim, especially if you've guessed the location of a pitch correctly, but in general, it has seemed to me like a normal, non-aimed swing still covers a lot of the plate, and if timed correctly you will probably hit the ball if it was in the strike zone.

One problem with relying on the guessing game, is sometimes you will guess fastball in the upper right corner (for example) and the game will say you've guessed the pitch and location perfectly, and while the pitch will be in the upper right corner, it won't necessarily be in the strike zone, could even be three feet out of it.

These are just my early impressions - I'm still trying to learn the game myself, so would welcome other people's advice too. I think I've been playing on the standard medium difficulty - can't remember what it was called.

you basically just have to learn to love the difficulty. it's like Demon's Souls with pitchers instead of giant spiders.

Just like real baseball, the game will ultimately break your heart 99% of the time

This is why I stick with pitching in the RTTS. However I kinda stopped playing once I kept adjusting the sliders to suit what I felt was realistic. Had a problem with giving up more than 1 HR per game but once I made the tweaks my guy was just too ridiculously good.

Congratulations to Chase Headley for helping me end my home run / RBI / extra-base-hit virginity in this cruel game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viEK_Goff30

MLB10 The Show Hardcore Fact Sheet

The long awaited Home Run Derby® leads the deep features list in MLB 10 The Show for PS3. Fully implemented in the season modes and available as a stand alone feature, Home Run Derby follows the current MLB rules and flow. The MLB®All-Star Futures Game™ will also be available within season modes in its correct timeframe (just before the Home Run Derby), as well as fully functional online leagues.

Additional new features for the PS3 game include “Catcher Mode,” the ability to call the game as the catcher, select pitches, and be the ultimate field general, just like Joe Mauer. MLB 10 The Show will also offer daytime transitional lighting, a newly added “Movie Maker” menu giving the user the ability to select multiple replays to add to and edit a single movie, and 11 new stadiums. Five new Minor League stadiums will be introduced, as well as a selection of classic parks available on the PS3 for the first time including Forbes Field, Crosley Field, The Polo Grounds, Shibe Park, Sportsman Park, and Griffith Staduim.

Online multiplayer has vastly improved this year to bring more of that competitive fire out amongst friends. First and foremost, the game will detect and respond better to adverse network conditions and bandwidth has been reduced to help the speed and flow of online gameplay. Along with the core online league play, where gamers can customize leagues including choosing players, teams, and length of schedule, MLB 10 The Show will now offer fullyfunctional online season leagues! The new online season leagues will save anddisplay MLB Player stats, track player energy, allow for trades/injuries, and offer 40-manroster functionality. Alongside this will be weekly live roster updates, available every week throughout the entire MLB season, trackingroster changes, addition of new MLB players (with correct attributes), and player attribute updates to reflect hot and cold streaks.

Lastly, The Show will offer the ability to view every game you've ever played online, complete with opponents, box scores, and game logs. There is simply no better place to turn up the smacktalk and settle a little baseball rivalry than playing it out online in The Show The gameplay in The Show has been enhanced considerably with improved logic, animations and presentations resulting in a wider variety of hit types (including more choppers), improved ground ball friction, improved run down logic, and upgrades to the Throwing Meter, which will reflect each player’s arm strength based on attributes. The ground ball friction will provide more realistic bounces and ground balls getting by the corner infielders when hit down either foul line allowing for extra bases when the ball rattles around in the left and right field corners. Ball collision improvements now enable the ball to bounce off of any part of the batter's body and take the correct trajectory after impact. If you dive for a ball and miss it, the ball can be smothered, kicked, and deflected, all outcomes following real life ball physics.

Comebackers to the mound can deflect off the pitcher’s body who can then turn a great looking 1-6-3 double play. We have also added the always popular 3-6-3 double play, ability to rob HRs, dives, sliding catch plays, tumbles, rolls, over running bases, getting caught on a pick-off move when leaning the wrong way, base runner line drive reactions, multiple levels of check swings, and umpire reviews of HRs hit down the foul lines (they can get reversed!)—all new aspects of the gameplay those not only looks great, but feel right.

MLB 10 The Show once again raises the overall level of detail and realism from customizable fan chants, to jumbotron animations, to crowd atmosphere. Not to be outdone, stadium ambiance will be improved with the addition of HR/splash counters, fireworks, steam, noisemakers, towels, thunder sticks, crowd reaching over the rails, and crowd detail, such as interaction with vendors and placing Ks. Mascots are also available for all teams and each will show off signature moves throughout the game.

The popular “Road to The Show” mode returns with version 4.0 featuring the addition of two new interactive training modes, new settings, and new presentations. Interactive training will consist of a set of mini-games designed to improve a player’s fielding and pitching ability, adding to last year's introduction of batting and base running training. In Road to The Show users will also have the new Game Watch and Game Completion options which allow the player to set how much of the game they wish to view. “Franchise Mode” also returns to the game, including the 40-man roster, salary arbitration, waiver transactions and September call-ups. Due to hit stores in March 2010, just in time for Spring Training, as the only officially licensed first party videogame exclusively for the PlayStation®3 (PS3™), PlayStation®2, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), and the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) go, MLB 10 The Show is prepared to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience for all fans, new and old.

NEW FEATURES IN MLB 10 THE SHOW

* All-Star Break (includes Home Run Derby® and MLB® All-Star Futures Game™) (PS3) – The long-awaited return of Home Run Derby will take place in MLB 10 The Show for PS3. Fully implemented in our season modes and available as a stand-alone mode, Home Run Derby follows the MLB rules and flow. The MLB® All-Star Futures Game™ will also be available within season modes in its correct timeframe (just before the HR Derby). See if your Road to The Show player is invited to either the Home Run Derby or the Futures Game!

* Catcher Calling the Game (PS3) – The catcher will play a bigger role in season modes, Road to The Show, and exhibition games. Thecatcher will give a sequence of signs and users will have the ability to change theirindicator.Specifically for Road to The Show, the feature will allow a catcher to calling the game. This featurewill give a new level of control to the catcher where he will have responsibility to selectpitches and position himself to block balls that are in the dirt or wild. Catcher in RTTS has its own new camera view

* Online Gameplay Improvements (PS3) – This year, the online gameplay experience has been improved a great deal as the game will detect and respond better to adverse network conditions along with reduced bandwidth to help the speed and flow of online gameplay.

* User Controlled Pick-offs (PS3) – Want to surprise a base runner with a quick move or lull him to sleep? The new pickoff mechanism will now allow users to choose from a quick, casual, or deceptive pick-off type. In exhibition, season, and Road to The Show modes, you have the ability to decide which move you want to make as a pitcher. As a base runner in Road to The Show you now have to pick up on the pitcher’s move or get thrown out leaning!

* Custom Music, Fan Yells, and Chants – New to The Show this year, users can now assign music or a recording to an entire team, not just a player. Edit tracks to assign batter walk-up music or record your own voice and assign it to play for the team or player during the situation of your choice.

* Movie Maker (PS3) – Newly added is the Movie Maker menu within the Pause Menu. This will give the userthe ability to select up to ten replays to add to a single movie and do all their editing fromthis menu. The user will now be able to start recording their movie on a newly createdtimeline and then pause their movie, choosing different camera angles of theirplays.

* New Stadiums (PS3) – MLB 10 The Show will offer 11 new stadiums. In addition to all current MLB stadiums, five new Minor League venues are available, as well as classics parks now be available on the PS3 for the first time. The classic stadiums include Forbes Field,Crosley Field, Polo Grounds, and Griffith Stadium.

* New Fielding and Pitching Training Modes/Practice Drills (PS3) – In MLB 10 The Show users will have the ability to choose from two new interactive training/practice modes. The additions of pitching and fielding training sessions round out the Road to The Show training suite. Fielding training will consist of two types of training focus on the user's throwing with the new throw meter and focus on a combination of throwing and decision-making. Pitching training will have two options—Knockout and Simulated Game, both focusing on control and accuracy, with goals provided for each session. These training modes will extend to practice modes for both fielding and pitching and are a perfect way to polish and improve your baseball skills in The Show!

*
* Road to The Show Version 4.0 (PS3) – Road to The Show (RTTS) 4.0 features the additions of two new option settings; RTTS Game Watch and RTTS Game Completion, that allow users to set how much of the game they wish to view. With settings of All Pitches, All Fielding, Result Play, and Off, user's will have the choice to view every pitch of the entire game, or trim the viewing down to just the result pitch. Users will now start their career in AA and will have to earn their spot in Spring Training. In order to enforce good fundamental baseball, two new systems have been implemented. The first is a mistake tracking system that will keep tabs on how users play the game and will penalize for throwing to the wrong base, not covering the right base for the out, etc. The second feature is a new Green Light system that has been implemented to reward good base stealing and penalize those that shouldn't be stealing. If a user continues to steal once the green light has been revoked, their playing time will diminish. Once revoked, users will have to improve their speed and base running ability in order to regain the green light. Finally, there is a new stat tracking system that keeps stats for your player’s career versus every pitcher or batter faced during the current season that can be accessed at any time.

* Full Online Season Leagues (PS3) – Along with improvements to the traditional online leagues, MLB 10 The Show will offer fullyfunctional online season leagues! The new online season leagues will save anddisplay MLB Player stats, track player energy, allow for trades/injuries, and offer 40-manroster functionality.

* Weekly Live Roster – An updated live roster will be available every week throughout the entire season. Included in the update will be all roster changes, addition of new MLB players (with correct attributes), and player attribute updates to reflect hot and cold streaks.

* Online Game History – MLB 10 The Show now offers the ability to view every game you've ever played online, complete with opponents, box scores, and game logs.

* 1-30 Player Season Modes (PS3) – Because roster control is an integral part of Franchise Mode, giving the user the ability tocontrol one or all 30 teams is now essential to the mode. To do this, the user has the option to select how many teams (or all teams) they wish to control rightfrom the start of their franchise or season.

* New Camera System (PS3) – MLB 10 The Show is set to raise the bar for sports gaming and offer the most robust and realisticcamera system available. Camera positioning will make you double takeand make sure you’re not watching a live MLB telecast.This includes an all new broadcast fielding camera as an option

* Real-Time Presentations (PS3) – MLB 10 The Show has boosted the number of overall animations by capturing more than 1,250 new gameplay animations, more than 1,000 new presentation animations, and more than 400 personalized pitcher and batter animations. To accompany this upgraded experience, The Show introduces a new broadcast camera for fielding that will make you feel like you're watching a live telecast.

* Stadium Realism and Experience (PS3) – As the leading MLB experience, MLB 10 The Show takes pride in the detailsoffering daytime transitionallighting, similar to our day to night transitional lighting. Notice the sun position and length of shadows as the 1:00pm first pitch reaches the afternoon. All players on field will be shown in real-time; this goes for dugout and bullpen players. Not to be outdone, stadium ambiance will be improved with the addition of HR/splash counters, fireworks, steam, noisemakers, towels, thunder sticks, working digital and analog clocks, crowd reaching over the rails, and crowd detail, such as interaction with vendors and placing K signs.

As it is every year this is not every new edition, tweak, or change that was made in the game this year is in the fact sheet.

I.E. Simple but frustrating game play issues have been addressed. It's now easier to go the "easy" way with two outs, even the CPU does it now.

3-6-3 double plays are now in the game. Runners at second will take a bigger secondary lead offs allowing them to get better jumps on base hits so they don't get robbed of a run. To counter that we added a wide variety of outfielder crow hop animations.
much quicker and stronger looking throws. Upgraded the Throwing Meter so that it truly reflect each players weakest and strongest throw based on his attribute.

We have a tighter fielder to runner collisions at second base now when they break up double plays. More slides at all bases including home plate for close plays. New run down logic with better, more responsive change of direction animations. More over the top exciting plays. All new rob HR's, dives, sliding catch plays, tumbles, rolls, over running the bases, getting caught on a pick off leaning the wrong way, base runner line drive reactions,. Not only did we add a ton of game play animations for variety, we added the majority of them to make the game play and feel better. Robbing HR's, diving, picking off runners, stealing bases, hit by pitches, check swings, etc...

We have a whole new check swing system, three levels, it not only looks great but it feels just right. When you check your swing early, you get a very small check, all the way up to checking it late, where you held on to the swing for just a bit to long.

All new hit by pitch and avoid system for the batters. We captured over 60 animations for hit by pitches alone. The batter can now avoid or get hit by any pitch that comes his way. Based on the situation, the batter will react properly.

If there's a runner on third and there's a wild pitch, the batter will step out of the box and either tell the runner to advance by waving him in, or stay put. Ball 4 wild pitch he will take a look and then run down to first in case you want to try and advance him.
and much more.

We now have independent difficulties for pitching and for hitting. In addition B Ma has tweaked the pitching meter so now its more tuned to your input. (pitcher confidence and pitch confidence is still a major factor as well) However now your timing on the accuracy and velocity of the pitches mean more in the outcome than in did in MLB09.

Droooolll - this looks sick - I wasn't sure if they'd even try to top 09 - boy was I wrong.

i suck so hard at this game

I never figured out how to hit in 09. :(

i stopped using the predict-the-pitch b.s. and have performed just as well, maybe even slightly better. but i'm still pretty bad at hitting yeah.

guys - hitting a baseball is hard! As I'm sure you know, in real life .300 is a good batting average, which means a good hitter gets a hit less than one third of the time. For a lot of pros it's less than 1/4th of the time, so... that's baseball

but that means the other team should have just as much trouble getting on base as i do, which ... is not the case

I don't play video games for realism! I want something that simulates realism but actually is intuitive and fun.

In my first game in RTTS I drew a walk and hit a home run. A feat I never repeated ever again in the same game.

I hit one homer in like 10 games and I have no idea what I did right.

I don't know, I guess for me the hitting feels just about right... it's mostly all about timing (almost like in a music game), with a minor in spotting location, or at least when the pitch is obviously out of the strike zone, and a fair bit of luck. Spending some time in the batting practice mode should really help you with getting a hang of the timing though.

Poly - you should check out Pro Yakyuu Spirits if you can. That game has an incredibly intuitive and fun hitting system (and is a pretty great game, even if the graphics don't currently measure up to The Show). The 2010 version was also just announced for PS3, PS2 and PSP.

Don't you think this game is getting a bit like "Synecdoche, NY" where it almost replaces reality itself?

Spending some time in the batting practice mode should really help you with getting a hang of the timing though.

It didn't. :(

I will check out other game.

Played a bit more last night and settled into my old habits of slapping singles and striking out 1/3d of the time.

I've been hearing a couple of SA folks saying that the RTTS mode is buggy - anyone running into anything so far?

I had a game freeze last night but havent played too much. I also heard there was a sofware update already.

Still can't hit for shit (even w/ ridiculous sliders), which makes RTTS as anything but a pitcher impossible. :(

With my sliders I can do okay in the MLB portion, but I can't figure out how I'm supposed to improve and advance when I can't hit for power in AA.

So I started a season as the Dodgers. Also decided to up the hitting difficulty to "All-Star" for the first time, and here are the results of the first game (pre-season though)...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4056/4410446588_7f21e7449c_o.jpg

That's right, I got 19 hits!

I was also glad to note that when playing a season you can save mid-game. Pretty cool too - after I loaded the saved game back up the announcer says, "for those of you just joining us late," and gives a brief recap.

also, screenshot I took the other day...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4410446650_0ddf94fa6f_o.jpg

daaaaamn

did they pretty much try & replicate the mid-decade mvps? if so, i would pay $100 for this game, cuz those mvps are my favorite video games ever

This game is basically the heir to mvp. The 2k series is utter garbage.

It's hard to remember those ps2 mvp games, though 2004 or 2005 was the year I actually played an entire season (and more) - I had to go watch a youtube video to refresh my memory a bit (gave the disc away to a friend). I think pitching is about the same, with the same meter system, but the game is more sim for sure - like it doesn't show you the hot and cold areas on hitting and all that. It's a much richer game overall? But it's more challenging, I think. The commentary is certainly better (more diverse).

Do you guys pitch on all-star or veteran difficulty, or what?

This game is still driving me nuts on rtts with a position player. I still strike out about 25%-30% of the time.

Also playing on the basepaths is kind of a nightmare when you lack speed and even when you have the option to not show every pitch selected. I'd say 90% of the time Im on base the hitter behind me either strikes out, grounds in to a double play or fouls off about a dozen pitches before either fouling or striking out.

Suck at this one just as much as I did 09

Also, even though I only rented it, I still spent the first 45 minutes updating all of the rosters manually because I am insane.

Theres a guy in my game named "Gookie Baxter"

I finally got my first home run in RTTS yesterday!

Im kinda getting the hang of this. I tweaked my sliders a bit but even so it seems like the key is to take until you have one or two strikes and then wait for something in the zone to swing at. Also is a good idea to look at the bottom of the zone in certain situations because it gets rid of a part of the plate you have to look after during a pitch.

Its really a friggin commitment to get your stats up. Im on my fourth season and I barely have more than 70 contact against righties and lefties, 70 power against righties and 50 against lefties and the rest of my stats are kinda horrible, esp stealing which Id like to do but its pretty much impossible to improve significantly.

just had a no hitter broken up by ENDY CHAVEZ (infield single) w one out in the 8th -- closest i've ever got in my life

second one hitter i've ever thrown -_-

is there any way of playing pro yakyuu spirits on a british ps3??

Yeah - no region coding on ps3 games, so if you have an hdtv you should be good to go

just gotta wade thru the kanji I guess huh

I haven't played the new one new one, but they're kind of like all games - you can pretty much just figure it out as they all work pretty much the same way. Pretty obvious how to play an exhibition game or set up a season. The other modes I don't know about. Operation Sports can probably provide some help... here's the thread for the newest game... http://www.operationsports.com/forums/baseball-other/407373-pro-yakyu-spirits-2010-impressions-translations-discussion-thread.html

The new Power Pro game is also coming out in a little over a week
http://www.operationsports.com/forums/baseball-other/411975-japan-power-pro-2010-announced-ps3-psp.html

a gameplay videos...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzvGamICTDw

Q: how many of y'al have this on PS3? Tracer I'm looking @ you. I'm considering getting this because I have only three games, but I'm REALLY interested in having the game of the week or a doubleheader in a VS mode w/ people I know and like. Subtext is that I don't want to run 162 game franchise mode or Road to the Show, having done that in previous versions.

Q 1.a: The same question for FIFA

I don't have FIFA I've got PES 2010..

I might really want to get The Show though.. the only thing putting me off is the prospect of spending 8,000 man-hours getting good enough to hit the ball out of the infield

BTW I only have three games too! RDR, PES, and Heavy Rain. I downloaded a few though.

this is v hard

this game is best

I'll be interested to see how they integrate motion controls next year (though I doubt I'll pick up the game again).

My main problem with The Show right now is that the games simply take too long to play... the idea that a game takes an hour fifteen to two hours to play through is something I just can't face - it gets quite boring (just like real baseball). Too bad they don't change the rules of baseball so games are only five innings.

In Japan if real baseball games go on too long they just stop them. THE END.

yep - they can end in a tie (fine with me), but as far as I understand it, in one league a game ends if still tied after 12 innings and in the other after 15.

ties don't seem to happen too often, but here's one from a week ago...
http://bis.npb.or.jp/eng/2010/games/s2010081201309.html

this game is beautiful but I'm 100% with you on the too long thing.

Can't you just like sim the first couple of innings and then take over?

i sim pitching becuz it's drudgery

I do enjoy pitching, actually. I turn off all the call assists, so pitching feels a little more like a rhythm betting game (instead of trying to hit the marks the catcher calls out in the default mode). I also appreciate the increased tension once somebody gets on base and you have to pitch out of the stretch. I think I'd get sick of just hitting (or just pitching), and also more frustrated.

Hit a nice LOL inside the park home run tonight...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXFKGfm63YA

ha

damn i love the shit out of this game

Enough with the analog stick bullshit. Who actually likes it?

In a control switch that's likely to be controversial to some, MLB 11 The Show's default pitching, throwing and hitting controls will move to the right analog stick, though it will include the old face-button commands for the lifers.

ESPN's Jon Robinson, getting the first preview of Sony's genre-leading baseball franchise, says the analog-based pitching will transition to a gesture-based system that's somewhat similar to the new batting controls. Both involve pulling down on the right analog stick - which starts a batter's step or initiates a pitcher's windup. The player then drives the stick to the top. In pitching, the direction of the final thrust will affect the pitch's placement in or out of the strike zone, and the force you put behind it will impact its velocity.

What doesn't sound so great, however, is how this applies to fielding controls. It seems dependent on pre-loading a throw as the ball is traveling toward your fielder; if you don't do that, expect a wild throw. This means you need to be both moving to the ball with the left stick and queuing the throw to the appropriate base (with the appropriate velocity) with the right.

The hitting controls seem familiar, especially to those who've played MLB 2K. Pitching sounds entirely unique. Regardless, if you are a Show diehard, however, these new methods are not mandatory. The old pitching meter and button commands will still be available to you, they just aren't the default settings.

Other details include a cooperative multiplayer mode supporting two-versus-two or two-versus-CPU play; changes in attribute allocation in the Road to the Show career mode; 3D support and Move support for the game's Home Run Derby, and Fox Sports analyst Eric Karros replacing the insufferable Rex Hudler as the game's second analyst. Minnesota Twins' all-star catcher Joe Mauer returns as the cover star.

this is coming to a mailbox near me tomorrow. oh shit.

Is anyone interested in starting a league for MLB 11? I thought I had a league going with reddit, but it looks like it's not happening. Are there 7 people interested in doing a short season?

i bought a ps4 partly just so i could finally play the show. i love baseball games but haven't had a sony system since before the show even existed, so i've never been able to try it. single player mode is great, as advertised.

online multiplayer is incredibly frustrating because it comes sooooooo close to being just as good, and it generally produces pretty close games, few blow outs. but there are a few things that can be exploited that completely ruin it:

- stolen bases. i just played a game where the other person attempted to steal almost every single time they got on base. as soon as they'd get on, the lead would increase so far that they were barely visible in the little picture in picture window. i did fast throws over to 1B. i stepped off. i pitched out. i varied the timing between pitches. it didn't matter. every single time i threw over, no matter how far the lead, they safely slid back. every time i pitched out, it didn't matter, they easily stole second. granted, they had some fast runners (they were playing as the red sox) but it was just ludicrous.

- bunting. you can tell you're in for a shitty game when it displays the other player's tendencies pre-game and the bunting is completely maxed out. i don't know how to do it myself, but there's a way to bunt that results in it being perfectly placed up the third base line, every single time, regardless of where the pitch is located. it is near impossible to stop.

if you're unlucky enough to play against someone who wants to constantly bunt and steal, it is one of the most frustrating experiences in gaming. especially when contrasted with someone who plays relatively "normally", when it can be one of the best. hopefully they'll fix this shit in next year's model?

also 4 years xpost but i would be interested in joining a league.

holy moley, the new version (mlb 16) completely blows the last one out of the water. all the complaints i had above have been addressed, and everything just seems so much smoother and natural.

there's also a new Battle Royale mode which is completely addicting. you draft a team from scratch, which sounds laborious, but is actually very easy and fun. for each draft pick you're given a choice of 4 players to choose from, and it's organized so that your team will have one diamond player, 2 golds, a handful of silvers and several more bronzes to round things out. in the mix of players you can choose from are older players, so the team i drafted and played with last night had Barry Larkin at SS and Mike Schmidt at 3B, surrounded by a lesser cast. anyways, you draft a team and then play 3-inning online games against other similarly created teams. as you win games, you rise up in the tiers (and the farther you go the better rewards you unlock, although i don't really care about that right now), and you're out when you lose twice in a row (or maybe just twice at all - i've only lost once out of 7 games, humblest of humble brags, so i'm not sure). i thought 3-inning games would kind of suck but they've adjusted the pitcher stamina so that your starter will start to run out of steam around the late 2nd inning/early 3rd inning, and earlier than that if your pitch count is running up. anyway it's all balanced well so that on my first run of games last night, nearly every single one was pretty tense and ended in an interesting way.

haven't even touched the other modes yet but the actual gameplay is much improved. better animations, which may sound like just an aesthetic improvement but they're also quite a bit smoother and lifelike so it makes the game much more immersive. also, small sample size but fielding seems less frustrating this time, i.e., a bit more forgiving in the outfield. i even managed to pull off a few catches deep in the gaps after covering a ton of distance with my CF, which is something that i had trouble with in the last version.

verdict: you should give tons of money to some giant company again in order to make a fake ball fly around the screen

i am fucking scared to even start playing. i started a franchise (that i will prob start over once the operation sports roster drops) and played two spring training games and i'm just like "ok what the fuck do i do here even"

have you played the show before? last year's version was my first one, and it took me a while to figure out what the hell was going on.

it also seems like a game with split communities of interest. some people are all about franchise, but others play road to the show exclusively. i am pretty sure i'll be playing battle royale a ton. i love how it's designed so that you'll be changing teams/players relatively frequently, like every few days of real-time. it keeps things fresh. and while i had zero interest in saving up a bunch of in-game currency to unlock a "classic" player, it's a ton of fun to suddenly have the option to put one in your lineup and use them for several games. there was a hard-to-describe thrill of inserting mike schmidt into the lineup and then realizing that they totally nailed his stance and swing (which i pretty much know just from baseball cards and a few old baseball clips).

i think baseball is a difficult game to use as the basis for a franchise mode because while full 162-game season is such a slog, simulating a franchise by only playing 1 game a week (or however you choose to do it) just feels unsatisfying. maybe it depends on how into stats you are, but when i see my player's stats, they don't mean much to me if 5 out of every 6 games is simulated. they're more meaningful when you've played every PA. but maybe that's just me.

i've had every version for the last 5ish years i think, but last year i didn't play much. haven't played a franchise since the days when i had more free time. it scares me now that i have more of a life.

last 1-2 years i've been a RTTS guy, playing mostly a closer and occasionally a position... i wanted to do franchise this year. might be too much for me tho.

ugh dammit, if they were gonna go to the trouble of adding all this awesome-sounding stuff then I'm REALLY frustrated they weren't able to port it to the Vita. baseball is maybe the perfect sport for mobile, especially on a platform with actual buttons so that you can field at least somewhat respectably; you can play for a couple of games, or a couple of innings, or a couple of at-bats, or even a couple of pitches if that's what you've got time for.

then again I would probably be the only one to buy it anyway so oh well. it's just extra-galling since now that's two awesome baseball games we'll never be able to enjoy natively on Vita (alongside the saintly and unfuckwithable Super Mega Baseball of course).

is this the only franchise that actually tries to improve game after game?

i'm watching the new march to october mode and it is amazing.
the show 19 has the potential to be the best sports game in a while.

Oh yeah? I haven’t decided on whether or not I’m picking up this year’s game. I’ll have to look into the new mode. Is it a new spin on the season mode?

Online games are sometimes thrilling, but often get derailed by weird lag/bugs, which is incredibly frustrating when you get fucked at the end of a really good, close game. I would also frequently run into other players who would somehow CRUSH everything I pitched, like every single time, and I couldn’t figure out if they were cheating or if there are people they are actually that good

karl, i'm going by this new video just uploaded a couple days ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hf8dQWx8yA

it's a long one, but it seems pretty informative. it goes over
march to october and gameplay.

i think online gameplay is a mix of skill and response time/ghosting,
which is affected by internet speed and your TV. was your ping and
response time ok? big, cheap TVs can be a problem.

i have never played the show and i want to download '19 immediately based on nothing more than these facts:

1) i really miss baseball
2) super mega-baseball doesn't let me do pickoff moves

i have this niggly feeling that the show is going to be WAY more game than i want though