MLB Videogames

[Lintyfresh85]

There isn't going to be a consensus, can we please get the thread back on topic?  I can split off the console stuff if you guys really want to continue discussing it.

Probably best just to split it off into the general video game thread.

#Lintyforparttimemod

[hammondsnats]

Stephen Strasburg talks 'MLB 2K12,' 'COD'


Stephen Strasburg boasts some of the nastiest pitches in all of baseball.

Then again, his video game character might have even nastier stuff, as the phenom's virtual doppelganger actually debuted back in "MLB 2K10" with a higher player rating than more established hurlers like Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, making him the most dominant rookie pitcher in the history of baseball video games.

Paint a 100 mph fastball on the outside corner? No problem. Just be sure to follow it up with a lethal curve that almost spins the batter out of his virtual cleats.

"I have no complaints," Strasburg tells me with a laugh when I bring up his character's ability to make hitters look foolish in the game.

And with "MLB 2K12" hitting stores March 6, the kid who hits triple digits on the radar gun is hoping someone uses his character to win this year's million-dollar, perfect-game challenge.

That's right, throw a perfect game in "MLB 2K12" and it could be worth a cool mil.

"I never thought a video game could make you rich," Strasburg says with a grin as we talk about the competition. "I remember playing 'Triple Play 2000' and thinking how realistic I thought the graphics looked. Now it looks like you're controlling real people. And even better, now if you prove you're the best at this game, you're going to get paid."

And if you play as Strasburg in "2K12," the Nationals star has some advice: "Just like real life, you can't just stick to the heaters. Guys will catch up to that sooner or later," he says. "You need to go out there and use all your pitches, and remember to be aggressive with the first pitch. You want to throw a strike and get ahead of the batter early to swing the advantage in your favor.

"A lot of it is changing speeds, but a lot of it is knowing the scouting reports and knowing what a guy likes to hit in certain counts, and what a guy is not really good at hitting in other counts. As far as knowing the hitter you're facing, that's just so important, because as a pitcher, you want to go out and throw the pitch that he likes the least."

And while Strasburg (who refers to himself as a big PlayStation guy), is looking forward to checking out his character in the new baseball games, he keeps himself busy blasting away at teammates in "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3."

"I like to shoot-it-out with people online," he says. "I'll go on and play Domination, and then after I learn the maps, I like to play Capture the Flag. It gets pretty intense. Not million-dollars-on-the-line-intense, but when you're playing with your teammates, you definitely want to win."



http://espn.go.com/espn/thelife/videogames/blog/_/name/thegamer/id/7506181/stephen-strasburg-talks-mlb-2k12-cod?readmore=fullstory

[hammondsnats]

http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/123/123606.html

IGN's page on MLB 2K12

[KnorrForYourMoney]

lol @ the 2k baseball games

Can't wait for The Show this year.

[NatsFanSince2005]

I haven't gotten the show since the 2010 version, so I think i'll be picking it up this year. Assuming IGN and other sites don't give it awful reviews somehow.

[eckseid]

I didn't get the show last year, so I'll be picking it up this year. Any word on the demo yet?

[Nathan]

I haven't gotten the show since the 2010 version, so I think i'll be picking it up this year. Assuming IGN and other sites don't give it awful reviews somehow.

I didn't get the show last year, so I'll be picking it up this year. Any word on the demo yet?

Same with me, I skipped last year's but will probably pick up this year's.

[hammondsnats]

If MVP Baseball came back, all would be right in this world.

[cmdterps44]

If MVP Baseball came back, all would be right in this world.

I agree. I mean, if EA were smart (which I question) they would have a basic model of the game already set and they should be waiting in the reigns once the deal goes up this year. They'll obviously get the majority of buyers on the 360 since 2k is such a crap game. I mean hell, 2K has even hinted that this may be their last game.

[Squab]

I just threw a perfect game with Strasburg in 2k11. Against the new-look Marlins. Did it on the "Pro" difficulty, not that big a deal but it was still fun. His arm was about to fall off in the ninth and he struck out the side. 18 Ks.

[Kevrock]

EA doesn't allocate sufficient resources to the products they are currently selling. Zippy chance that they are allocating resources to a product that they might be able to make again.

I doubt a new incarnation of MVP would be like the old incarnation. The major sports games from EA have positively gone down the crapter.

That said, more competition would definitely be a good thing.

[cmdterps44]

EA doesn't allocate sufficient resources to the products they are currently selling. Zippy chance that they are allocating resources to a product that they might be able to make again.

I doubt a new incarnation of MVP would be like the old incarnation. The major sports games from EA have positively gone down the crapter.

That said, more competition would definitely be a good thing.

But they're allowed too. The deal was to the end of this year. Anyone can come in and make a baseball game now. Also, EA was trying to buy out of the deal from Take Two (2k) in 2009 I believe. I just see that as signs that they're interested in coming back in the market. Plus, they'd easily dominate since 2k hasn't made a competent baseball game in awhile. Every game always has bugs and minor improvements from the year before.

[Kevrock]

But they're allowed too. The deal was to the end of this year. Anyone can come in and make a baseball game now. Also, EA was trying to buy out of the deal from Take Two (2k) in 2009 I believe. I just see that as signs that they're interested in coming back in the market. Plus, they'd easily dominate since 2k hasn't made a competent baseball game in awhile. Every game always has bugs and minor improvements from the year before.

Was not aware of this.

Has it been documented that 2K won't bid to try and obtain another exclusive deal?

And for the love of God when will EA's football exclusivity deal expire.

[Lintyfresh85]

Was not aware of this.

Has it been documented that 2K won't bid to try and obtain another exclusive deal?

And for the love of God when will EA's football exclusivity deal expire.

2K is losing over 30 million a year on the MLB deal, they've said they're extremely unlikely to re-up.

I think that they are done with baseball, unless MLB is willing to take sharply reduced terms," said Michael Pachter, the noted games industry analyst for Wedbush Securities. "The last deal cost Take-Two $30 million a year in losses, and they can't renew it without a $30 million reduction in royalty—even then they would just break even."

That assumes Major League Baseball would want to negotiate with Take-Two, 2K Sports' parent company. All Take-Two's senior leadership has done is disparage its own product and the value of the Major League Baseball brand. Even without Take-Two's conduct and mishandling of the franchise, MLB could expect to take a haircut in its next deal, and not just because everyone thinks Take-Two overpaid way back in 2005.

http://kotaku.com/5884340/having-made-this-bed-will-mlb-2k-lie-in-it-next-year

EA just re-upped with Madden I believe.

[cmdterps44]

Was not aware of this.

Has it been documented that 2K won't bid to try and obtain another exclusive deal?

And for the love of God when will EA's football exclusivity deal expire.

I've read that both deals end this year, at least MLB certainly does. (NFL may next year)

Like linty posted, 2k loses money and in an recent interview, one of the executive developers hinted that they may not make another game.

I also read that the NFL likes what Madden/EA is doing for the brand and revenue so they may sell it to them exclusively again... which sucks since I heard 2k's football game was outstanding.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

EA doesn't allocate sufficient resources to the products they are currently selling. Zippy chance that they are allocating resources to a product that they might be able to make again.

I doubt a new incarnation of MVP would be like the old incarnation. The major sports games from EA have positively gone down the crapter.

That said, more competition would definitely be a good thing.

The deals made a few years back were absolutely back-asswards.  2K should have gotten the NFL and EA should have gotten MLB.

[Lintyfresh85]

Spot on, knorr.

[cmdterps44]

Yeah knorr I agree.  EA got the Madden deal so 2k was just like fine we'll do mlb... should've been NBA from the start.

[Slateman]

Oh man if EA makes an updated version of MVP .... That could be awesome

[cmdterps44]

Oh man if EA makes an updated version of MVP .... That could be awesome

I know! The last game was pretty damn good. It had pitch ID for batters, online play, custom teams online, pretty awesome franchise setup, etc. If they just based it off MVP 2005 and made it Next Gen with online franchises and such, it could be awesome!

I really hope they decide to do it. If they don't, they'd be out of their minds since so many 360 owners want a good baseball game.

[Slateman]

I know! The last game was pretty damn good. It had pitch ID for batters, online play, custom teams online, pretty awesome franchise setup, etc. If they just based it off MVP 2005 and made it Next Gen with online franchises and such, it could be awesome!

I really hope they decide to do it. If they don't, they'd be out of their minds since so many 360 owners want a good baseball game.

If you have the PC version, they have mods that bring it up to date.

The only issue becomes the player's ages. Bryce Harper is like 13 in the game because thats what he would have been in 2005 Oddly enough, Tim Wakefield is still old ...

[Terpfan76]

NEW FEATURES IN MLB 12 THE SHOW:

• MLB The Show on PS Vita (PS Vita) – MLB 12 The Show is available on the PS Vita this year so users can enjoy all of the core modes of play found in the PS3 game, including Exhibition, Season, Franchise, Home Run Derby, online play, and Road to The Show, for users who want the personal experience of taking control of one player through his career starting in the Minors all the way to the Majors. PS Vita users will have the ability to use new touch screen controls within MLB 12 The Show using the front touch screen and the rear touch screen controls to throw the ball to specific locations, make pitch commands, and run the bases. MLB 12 The Show for PS Vita will provide a big league experience that players can take with them on road, anytime, anywhere.

• Cross Platform Saves (PS3 & PS Vita) – New to MLB 12 The Show is the ability for users to share save files between PS3 and PS Vita. Players can now take their Franchise, Season, and Road to The Show save files up to the cloud where they can then access those files on either platform. Users are limited to one file per mode per PlayStation Network account, which can be overwritten as many times as you’d like. At home on PS3 or on the road with the PS Vita, fans can continue their seasons anywhere!

• True Ball Physics (PS3 & Vita) – MLB 12 The Show now incorporates realistic ball physics and proper spin for balls that bounce off the bases, the pitcher’s mound rubber, and other surface on the field. The baseball now bounces realistically using actual math for a spinning ball hitting these surfaces. Therefore, the way the ball bounces in MLB 12 has changed a lot from previous versions. In order for hits to get through the infield, the ball counts on having top-spin so the spin of the ball off the bat is now accurate with realistic RPMs. The ball also bounces and loses energy like a real baseball does and is launched with the correct spin. This results in more hit type varieties, rising and sinking liners, more choppers, balls tailing away from the outfielders, and balls hitting off the bases.

• TruBroadcast Presentations (PS3 Only) – Baseball fans demand an accurate simulation of reality and anything that detracts from this can ****ter the feeling that you are playing in a real game. MLB 12 The Show makes the biggest leap forward EVER in this regard, truly blurring the line between reality and the in-game experience. With completely refined presentations combined with enhanced artificial intelligence (AI), revamped cameras, and expanded audio, MLB 12 is poised to deliver the most realistic baseball gaming experience to date.

• Diamond Dynasty (PS3 Only) – Diamond Dynasty juggles aspects of team management, player progression, and online competition, with more creative freedom than any sports game to date. Gamers create a custom team complete with Team Name, Colors, custom Uniforms, and fully customizable Logos with up to 1000 layers of detail. Once created, the team is given a handful of MLB baseball cards and Dynasty baseball cards that, when activated, add the players to your team roster.

The fundamentals of Diamond Dynasty revolve around the difference between MLB and Dynasty cards and the unique reward systems that support each type. A Dynasty player is a long-term investment that requires training similar to that of a “Road to the Show” player. Dynasty players are supplemented with an award/achievement system. In contrast MLB players are short-term investments that slot into your roster ready to play at their current attribute levels. Completing collections of MLB players will reward you with Budget bonuses. Budget is used to train players, purchase Card Packs (Dynasty or MLB), and to purchase cards from other users on the Marketplace. Most of your Budget is earned by playing either Head-to-Head online games, or VS. CPU against MLB teams. Head-to-Head games are matched and ranked using an ELO system that most competitive online games now use some form. Every fifth game played, your team is re-evaluated for placement into one of five competitive divisions: Spring Training, Season Series, Division Series, Championship Series, and World Series. What will define your dynasty?

• Full Move Support in The Show (PS3) – Control all aspects of The Show with the PlayStation®Move motion controller, including pitching, hitting, fielding, and running the bases. There are also custom meters on screen to compliment the experience. Imagine being at the plate and seeing the batters hands moving as you move. Move gameplay can be used in all modes.

• Zone Analog Batting (PS3 & PS Vita) – MLB® 11 The Show™ introduced analog controls, now this year, MLB 12 will bring a combination of the old and the new with Zone Analog Batting. The right analog stick will still be used for the stride and swing, but now, if you choose to, you can control where you swing in the zone using the left analog stick. All the other analog controls are also being improved and enhanced.

• Pulse Pitching (PS3 & PS Vita) – This is a new interface to the classic pitching style. Players still pitch using a simple “X” button press, but users must time the press with an on-screen display to ensure pitch accuracy. All other pitching methods are also being improved and enhanced.

• Franchise Improvements (PS3 & PS Vita) – MLB 12 The Show introduces a number of Franchise mode improvements, including player generation logic has been tuned to provide more variety inside draft classes and more realistic pitch repertoires. The lineup logic has also been updated to give you closer to real-life rosters while in your Season, Franchise, and Road to The Show modes. Finally, the trade system has been revamped with improved logic based more on the real-life club’s strategy. Small market teams will behave as such, while the bigger fish will continue to go after the top players in the game. Also, highly touted prospects will remain just that and won’t be showing up in trades early on in their careers.

• Road to the Show Improvements (PS3 & PS Vita) – This generation of Road to The Show brings a new assortment of training modes for base running and fielding to round out your Road to The Show player’s training experience. Also, your created player will now be “that” highlighted and touted prospect you think he is, by starting his career as a Double-A starter. The player creator has seen improvements as well, by offering a slew of new accessories to compliment the already extensive system.

• Situational Collision Awareness (PS3 & Vita) – Players will now know where they and other players are on the field and understand when to avoid other players and how to react when other players are near. Although this sounds like a relatively simple concept, but it’s very important and makes the game experience feel more true to life.

• New Tag Animation System (PS3 & PS Vita) – Players can now branch out of any tag throw animation and branch out of a tag animation to avoid it. There are also more animations and ways to tag runners out at the plate. This new system allows for more results (dropping the ball, new swipes, etc.) and the addition of new standing and run down tags, which creates a more dynamic and organic player integration on the base paths and at the plate.

• Online Everywhere and Unified Settings (PS3 & PS Vita) – Online everywhere and Unified Settings will minimize, if not remove, the obvious line between offline and online in The Show via PSN. One of the most notable changes is the inclusion of online features and components in the main menus, especially the Exhibition > Team Select screen. That’s now the launching pad for offline Exhibition and online Play Now games. Users will also now be auto-logged in to The Show servers, making online features more accessible. Unifying user settings is a minor, but important feature. Users no longer have to set their offline and online settings – there will be one!

• Play Now Plus (PS3 & PS Vita) – Similar to Play Now, Play Now Plus can be used through custom settings. This is as easy as selecting Play Now, setting your Play Now settings, saving these settings, then selecting Play Now type. There’s no need to set you Play Now settings again, unless you want to change them up. You’ll then be able to find an opponent to match your gameplay settings, without having to go through the challenge process.

• SimulView™ Functionality with PlayStation®3D Display (PS3) – MLB 12 The Show will incorporate SimulView™ technology that allows two people to play head to head without seeing each other’s screen while playing on the PlayStation®3D Display. It uses the same technology as Stereoscopic 3D, but instead of sending image A to the left eye and image B to the right Eye, we send image A to player 1 and image B to player 2.

• New Tutorial Movies (PS3 & PS Vita) – With all of the new features this year in MLB 12 The Show, we felt that it was essential to provide more tutorial movies to educate our fans. For example, these tutorial movies showcase and explain the new PS Move implementation for all facets of gameplay (hitting, pitching, fielding, and throwing). In addition, the five tutorials explaining the Pure features implemented in MLB 11 The Show have also been updated an improved, including Pure Hitting, Pure Pitching, Pure Throwing, and the fake throw system. Watch them in the frontend menus or the in-game pause menu.

The Best Gets Better! MLB 12 The Show includes over 50 more enhancements, new features, and improvements!

1. Over 500 new Presentation animations
2. Over 300 new Fielding, Throwing, and Base running animations
3. Over 150 New Batting Stances
4. Over 75 New Pitching Animations
5. Improved load times
6. Completely new bat, ball and glove sounds
7. New Bullpen Management options
8. New player accessories (new sunglasses, protective gear, hat bills, etc…)
9. New Pick off logic
10. New player card including advanced baseball stats
11. New Batter/Pitcher Attribute snapshot OSD (D-Pad Left)
12. More fluid organic fielder animations from start to end of play
13. Improved fielder routes on balls off the wall (more variety of pursuit angles)
14. Dynamic fielding results and reaction (balls can now be dropped or missed by a fielder anytime)
15. Improved button fielding with difficulty levels
16. New Pitcher Confidence Logic
17. Increased and improved conversation among Matt, Dave and Eric.
18. 14 New umpires
19. Updated uniforms and stadiums for new and updated teams
20. Updated jumbotron movies and stat layouts (still team specific)
21. Updated LED Ribbon board art and movies
22. Focus on interface and display presentation and flair
23. Uniform select in all modes
24. Frontend sound preview when assigning audio
25. New Player Generation Logic
26. New Trade interface and screen
27. Improved Lineup Logic
28. Co-op available in Season and Franchise modes
29. Road to the Show career begins as a Double-A starter
30. Move video tutorials
31. New in-game tips
32. Did You Knows on Loading screens
33. Season and Franchise mode Co-op
34. Base Running Training in RTTS
35. Fielding Training in RTTS
36. New Base Runner Awareness
37. Online Gameplay Gets a Boost (better reaction, better experience)
38. www.TheShowNation.com Community Web Site Revamp
39. Operating System supported Virtual Keyboard
40. New Online Gamer Card (more information)
41. Swing Analysis OSD Improvements and Profile Display Options
42. “Free” 1st inning quit in Online Games removed
43. Online Profile to use PSN Avatar
44. PSN Profile utility support on Vita (Friend Requests)
45. Game History showing XP gain/loss)
46. Play online with your full profile settings (minus negotiated settings)
47. Challenge of the Week is now free
48. Online League Schedule improvements
49. Online League Playoff improvements
50. Over 20 New Player Specific HR Swings


http://forums.theshownation.com/showthread.php?t=10395

[Slateman]

Can you control the minor leagues? Are the teams and rosters accurate? Can you progress your prospects through the minors?

[UMDNats]

Can you control the minor leagues?

You control and can play your team's AAA and AA games and manage those rosters, etc. They have the minor league all-star games, the Futures game, a lot of depth there.

Are the teams and rosters accurate?

The rosters shipped are pretty good, but fans make custom rosters with all the acquisitions and minor leaguers (down to their stances, custom faces - which are amazingly done, BTW) that are available around opening day I believe. It really is amazing what some people can do with the custom faces.

Can you progress your prospects through the minors?

From AA on up, yes. Doesn't go down to single-A (the single-A teams are basically just a holding zone for players, as they don't play any games).

[Lintyfresh85]

Can you control the minor leagues? Are the teams and rosters accurate? Can you progress your prospects through the minors?

It's the same system as MVP.

You can play all of your organizations AA, AAA and MLB games anytime you want.

Check out Operation Sports if you want community created rosters as they create the absolute best.