MLB 12: The Show Message Board

#stickjockey Earlier this week, Metacritic bemoaned 2012 as a year of poorer review scores for video games than the one preceding it. Fewer titles surpassed the all-important 90—which practically guarantees job security to those who developed or greenlit the project—than in 2011. Interestingly, the three console platforms' average review scores all improved slightly. More »

As Major League Baseball gears up for postseason play, you can too, as baseball’s highest-rated and bestselling game is now available at a new lower price. MLB 12 The Show is now just $29.99 for PS3 and $19.99 for PS Vita. Begin your hunt for October as you watch your favorite teams vie for postseason immortality.

This price drop means owners of both the PS3 and the PS Vita hardware can buy both games for less than $50 combined, giving them the ability to enjoy cross-platform functionality by saving and continuing a single Season, Franchise or Road to The Show mode on either platform.
As you get ready to take your team to the playoffs on MLB 12 The Show, check out what the top players in baseball have to say about what the postseason means to them!

Want to know who has the best chance of being crowned World Series Champions? Well, San Diego Studios simulated the playoffs after last night’s Wild Card play-in game. You can read up on all the information at ESPN, where they go into detail about how the postseason will play out, according to MLB 12 The Show.

For more information on The Show, check out www.theshownation.com. Head to your local retailer to grab your copy today.

Great news sports fans! The most realistic baseball game available now has a new lower price. MLB 12 The Show is now just $39.99 for PS3 and $29.99 for PS Vita. The price drop is fresh off the recent news that Home Run Derby is now playable online for the first time ever in MLB The Show through a free downloadable update via the PSN, adding even more ways to play the most comprehensive version of MLB The Show yet.

The price drop also gives owners of both the PS3 and PS Vita hardware a chance to purchase both games for less than $70 combined, and enjoy cross-platform play by saving and continuing a single Season, Franchise or Road to The Show mode on either platform.

If you haven’t yet picked up MLB 12 The Show on either PS3 or PS Vita, now is the time. The second half of the 2012 MLB Season is just underway and there is plenty of time to challenge your friends for bragging rights before the playoffs start. For more information on The Show, check out www.theshownation.com and head to your local retailer to grab your copy today.

Baseball fans – it’s that time of year again… Major League Baseball’s Midsummer Classic, where the best and brightest will battle it out for bragging rights and home-field advantage in the World Series. To find out which team, the American League or National League, will come out on top, we’ve tapped the most authentic gaming resource available – MLB 12 The Show. So, what was the outcome you ask? After simulating tomorrow night’s 2012 All-Star Game, the win will go to the NL All-Stars, who will make it three in a row after a 13-year winless streak, hanging on to beat the AL by a score of 3-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

Here’s a look at some of the video highlights from the game courtesy of MLB 12 The Show:

In a season that has already seen five no-hitters, it should come as no surprise that pitching dominated most of the game. The AL got out to a 1-0 lead thanks to the power of former National Leaguer Prince Fielder, which stood until the bottom of the sixth when fellow Home Run Derby contestant Carlos Gonzalez delivered a big two run homer that put the NL up by one. Then a double by Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler, and a big RBI knock from Angels rookie sensation Mike Trout in the seventh tied the game up. But in the top of the eighth, a clutch hit by Giants catcher Buster Posey drove in the go ahead run. From there the NL bullpen held fast for a hard fought 3-2 victory, just enough to win the battle of baseball’s best. MVP honors went to Buster Posey, 2-3 with the game winning hit and RBI. Pitching obviously took center stage this year as the two staffs kept some of the game’s most dangerous hitters at bay. With such high quality hurlers, we could be looking at the start of a new golden era of pitching.

As top the top rated sports game for the past four years, MLB 12 The Show is the most authentic baseball game available. Find out tomorrow night if our prediction was right. The 83rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally on FOX at 8:00pm EST.

For those of you who might be heading out to Kansas City, don’t forget to stop by MLB All-Star FanFest (July 6-10) at the Kansas City Convention Center (Bartle Hall), and swing by the PlayStation booth where you can check MLB 12 The Show’s Home Run Derby Online, which is available on PSN starting today!

Now, what is Home Run Derby Online you ask? Well, it’s an entirely new way to compete with other players on PlayStation Network. You can play against one or seven other users online (2-8 players simultaneously) for a chance to be crowned the Home Run Derby champion and earn extra XP. Users can enter into a “Random Match” against the community or “Play with Friends.” All players will see and be able to swing at pitches at the same time and watch each hit, which is represented by multi-colored hit ribbons that stretch from home plate to wherever the ball lands. The on-screen, in-game, real-time leaderboard lets you know who the leader is and where you stand so you’re always aware of how you’re doing against the competition. So, while you’re watching your favorite sluggers compete in the State Farm Home Run Derby tonight (8:00pm EST on ESPN), you can duke it with your friends in your own virtual HR Derby from the comfort of your own home. Pretty cool, right?

Lastly, don’t forget to compete in the latest Challenge of the Week. This week pits two All-Star starters against one another… New York Mets ace vs. the New York Yankees second baseman. Prize this week a signed limited edition David Freese MLB 12 The Show game cover. Good luck!

For more on MLB 12 The Show, visit www.TheShowNation.com.

With the MLB season now in full swing, I have great news for baseball fans. Starting May 28th, you can head to your local Taco Bell, grab a Big Hitter $5 Buck Box, and download the Taco Bell mobile app to play the mini MLB Home Run Derby game. Then, for a limited time you can challenge your friends via Facebook Connect to see who the heaviest hitter is and after you battle it out, you’ll unlock the Home Run Derby Online mode for MLB 12 The Show on PS3.

And if you want to get the upper hand against your friends, bring your camera enabled smartphone to participating Taco Bell restaurants for more ways to play. Just pick up a Big Hitter $5 Buck Box to unlock cool features like the ability to play as MLB 12 The Show cover athlete Adrian Gonzalez. You can also search in-store to scan other MLB 12 The Show branded items to help you rack up extra points. Win or lose, Home Run Derby Online for MLB 12 is yours, just for playing via Facebook Connect – but you have to go to Taco Bell before July 9th if you want to get it first.

What is Home Run Derby Online, you ask? It’s an entirely new way to compete with other players on PSN. You can play against one or seven other users online (two to eight players simultaneously) for a chance to be crowned the Home Run Derby champion and earn extra XP. Users can enter into a “Random Match” against the community or “Play with Friends.” All players will see and be able to swing at pitches at the same time and watch each hit, which is represented by multi-colored hit ribbons that stretch from home plate to wherever the ball lands. The on-screen, in-game, real-time leaderboard lets you know who the leader is and where you stand so you’re always aware of how you’re doing against the competition. Pretty cool, right?

Also, be sure to check out MLB 12′s latest Challenge of the Week and related prize. This week, you can compete for a chance for a signed Limited Edition Josh Hamilton game cover. For more on MLB 12 The Show, visit our official site.

Welcome to The Show!

The grass is cut, the infield’s been manicured, and the lines are chalked. That’s right, the boys of summer are back and it’s time to PLAY BALL as the 2012 Major League Baseball season will get underway tonight when the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Miami Marlins at their brand-new ballpark. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited to see what the defending World Series champions do against a revamped and rejuvenated Marlins club that is chock-full of new talent. And Miami’s new stadium will be showcased on a national stage for the very first time. For those who haven’t seen it yet, we gave fans a sneak peek at the new ballpark in South Beach earlier this year, courtesy of MLB 12 The Show, here’s a link to the video.

Simulating your favorite team with The Show is always a great way to get into the MLB spirit so to up the excitement level a bit more and to celebrate Major League Baseball’s season opener, so check out our new MLB 12 The Show Opening Day trailer above!

I’m also happy to report that The Show is still enjoying great feedback from the media. Just recently SportsIllustrated.com posted glowing reviews for MLB 12 on PS3 and PS Vita, as did the Associated Press. And don’t forget about MLB.TV on PlayStation Network, where you can watch all the Major League action with the new 2012 MLB.TV application for PS3. Just like last season, the MLB.TV app allows you to catch all of your favorite out-of-market teams (home and away broadcasts) live or archived streamed straight to your TV in brilliant high-quality HD, as well as an array of interactive features designed to take advantage of PS3′s technical prowess.  Head over to the “My Channels” icon under the TV/Video Services category of the XMB to download the free app and sign up for a subscription through MLB.TV.

Sports fans -

It’s that time of year again – the winter frost has thawed and your favorite team is ready to get rolling. With MLB opening day just a week out, it’s time for you to put together your fantasy squad. For those of you looking for advice on which players to target in your fantasy baseball drafts, we simulated the 2012 season using MLB 12 The Show to offer a bit of guidance.

In the AL, there are plenty of guys you can build a team around – Adrian Gonzalez, Evan Longoria, Jose Bautista, Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, and Prince Fielder all come to mind, just to name a few sluggers. For strong pitching, the NL East is a great place to start as the Braves and Phillies will have deep rotations yet again, while the Nationals may be ready to move up to the big time with the one-two punch of Stephen Strasburg and the newly acquired Gio Gonzalez. The NL has their fair share of hitters, too, with Joey Votto, Matt Kemp, and Justin Upton, while Carlos Beltran could be a sleeper in St. Louis, an organization with a track record of rejuvenating player’s careers.

For the rest of our picks courtesy of MLB 12 The Show, check out our latest predictions trailer above. You can also view it on ESPN.com or Operation Sports.

Welcome to The Show!

When it comes to presentations, we’ve officially thrown caution to the wind. Why the risk? Well, we deem it a necessary one in our quest to blur the lines between a real baseball TV broadcast and MLB The Show. We know that series fans demand an accurate simulation of reality and we’re doing our best to deliver. On that note, MLB 12 The Show is proud to introduce TruBroadcast Presentations, which combine the best of broadcast presentations and Real Time presentations. Here’s a look.

That description, however, would be selling short the full potential of TruBroadcast presentations. We’ve also restructured and refined upwards of 10,000 presentations and combined them with enhanced AI, revamped cameras, improved on-screen displays, and expanded audio to deliver the most realistic baseball gaming experience to date. Without question, this is our biggest leap forward in blurring the line between reality and our game. We realize that anything that detracts from this reality and requires suspension of disbelief can shatter the feeling that you are playing in a real game. To that end, we’ve worked tirelessly to create a single presentation mode that expands upon the emotion and variety that TV broadcast presentations offer while simultaneously improving upon the continuity of Real Time presentations. TruBroadcast presentations equal more baseball specificity combined with more realistic game flow!

Continuity, or game flow, is one of the presentation aspects that we focused on most while creating TruBroadcast presentations. We wanted to offer enhanced emotion and variety with a single presentation mode while at the same time avoiding disconnects in actor location. We don’t want a camera cut to reveal that an actor, or actors, had seemingly teleported across the field. We want to avoid disconnects that throw you out of the illusion that you’re watching an actual TV broadcast. With those goals in mind, we tirelessly studied countless MLB broadcasts and restructured thousands of presentations to improve the timing of the camera cuts, the framing of the camera shots, and the importance of who we cut the camera to. We hope all our hard work and improvements confuse you a little more as to whether you’re playing MLB The Show or watching a live broadcast.

To mimic a true broadcast feel for our on-screen displays, we’ve spent many hours researching regular season/playoff games and gained a lot of knowledge on what information an actual broadcast is passing to the viewer. We’ve also noticed how the on-screen displays transition on and off the screen and how simple and straightforward the look of it appears. When showing information on an on-screen display, showing little things like the pitcher’s pitch count and how many runners each team has left on base keeps you informed without overloading you with too much. We’ve simplified our on-screen displays by just showing statistical information and removing unwanted graphics. A good example of this is the removal of mug shots from the batter walkup display.

In terms of audio, the goal this year was the same as it’s been since we launched on the PS3 in 2007 – continue to grow the base and make the game deeper and deeper. To that end, we’ve added more than 70 hours of new recordings to the game this year, many involving both and sometimes all three of our main announcers. One main area of focus relates to season mode, where you’ll find much more content that centers around player stats, recent team performance, and both team and league leaders.

To further advance our idea of TruBroadcast, we’ve also added more detail to our jumbotrons this year. In MLB 12 The Show we took on the task of replicating each team’s jumbotron to have the exact design and feel of the actual team’s displays. Our jumbotrons now show actual batter and pitcher statistics, lineups, and previous at-bat info, just like at every real MLB ballpark. We’ve also added new HD-quality movies to be displayed on our jumbotrons so when the home team strikes out a batter or hits a home run, a movie will display to show the excitement and realism within our stadiums.

Lastly, we’ve added laser ribbons to each stadium that currently utilizes them. So you might ask, “what do we display on these laser ribbons?” Well, for starters all our movies, statistics, and anything that we feel will really bring the crowd to their feet in anticipation of what goes on in a real live baseball game. This attention to detail only adds to the realism that we strive for each and every year.

As you dig into MLB 12 The Show and get ready for MLB Opening Day on April 4th, be on the lookout for these improvements and see for yourself what TruBroadcast really means in The Show!

Sports fans,­

For those of you who haven’t heard, Challenge of the Week is back and will going on all year long through MLB 12 The Show. This week features a CC Sabathia signed jersey as our prize giveaway!

Challenge of the Week for March 12th (challenge #2) features an AL East match-up as MLB 12 Canadian cover athlete, Jose Bautista faces Yankees ace CC Sabathia. Bautista is coming off another 40+ home run season, while driving in 103 RBI. Sabathia held opponents to an impressive ERA of 3.00 and cut down 230 batters.

Climb the leaderboard and get as many hits as you can to earn the CC Sabathia signed jersey.

Week #2 begins on Monday March 12th at 5:30am PT.

#speakuponkotaku The football players in the NFL are male. The baseball players in the MLB are male. It stands to reason that custom characters in video games based off these sports should be male, but Kotaku commenter Seoul Sister makes a valid point: When has reason ever stopped a video game? More »

When it comes to baseball (the sport and the video game) you either get it, or you don't. It's the most difficult team sport to talk up to non-fans. But for the faithful, the ones who love America's past time even when it's a pitcher's duel, MLB 12: The Show provides the best baseball experience on consoles...

MLB 12 The Show for PS3 and PS Vita has arrived and with it, the ability to experience the majors like you never have before. The Show is so jaw-droppingly real it doesn’t just capture every detail and physic of the game, it captures the raw emotion of baseball. So much so, in fact, that this year’s campaign is based around one line: So real, it’s unreal.

Our launch commercial isn’t just a demonstration of realism, it’s a celebration of what it means to be a gamer and, more specifically, a sports gamer. MLB 12 The Show lets you experience every big emotional moment that’s possible in baseball. Whether it’s the moment you’re called up to the majors or crushing a walk-off homer to win it all, every big emotional moment in baseball can be yours. And only The Show can deliver that with so much realism that it’s like it really happened.

For our commercial, we chose what’s arguably the greatest moment for any gamer and fan of baseball: winning the World Series. We celebrate the fans who have the longest-running loyalty and emotion behind their team to win it – Cubs fans. But whether your favorite team (or player) just brought home the trophy last year, or if you’ve loyally followed them through thick and thin, we think any gamer knows the feeling of making their biggest baseball moments happen with The Show.

That’s why it’s the highest-rated sports game four years in a row… and we’re betting on five.

Sports fans! We’re less than 24 hours away from the release of MLB 12 The Show and as you know, the game will be available on PS3 and PS Vita. This year, in addition to our cover athlete, we have multiple athletes who will be partnering with The Show to serve as ambassadors for the game. One of these players is New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia, a proclaimed gamer who takes his PS3 on the road with him during the season. He recently helped us promote MLB 12 in New York City, and you can see the event notes and pics on ESPN.com (check out that sweet custom PS3!). Here’s also a look at our Sabathia gameplay trailer on ESPN.com.

So, now that PS Vita is out in the wild, CC has a console-like experience that he can take with him anytime, anywhere, and with the cross functionality between PS3 and PS Vita, he can now take his Franchise, Season, and Road to The Show save files up to the cloud where he can then access those files on either platform. CC recently sat down with us to talk about his impressions of MLB 12 The Show for PS Vita — see what he thinks in the video above.

Welcome to The Show!

Alright MLB The Show fans, it is time to get off the couch. This year with MLB 12 The Show, you now can play the entire game (Pitching, Batting, Fielding, and Base running) using the PS Move motion controller. When we designed the controls, the overall goal was to make it as intuitive and natural as possible. Once you play it and become familiar with the controls, you will start to feel a natural connection between playing our game and playing baseball as if you were out on a diamond.

On the Hill

When we designed the pitching controls, the idea was to promote going through the actual motion of throwing a pitch. In order to do that, we decided to tie the velocity of the pitch to how far you reach back (away from the PS Eye) to set your “potential power” and how fast you swing your arm through to determine your “actual power”. This way, if you try to pitch by just flicking your wrist, sure you can get the Move to recognize that speed, but since you do not pull back during the wind-up, you will not be able to use 100% of your potential power. The difference could be a 93MPH vs a 98MPH fastball. Your accuracy is tied to the on-screen pitcher’s release point. The closer you release the trigger on the Move to that release point, the more accurate the location of the pitch will be. The result is a system that feels very natural and recognizes how much effort you are putting into each pitch and recognizes a very natural release point. There is a definite feeling of satisfaction in “painting the black” that you didn’t feel before.

At the Plate

Batting is even more natural in terms of how we recognize a different type of swing. When we first designed the batting, we simply recognized how quickly you swung the bat in order to consider a swing a “contact”, “normal” or “power” swing. But after about 10 minutes of actually trying it out I realized that this was not natural. A contact swing is not a slower swing, a contact swing is performed by limiting your movement and just slapping at the ball as opposed to reaching back (loading) to get some extra power. So that is how we changed it to work in the game. The game will recognize if you load up or not. If it recognizes that you do not and you just punch at the ball, you will get a contact swing which helps you with contact, but takes away some power. On the flip side, if you load up, it will recognize that you want to drive the ball, and then, how fast you swing will determine how much power is being used. So instead of having a normal swing or a power swing, now it is dynamic. You might swing with a 42 power on one swing, or an 89 on the next. It is totally up to you. One other new feature with the batting is what we call “Full Control”. The Move is synched up with your batter and allows you to move his arms and upper body around pre-pitch to really feel connected to the batter. But to get the Move synched up correctly, you need to start in a traditional batting stance while holding the Move controller upright and still. Once the system recognizes the position it will vibrate to let you know you are synched up. (Note: You do not need to sync up the pre-pitch movement in order to swing. You can do that with or without using the Full Control system)

In the Field

Fielding has a completely new element never before seen in a baseball video game (as far as I know). When fielding with the Move, you have a new responsibility of catching the ball. It is very unnatural to try to navigate a defender around the field with this controller, so when playing with the Move, the AI controls the movement of the fielder for you. But instead of moving, you have to time “catching” the ball. Again using the idea that the trigger is the ball (like mentioned above in pitching), as the ball gets close to you, you need to press and hold the trigger to receive the ball. You will see an indicator under the fielder that goes from Red to Yellow to Green to help you time the catch. If you are too early or too late, the ball will bounce off of your glove for an error. Once you have the ball, you can throw to any base by swiping in a Left, Right, Up, or Down direction and releasing the trigger during the swipe. Each direction represents a base, just like with the analog throwing system. One really cool side-effect from this system is that it unintentionally created some realism. In our non-Move game, a lot of times those hot smashes to the 3rd baseman or even the pitcher got gloves automatically. Now that you are responsible for timing that catch, you see a lot of those shots eat up the defender like you are more likely to see in real life. And if you happen to react quick enough to snag one, you really feel like you earned it.

Running the Bases

The base running controls are something that completely changed from the original design and was actually an idea of the programmer who implemented it. (Go Leo!). Leo came up with the idea of using gestures to navigate runners as a base coach would. So to advance a runner, you gesture the Move in a circular fashion (like a coach sending a runner around third base). To send a runner back, you use a back and forth (left/right/) gesture. And to stop a runner at the next base you just put your hand up like a stop sign which is holding the Move controller horizontally (this same gesture + trigger will stop the runner in his tracks). Very simple, and very easy to remember.

Now for all of you who want to use the Move but don’t want to feel like you need to ice your shoulder after playing a video game, go check the options. We have plenty to satisfy all types of players. I will say this. Being that the Move controls are a totally new way to play the game, there is a definite learning curve. We have tutorials breaking down all of the controls available in the game. Getting your timing down with the pitching and hitting, and remembering the gestures in the heat of the moment will take some getting used to. But once you have it down, if you are like me, you won’t want to play the game any other way.. To play the game any more realistically than this, you will need to put on some cleats and go outside. I hope you enjoy.

Thanks for reading!

#mlbtheshow The Diamond Dynasty mode for MLB 12 The Show is extremely deep—last week, I hit the broad points, but still there are some details and features that you may not yet know about. Matt Vasgersian, the game's play-by-play announcer, tries to answer all of your questions in this guided tour of The Show's new fantasy-team mode. More »

Show Fans – We’re proud to make claim that MLB The Show on PS3 is the highest-rated sports game on the market for the past 4 years. With only days left before MLB 12 The Show hits store shelves, we know many of you plan to not only pick up the PS3 version but are anxious to pick up the all-new PS Vita version as well.

One of the most important goals for us each year is to listen to our consumers and try our best to address their concerns. Over the past several weeks, we’ve heard you loud and clear – consumers who purchase both should be rewarded with a discount – and we agree. Starting on March 6th, we’ll be offering a $20 instant discount, for anyone who purchases both MLB 12 The Show on PS3 and on PS Vita, together during the same transaction at checkout. What this means is that while our standalone PS3 product retails for $59.99 and our standalone PS Vita product retails for $39.99, if you purchase both together at the same time, you’ll get them for a combined price of $79.99.

Owning both versions of the game allows you to experience the same realism of MLB 12 The Show wherever you go. On either your PS3 or Vita, you can transfer your Season, Franchise, or Road to the Show mode save files between your PS3 and PS Vita anywhere at any time through the PlayStation Network. We want as many of our consumers as possible to have that experience.

Visit your favorite retailer for more details on this limited-time offer.

For more information on MLB 12 The Show on PS3 and PS Vita, head over to www.TheShowNation.com.

#mlbtheshow Cards, collections, virtual currency— when "Diamond Dynasty" appeared in a retail listing as a new mode for MLB 12 The Show, everyone thought they knew what it was: A feature that would borrow heavily from EA Sports' "Ultimate Team," which has been a cash cow for its FIFA, NHL and Madden franchises. More »

Sports fans –

I’m psyched to give you a sneak peak at the new Miami Marlins ballpark in South Beach, courtesy of MLB 12 The Show. Have a look at where new acquisitions Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell will be calling home this year…

After winning two World Series in less than 20 years since their inaugural 1993 season, 2012 ushers in a name change and a new ballpark for the Marlins. Before we could add this new ballpark to MLB 12 The Show, we had to gather as much information as possible in order to faithfully recreate every inch of this stadium exactly as it stands in Miami. Project Coordinator Jennifer Kacizak and Environment Artist Anton Napierala each started compiling blueprints, architectural concept models, and other data (thanks to our friends at MLB and the Marlins front office) of the ballpark which allowed us to get the shell or skeleton of the stadium in place. From there, more information was found via reference photos and even live online video streams. From all of this combined reference material, we’re able to bring the Marlins new home to life in MLB 12 The Show. Our goal is always to give our fans the most realistic sports experience possible, and I’m thrilled we were able to continue that proud tradition here. Check out the video to see the stadium in action… it’s as close as it gets to the real thing without dipping your toes in the surf at Miami Beach!

Don’t forget, MLB 12 The Show for PS3 and PS Vita will be hitting store shelves in just a few weeks on March 6th. Be sure to keep an eye on the PlayStation.Blog and TheShowNation.com for more information in the coming days and weeks on this year’s game.

Welcome to The Show!

Sports fans -

Zone Analog Batting is a by-product of our original Zone Batting hit mechanic and our most recent Analog Batting feature so we wanted to give users the best of both. From talking to our community, we found that some of our Zone Batting players weren’t using the Analog Batting because they couldn’t choose the zone they wanted to swing at. So, we decided to mix the two features and came up with ZAB (Zone Analog Batting). We went through many prototypes before we ended up with what we think may be the most realistic way to bat, ever, in a baseball game.

The concept is both intuitive and challenging at the same time. Getting your stride down with the right stick and simultaneously using the left stick to choose your zone was difficult at first. The key was getting your foot down early (stride with the right stick) to give yourself time to read the pitch and use the left stick to push in the direction of the ball. It’s the most organic and satisfying way to hit and dangerously close to feeling what it’s like to hit a CC Sabathia fastball!

We have five levels of ZAB to choose from, starting with Rookie, where you can get your stride down extremely early without getting penalized, all the way to our most challenging level, Legend, where you get to hit just like a true Major Leaguer.

Pulse Pitching spawned from our first ever pitching style for The Show, Classic Pitching. We like to keep the “classic” features around since we know there’s still a lot of people out there who use them. Pulse pitching is a more interactive and challenging way to pitch, combining both user skill and pitcher attributes that creates a unique way to deliver a pitch. There are five levels of Pulse Pitching, all the way from Rookie to Legend. The better pitchers will have a smaller pulse ring based on the command they have with that particular pitch. Alternatively, the worse command a pitcher has, the bigger the ring and the harder it is to hit your spots. It’s a really fun way to pitch, you may never go back to what you were using before! Here’s a look at our video…

Don’t forget, MLB 12 The Show for PS3 and PS Vita will be hitting store shelves in just a few weeks on March 6th. Be sure to keep an eye on the PlayStation.Blog and TheShowNation.com for more information in the coming days and weeks on this year’s game. And for our Canadian fans, if you haven’t seen yet, we recently announced that Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista will be gracing the cover of MLB 12 The Show in Canada. Here’s a look at our announcement video featuring Jose in action!

Welcome to The Show!

Next up on our MLB 12 The Show developer blog tour is our Franchise mode and the improvements coming to players this year. One of our goals going into this development cycle was to enhance the trade logic for CPU teams to better mimic their real-life counterparts. In order to do so, we had to examine the current system and identify the faults to then build and improve upon it. This year we are considering more factors in each trade offer, with the end result being more realistic trades. Teams are valuing their rosters much higher this year, and they aren’t going to ship out prospects so easily, nor will they offer up too many players to fill a positional void. You’ll also see more trades that better suit the teams’ current strategies (i.e. playoff push vs. rebuilding strategies).

Another addition to the trades system is the interface itself. We’ve revamped the trade screen to bring you more detailed information about the players involved and the likelihood of the trade offer being accepted. All of this is aimed at providing more information to help you make sound moves. Here’s a look at this feature on PS Vita. As we’ve said from the start, MLB 12 The Show on PS Vita will utilize all of the core gameplay features found in the PS3 version, and this is no different here!

I know there’s a lot of interest out there about our PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita integration this year so I wanted to make sure I touched on our Cross-Platform Saves functionality. This feature allows you to take your Franchise, Season, and Road to The Show save files up to the cloud where you can then access those files from either your PS3 or PS Vita. You are limited to one file per mode per PSN user account, which can be overwritten as many times as you’d like.

Moving on to other areas of change, we’ve gone back through the player generation logic to bring you more realistic skill sets for the CPU generated players. You will now see more authentic pitch repertoires, with velocities to match, and less overall balanced players (more speedsters, good hitting/average, below average fielding, etc.).

After addressing the player generation issues, we dove into the team lineups and how they slot players. We’ve come up with a more accurate system that better mimics real Major League lineups. This enhancement is carried throughout all of our season-based modes, including Franchise, Season, and Road to The Show. Once again, here’s what this feature will look like on your PS Vita screen!

After we addressed the important player logic issues, we looked at areas of the user interface to further improve your Franchise experience. The Franchise home menu has been enhanced, bringing you more team and league content, including…adding in your next game information, displaying the current standings, and showing you the current league leaders for batting and pitching. These additions aren’t limited to the Major League ball club, and are also accessible to your Triple-A and Double-A teams.

One last interface area we expanded upon was the player card. We’ve revamped the display to bring you more content in a sleeker package. The player card is also now available during games. You can access a player’s card in any game screen that allows you to highlight that player.

As you can see a lot of focus has been placed on improving the Franchise mode experience this year, enhancements that can be found on both PS3 and PS Vita! Don’t forget, MLB 12 The Show for PS3 and PS Vita will be hitting store shelves in just a few weeks on March 6th. Be sure to keep an eye on the PlayStation Blog and TheShowNation.com for more information in the coming days and weeks on this year’s game.

Welcome to The Show!

After all, that's how you keep yourself from being pegged in the shins.

#mlbtheshow Sony's in-house baseball title steps into the batter's box with this video showing off gameplay and presentation from this year's installment. That's not just realism, folks. It's Enhanced Realism. The game's out on March 6th. More »

With football season about to wrap up, baseball season is slowly creeping back into the hearts and minds of sports fans. Now just six weeks away from the March 6th release of MLB 12 The Show, I’m psyched to show off our new First Look trailer. As you will see, it does a really nice job of highlighting some of the major improvements in this year’s game, including full PlayStation Move support (you’ll notice our cover athlete Adrian Gonzalez rocking the Move controller direct from our studio!), our TruBroadcast presentations (completely refined AI/cameras/audio truly blurring the lines between reality and our game), enhanced realism across the board (true ball physics and situational collision awareness—just to name a few), PlayStation Vita integration, new online features, and a whole lot more. You’ll notice towards the end that we teased a few future updates that we’ll be talking more about in the coming weeks, but more on that later. For now, here’s a look at our MLB 12 First Look Trailer:

Be sure to keep an eye on the PlayStation.Blog and TheShowNation.com for more information in the coming days and weeks on this year’s game.

Welcome to The Show!

Back in November we announced Adrian Gonzalez as our cover athlete for MLB 12 The Show, and today we are excited to reveal that cover image. When sports fans look for MLB 12 The Show on store shelves beginning March 6th, they’ll see the Red Sox All-Star first baseman gracing a cover that has a new, sleek look and one that makes a bold statement – “Highest Rated Sports Game 4 Years in a Row.” Here’s a glimpse…

The Show has been and continues to be the market leading and most realistic baseball title of this console generation and the number-one rated sports video game over the past four years, so we’re psyched to have one the best all-around players in baseball representing MLB 12. The first overall pick by the Florida Marlins in the 2000 MLB Draft, Gonzalez has ascended to the top of his sport, both on the field and at the plate. He is a four-time All-Star (2008-2011), three-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner (2008, 2009, 2011), and 2011 Silver Slugger Award winner.

Here’s a look a few news articles highlighting our features, as well as Adrian Gonzalez: Operation Sports (MLB 12 @ CES), HighSchoolSports.net (developer interview), MLB Network (Gonzalez interview), IGN (studio visit), ESPN.com (Gonzalez interview), ESPN.com (first screenshots), ESPN.com (studio visit), and MLB.com (Gonzalez interview). MLB 12 The Show will hit stores on March 6, 2012 for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, just in time for Spring Training. Be sure to keep an eye on the PlayStation.Blog and TheShowNation.com for more information in the coming days and weeks on this year’s game.

Welcome to The Show!

For years there’s been somewhat of a line between the online areas of MLB The Show and the rest of the game…sometimes that line was faint, sometimes it was distinct. Coming into the development of MLB 12 The Show, we really wanted to eliminate that line so this lead to the idea of Online Everywhere.

The game modes in the main menu of MLB 12 The Show now have all game modes, offline and online in the same list. As you can see from the image below, Home Run Derby is listed in game modes, once selected you’ll be able to select offline or online. You’ll also see Diamond Dynasty, which is an entirely new mode that mixes offline and online components and includes elements never before seen in a sports game (more info on both of those modes to come soon).

Moving over one click to the right from the main menu, there’s now a community menu with the online features available.

Unified Settings
Nobody wants to manage more than one set of user settings. In MLB 12 The Show, you set how you want to play in one spot: Options > User Settings. Regardless of whether you’re playing exhibition, Road to The Show, or an online league game, you’ll use your set of user settings. There are online game negotiated settings to keep the playing field even, but beyond those select few items, you play The Show how you want to play it.

Play Now Plus
Play Now has always been the best place to find an online exhibition game quickly. The single biggest request from the community with Play Now is the ability to customize certain user settings. Play Now Plus offers just that. Under the User Settings > Online Challenge Settings you can select those important settings you most care about and guarantee you find a game that matches those settings. If you’re an avid Guess Pitch off user, set it to Off, go to Exhibition > Play Now and you’ll be matched up with another user with Guess Pitch set to Off.

The best thing about all these features is that they’re available on both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. Thank you for reading and we hope to see you on March 6, 2012 when MLB 12 The Show hits stores exclusively on PlayStation. Welcome the The Show!

Hey Everyone,

Every year we try to assemble a diverse and entertaining soundtrack for MLB The Show. We look to create a balance of established bands and some lesser known, up and coming artists, that offer great music. We all know that music is subjective and it can be tough to create a soundtrack with songs that everybody loves – although we always try! This is one reason why we offer the “My MLB Music” in our “Sounds of the Show” suite of features – so without further adieu, here’s a look at our soundtrack for MLB 12, including the artists, tracks, and websites to find more info about the artists.

Welcome to The Show!

“Gold on the Ceiling”
Performed by The Black Keys

“Zed and Two Naughts”
Performed by The Mars Volta

“New Lands”
Performed by Justice

“Into the Sun”
Performed by The Parlor Mob

“Devil Is a Lady”
Performed by The Chain Gang of 1974

“No Love”
Performed by Hooray for Earth

“Learn My Lesson”
Performed by The Sheepdogs

“Struck Dumb”
Performed by The Futureheads

“U Got the Look”
Performed by JEFF the Brotherhood

“She’s Enough”
Performed by Atmosphere

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to head down to Sony's San Diego Studios where I was treated to a full tour of everything Sony's MLB team has in store for MLB 12: The Show. If you haven't heard, this newest iteration in the franchise is scheduled to hit both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita on March 6, 2012...

Despite my bulging pectorals, rippling six-pack abs, and chiseled physique, I’m honestly not much of an athlete. But I don’t need to be a sports expert to see the appeal behind MLB 12 The Show, the slavishly faithful baseball simulation that consistently ranks as the sport’s most respected gaming franchise. At a holiday showcase event in New York City last night, I took a few swings with an early build of MLB 12 The Show, including the PlayStation Move-enhanced PS3 edition and the all-new PS Vita iteration.

The game’s community manager, Ramone Russell, described how the San Diego team began development with a gruelingly in-depth focus test. The goal: to suss out what core players didn’t like about last year’s edition. “The key feedback we heard involved our presentation and commentary, so that’s our number one focus this year.” Russell described a new feature called True Broadcast Presentation, which accurately recreates broadcast camera cuts and other presentation signatures you’d see in a televised MLB broadcast. “We’re trying to blur the lines between baseball simulation on your PS3 and what you’d see on MLB.TV sitting on your couch,” Russell explained. “When a batter strikes out, the camera will cut and you will see his face, his anger.”

Commentary, which Russell specifically described as the “number one complaint” from last year’s game, is seeing a similarly massive overhaul. “You’ll hear more season-specific commentary, more conversation pieces,” Russell explained. “The commentators are going to talk about the MVP race, the Cy Young race, the series that you played in two days before. They’re going to talk about how your pitcher is having an awful year because he’s 5 and 15.”

Expansive PlayStation Move support is another key upgrade this year, being tightly integrated into almost every facet of the game, from batting to pitching to fielding to baserunning. Then there’s the hotly anticipated PS Vita version, which will mirror virtually every game feature, mode, and mechanic from the PS3 version and displays graphics that sparkle on the system’s 5’’ OLED screen. You’ll also be able to share your PS3 save files to the cloud, then pull them down on PS Vita and pick up your progress seamlessly.

I sat down with Russell to dig into the all the new details. If you’ve got further questions, let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best to get you answers.

PlayStation.Blog: What’s your personal favorite addition this year?
Ramone Russell, Community Manager: I think it’s our new ball physics. Our programmer ripped out every line of last year’s code and completely re-invented the way the ball acts. It’s a nerd feature, but it adds so much to the game. The baseball gains and loses energy like a real baseball, and if you go into replay, you can count the rotations – that ball is going to spin the way it’s supposed to. This opens up the game because we have bloopers, ricochets off the bases, balls going into no man’s land….it’s much more dynamic and engaging.

PSB: Let’s talk turkey on PlayStation Move. It’s not just for batting, right?
RR: Last year was just Home Run Derby mode, but this year it’s used for batting, pitching, fielding, and base running. There is a learning curve to all of this, but we wanted to make it more fun than just flicking your Move at the screen over and over. That would get boring!

Batting’s much better. Last year, you just saw a floating bat, which created a disconnect. This year, you see the full batter on screen and he’ll move his bat around as you move your bat around. Pitching is really simple: you grab the Move, draw it back, and “throw” it like a real baseball. For fielding, you’ll actually catch the ball when you’re playing with Move, then flick it over to throw it to first base, flick it up for second base, or down for home plate. When you’re running bases, you’ll play as the base runner coach. To signal to your runner to advance, you swirl the Move clockwise; to stop him, you hold the Move straight up. We wanted to be creative with the motion control support, so we hope people like it.

PSB: What was the overall goal for the PS Vita version of MLB 12 The Show?
RR: We started out with a prototype phase. We had to decide on what kind of experience we wanted to give PS Vita players – it’s a handheld, so the play sessions are usually quicker. We thought about doing something totally different, maybe an arcade version of baseball. But we ultimately thought it made the most sense to recreate the entire PS3 experience on PS Vita. The Vita’s powerful enough to do that. So every single feature this year, from MLB 09, 10, 11 are all in the PS Vita version.

We’re also taking advantage of the unique hardware. You can use the front touch to navigate menus or select pitches, and you can use the back touchscreen for fielding and pick-offs.

Have you designed any special modes for PS Vita to accommodate those quicker play sessions?
Yep, that was important because research shows that handheld players play for 15 to 30 minutes, tops. We give you the ability to fast-play through a game by cutting out a lot of the presentation, the camera cuts, to shorten the length of games.

Will PS3 and PS Vita players be able to compete with each other online?
Not this year. It’s something that’s on our radar and we’ll investigate for next year.

Will the PS Vita version include multiplayer at all?
In some way, shape or form, yes. We’re still in the works on that.

What’s the release timeframe for the PS Vita version?
It’ll be release in a similar timeframe as the PS3 version. We haven’t nailed down the exact timing yet for either game, but you can expect it around the same timeframe as the PS3 version this spring.

Graphically, how would you say the PS Vita version stacks up to the PS3 game?
When you see it, I think you’ll be surprised. Vita’s a powerhouse. We have it locked at 30 frames per second, and the visuals are very comparable to the PS3 version. That’s something we just couldn’t accomplish on PSP.

You’ve been suspiciously quiet about multiplayer modes so far – you’re probably still ironing out the details, but can you give PlayStation.Blog readers a sneak peek of what’s in store?
For PS3, we have a brand-new mode that is really, really innovative. Nobody has every done a multiplayer mode like this in any sports game, ever. We’re going to reveal it in early 2012. So in addition to the other features I told you about, there’s still this secret feature that we’ll be talking about soon. We think people are going to love it.

“This economy’s been down for the last few years, and it’s hard to ask somebody to spend $60 every year,” Russell concluded. “But we never want anybody to have to think twice about that, we want it to be a no-brainer. There’s so much content here that you’ll never want to touch MLB 11 The Show ever again.”

#mlbtheshow There was a time when console manufacturers made a point of having first-party sports sims on their machines but that era's long since passed. Sony's The Show franchise carries on that legacy and, after a few pitches in the dirt at first, the PS3 exclusive baseball franchise is enjoying a run of acclaim for the last few years. So, it's safe to say that next year's entry in the bat-swinging series is hotly anticipated. The screens above give a glimpse at the visuals from MLB 12 The Show, including looks at Orioles outfielder Adam Jones, Orioles third baseman Mark Reynolds and Blue Jays outfielder José Bautista. You'll also see Padres third baseman Chase Headley, Padres starting pitcher Mat Latos and Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez, too. More details about game features and modes are surely forthcoming but, for now, bask in the sunny splendor of these virtual ballpark heroes. More »