Dustin Toms: Personally I'm not too fond of the move. I think it is a step in the right direction for SCEA, but I have never been a big fan of analog sticks controlling most of the actions in sports games. I will admit that I love the shot stick in NBA 2K11, but other than that I like to keep it old school with the buttons. Last year's game was a great game, but it was still a disappointment to me. I was expecting something great, something fantastic, but instead I got a lot of the same. Hopefully the new analog controls it will kick out the staleness that The Show had last year and give it some new life.

Steve Noah: I think it is a welcome addition, and one that is long overdue. It gives us another option, and I mention "option" only because if it is something I don't like, I'll just use the old control system. I know it will take some time to get used to, but I think it's great that the team is giving us something different. A check swing will be a lot easier to execute using the sticks, as opposed to a button press. (I've always had a check-swing issue with The Show series. Maybe it's my strong thumb.)

Caley Roark: I've liked analog controls in other baseball games, from the MVP series to the refined pitching of MLB 2K10, so I welcome this option in MLB 11. As much as I loved MLB 10, games became a bit repetitive to me simply because of the repetition of pressing buttons. I like that the analog controls put the emphasis on you as a controller rather than on the numbers being crunched behind the scenes. In any case, I can't see this as a bad thing because you will be given the option to switch back. Options are never bad, and I am glad to see the SCEA developers pushing their game instead of resting on their laurels.

Kelvin Mak: This gets a tentative thumbs up from me. Analog stick controls are not the easiest thing to get right, but because of The Show's track record, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. But to be honest, I just don't see the pressing need for The Show to go analog. For a game like NHL, it made sense because the "shot stick" opened up a boatload of possibilities for new moves that you could not pull off before. But for a baseball game where the switch to analog is, as far as I can tell from the early previews, based on the reason that twirling a stick is a huge step closer to the real thing than pressing a button, it just does not do much for me. However, like others have said, the good thing is that it's an option, so it's easy for me to revert back to the old scheme if I don't like it.

Christian McLeod: Color me a bit nervous. While I'm confident in SCEA, no developer to date has been able to really make analog controls work perfectly in a baseball game. From check-swing issues to a lack of pitching feedback to over-sensitivity in the field, there always seems to be an overriding issue that hampers an analog setup. To be honest, I'm just not sure analog controls are conducive to a better baseball gaming experience. But it does inject the game with more excitement versus repetitive button presses.

I also give the developers a lot of credit for realizing it was time to breathe some new life into their game -- even if the execution of MLB 11's analog control scheme sounds a lot like a carbon copy of MVP NCAA Baseball 07's rock and fire pitching and hitting. It is reassuring to know that if the developers were going to emulate another baseball game's analog controls, that they would choose the game that has done the best job to date. More options are always better, and it's good to see MLB 11 offering the total package when it comes to controls.

Chase Becotte: Count me as one of the people who didn't really feel like analog controls were needed. I prefer analog controls for fielding, but otherwise I had found a nice balance when it came to pitching and hitting in The Show. My real issue was more that the hitting could not be tweaked enough via sliders because the PCI was inaccurate. (For those unaware, PCI dealt with where you aimed the analog stick when swinging the bat.) But now that the PCI is being tweaked so you won't make contact with the ball if your PCI isn't in the zone where the ball is, that quells one of my major issues. Nevertheless, I'm not opposed to trying new things so I will certainly give these controls a chance. And even if I only end up using the new fielding controls, that would still be an upgrade to my gaming experience with The Show.