If there has been a theme to the recent MLB 15: The Show live streams, it's that the development team is focused on the details. From skin tones to lighting, the new additions reinforce the idea that The Show is a series which gets a lot of the "little things" right.
There's a dual danger to this approach though, albeit one mitigated by Sony San Diego's commitment to a deep and transparent marketing strategy: casual users may miss these minute improvements, while long time fans can find plenty of details that are still missing.
For someone who only dabbles in baseball or sporadically buys The Show, it's easy to overlook subtle graphical and gameplay improvements. Does he or she care if skin-tones are more accurate if "Road to the Show" is more or less the same? Are the differences in dynamic monthly lighting noticeable if one rarely attends a game in real life? Is anyone really watching the third basemen during a routine single to right field?
It could be argued that these types are gamers aren't necessarily the target audience of The Show. In some ways, The Show is the micro-brewery or jazz music of sports games--pleasant enough for the uninitiated, but full of intricacies designed for the aficionado.
If you are a self-proclaimed student of the game, you'll most likely be bothered by the details the development team hasn't got right yet. Domes that don't close. Wrong seat types or colors. Empty camera wells. Ball boys, but no ball girls. You may care less about licensed equipment than if the position of a uniform number is too high or low.
So, these details can be a double-edged sword, though it's a sword Sony San Diego has had great practice wielding. I haven't played MLB 15 yet, but for my money, no series has been as consistently good as The Show. Nor does any other game come as close to truly representing its sport.
These opinions are due largely to this constant focus on the details. Whether you agree with this strategy or not, you have to appreciate its uniqueness. In an industry where flash tends to trump substance and noise sells, The Show is nearly cerebral. Instead of effects-laden trailers, we get two-plus hour Twitch feeds looking at lighting shifts, background buildings, and wet turf.
So, when MLB 15: The Show drops in just over two weeks, we'll first marvel and/or complain about the big things: the equipment, Inside the Show, online play. Maybe there'll be some game-breaking glitch that takes months to patch. Some may trade it in within a month, claiming that too little has changed from 2014. Given time, though, many will be posting their favorite "little thing" well into the fall, taking the time to catch the nuances of Sony's subtle approach.
Time will also tell whether the newest version of The Show can also be called the best. Regardless, this Spring, I encourage you to be a connoisseur of virtual baseball. Look for those little touches that regularly make The Show a special series.
What "small" addition has you most excited for MLB 15: The Show?