Right-analog stick control was first devised in baseball games with the release of MVP 06 NCAA Baseball from EA Sports. In the game, both "Load" and "Fire" batting and Precision Throw Control were introduced, allowing you to bat and throw, respectively, using only the right-analog stick. EA Sports continued the trend with its next baseball title, MVP 07 NCAA Baseball, which reinvented its old button-based pitching system with a new "Rock" and "Fire" pitching system, again mapped to the right-analog stick. This system allowed users to simulate the back-and-forth motion a pitcher would make during his windup, and influenced where the ball would be pitched. Now, a year after Rock and Fire Pitching, which baseball game -- 2K8 or The Show –- has constructed the most fun and intuitive pitching system?

MLB 2K8 has the most in-depth and unique pitching system of any baseball game on the market. The ability to throw different types of pitches based solely on the user’s two-step motion with the right-analog stick is a breath of fresh air when it comes to pitching in baseball games. The system brings a new level of control to consumers and is a completely different idea concerning how to make pitching more interesting in video games. All too often, it seems that pitching is one of the more boring aspects of video game baseball. Thankfully, 2K Sports has developed a system that eliminates the boredom associated with it.

With that being said, 2K Sports still needs to work on its pitching system, as it is not yet as consistent or as fun as it could and should be. Within the first few weeks of playing 2K8, it was very frustrating how often a "meatball" pitch would be thrown, likely resulting in a home run. Decreasing the frequency of "meatball" pitches would make the game much more accessible for consumers, especially when they are just beginning to learn how to pitch in the game.

Also, on a few occasions, a downward motion on the right-analog stick would not be recognized by the game, resulting in a missed location and, again, a "meatball" pitch being thrown. Finally, if the system could be changed so that there was no expanding or contracting circle that dictated when to execute the second movement of a pitch, it would greatly help the game’s presentation. As it is, the game looks fairly good, but judging when to execute a pitch based on an expanding circle takes away from the player’s immersion and feeling that he or she is watching a live game. Presentation values are currently hindered by this system, so changing the visual cues would improve the realism of the game, and subsequently add to the fun factor of it.

Sony’s game, however, has the more fun pitching system. It is certainly not as unique as the one in MLB 2K8, and, admittedly, is merely a recombination of pitching modes from previous baseball games. However, there is so much variability in the system that it provides a fun and exciting pitching experience. Whereas some games have used a similar pitching system in the past -- utilizing a meter to simulate where the pitch will be thrown -- it was usually entirely too easy to be completely accurate with every pitch thrown. The system utilized in MLB 08: The Show, on the other hand, deals with this pixel-perfect precision issue by not allowing users to hit their locations with pinpoint accuracy very often, adding more realism and fun to the game because no pitcher in real life ever knows exactly where his pitch will end up. This variability in the pitching system also increases the replayability factor of the game, because no two pitching performances will be the same, regardless of how skilled the player is with the system.

Even though the system works very well in its current state, consumers are demanding more control in games these days, and a button-based pitching system may have turned away some consumers from Sony’s baseball game, especially considering MLB 2K8 offers so much user control. Because of this, Sony will likely need to overhaul its current system in order to both stay competitive with 2K Sports next year, and to show consumers that it is continuing to innovate, and not simply sticking to a well-established control system.

While MLB 2K8 has shown drastic improvement when it comes to user control when pitching, MLB 08: The Show currently contains the favored pitching system. This is not, however, because consumers would prefer to have less control in their game. Instead, it is because the pitching system in The Show, simple as it is, gives more realistic results when pitching. Because of this, The Show provides a more realistic experience for the consumer, increasing the fun factor and replayability of the game.

Hopefully, during the offseason, the developers at 2K Sports will be able to work on these few criticisms of the pitching system. If they do, they will have the best pitching system on the market, and unless Sony makes some major changes to increase user control in its own pitching system, it will quickly become the follower, and not the leader, when it comes to innovation.