MLB The Show 16 Trailer, Josh Donaldson is the Cover Athlete - Ships 3.29.16

[seanjeezy]

Quote: Originally Posted by countryboy

Not making any excuses, just pointing out facts. Look, I'm all for upgrading player models and whatever else can make the game better. The difference between myself and some others is that I don't go around claiming the dev team is lazy, stupid, lacks passion, needs to prioritize better, etc....etc.... I understand that this team has limitations based on a number of factors, most notably being they are half the size of most, if not all, other sports titles.

I think the people making such comments don't fully understand how hard it is to release an AAA quality game on an annual basis. Look at other annual AAA titles and you see that have either a) massive development teams or b) alternate studios every other year. Two notable examples of the latter are COD and Assassin's Creed.

I remember seeing a pic of polyphony's (gran turismo) office and there were matresses under the desks, and those of us who play GT know how often those games come out. These guys must really love their jobs if they are willing to stay the night at the office enough to have a mattresses there.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by seanjeezy

I think the people making such comments don't fully understand how hard it is to release an AAA quality game on an annual basis. Look at other annual AAA titles and you see that have either a) massive development teams or b) alternate studios every other year. Two notable examples of the latter are COD and Assassin's Creed. I remember seeing a pic of polyphony's (gran turismo) office and there were matresses under the desks, and those of us who play GT know how often those games come out. These guys must really love their jobs if they are willing to stay the night at the office enough to have a mattresses there.

This is why I wish the sports gaming industry would stop releasing games annually.
With the exception of a few games with huge budgets and large development teams, the majority of them simply don't have enough time to provide a worthy and noticeable upgrade on a year to year basis.

I hear Konami is considering going the digital route with PES where you pay for annual roster updates, patches, etc, and then every 2 or 3 years, they release a new fully fleshed out game.

I'd be all for that.
Obviously the model has to be such that their annual profits aren't lost. And I'd be naive to believe this isn't the sole reason it's not occurring now.
But I wonder if there isn't a model that can be implemented where profits remain in tact while also providing a meaningful, noticeable release every 2 or 3 years.

[redsox4evur]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

This is why I wish the sports gaming industry would stop releasing games annually. With the exception of a few games with huge budgets and large development teams, the majority of them simply don't have enough time to provide a worthy and noticeable upgrade on a year to year basis. I hear Konami is considering going the digital route with PES where you pay for annual roster updates, patches, etc, and then every 2 or 3 years, they release a new fully fleshed out game. I'd be all for that. Obviously the model has to be such that their annual profits aren't lost. And I'd be naive to believe this isn't the sole reason it's not occurring now. But I wonder if there isn't a model that can be implemented where profits remain in tact while also providing a meaningful, noticeable release every 2 or 3 years.

Konami is a different story because they are going out of business, IIRC. Also this needs to be brought up every time when this discussion comes up. The League more likely than not has in their contract they want a game made every year. I'm going to rough base guess to provide an example for you. The Show sells 5 millions copies at $60 per game. Comes out to a gross revenue of $300 million. Now let's say the league and player's association takes 10% of that $300 million, so $30 million. Now they go to a biannual release. 2nd year content sells for $10 bucks, and I will say every person who buys the game buys the new (even though that probably would not happen IRL). Sony makes $50 million in gross revenue. Why does Sony do this when they can sell a brand new copy of the game for $60 and make $300 million.

I get why the consumers want it because it SHOULD lead to better games coming out. But I can't wrap my head around a company leaving hundreds of millions of dollars on the table to sell a new game every 2 years.

[tnixen]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

This is why I wish the sports gaming industry would stop releasing games annually. With the exception of a few games with huge budgets and large development teams, the majority of them simply don't have enough time to provide a worthy and noticeable upgrade on a year to year basis. I hear Konami is considering going the digital route with PES where you pay for annual roster updates, patches, etc, and then every 2 or 3 years, they release a new fully fleshed out game. I'd be all for that. Obviously the model has to be such that their annual profits aren't lost. And I'd be naive to believe this isn't the sole reason it's not occurring now. But I wonder if there isn't a model that can be implemented where profits remain in tact while also providing a meaningful, noticeable release every 2 or 3 years.

No way would I want to wait 2 or 3 years to get a "major" new version of MLB The Show! You really would be ok with just getting roster updates and patches for the next 2 or god for bid 3 years without any major new features added like the rumored Opened and Closed Roofs option for example? I would get bored so quick if I had to play the same exact baseball game with no major additions for 2 years let alone 3.

Most of us here really look forward to this time of year because we know that it's almost time to see what new exciting features will be coming in the next version of the game

Please Sony don't ever think of doing that!!!

[Turbojugend]

Quote: Originally Posted by redsox4evur

The League more likely than not has in their contract they want a game made every year.

Exactly, which is why MLB 2K13 (an argument against competition producing better games if I ever heard one) turned out to be a clone of 2K12, only with updated rosters and the Astros switch. 2K was obligated to produce an annual baseball game for MLB, apparently it didn't state anywhere how much effort they'd have to put into it.

For the existing release model to change, the leagues have to be onboard as well. And they are not necessarily concerned with producing a better video game as they are their own bottom line.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by tnixen

No way would I want to wait 2 or or 3 years to get a "major" new version of MLB The Show! You really would be ok with just getting roster updates and patches for the next 2 or god for bid 3 years without any major new features added like the rumored Opened and Closed Roofs option for example? I would get bored so quick if I had to play the same exact baseball game with no major additions for 2 years let alone 3. Most of us here really look forward to this time of year because we know that it's almost time to see what new exciting features will be coming in the next version of the game Please Sony don't ever think of doing that!!!

If you look at it subjectively, that's pretty much what we're getting now.
Roster updates, tweaks to gameplay and a few extra lines of commentary (Not just referring to The Show, but most sports games).

I didn't buy The Show after '12. When I popped in '15, it felt like the same game.

Quote:

Exactly, which is why MLB 2K13 (an argument against competition producing better games if I ever heard one) turned out to be a clone of 2K12, only with updated rosters and the Astros switch. 2K was obligated to produce an annual baseball game for MLB, apparently it didn't state anywhere how much effort they'd have to put into it. For the existing release model to change, the leagues have to be onboard as well. And they are not necessarily concerned with producing a better video game as they are their own bottom line.

This is factually incorrect.
2K had no intentions of making MLB2K13. It was MLB that came to them and basically begged them to make a 2K13 just so the Xbox wasn't devoid of a real baseball game.
So they obliged them and put in minimal efforts towards it.

[ryanmc564]

2k baseball game were a head scratcher. in a sense they did do some things right in the beginning last gen, 2k7 and 2k8 being the best of them but then they seemed to go backwards in quality. i'll give 2k credit on gesture pitching, analog hitting, jersey animations (and player models the first couple of years, then The Show put them to shame) collisions and above all else stat tracking, 2k had so many stats I didn't even know what to do with. But while 2k regressed down the line, The Show has always improved every year with the occasional step backwards on some things (but on only minor issues). While I do wish that The Show do stuff differently in the graphics department, they still crank out a quality baseball game year after year that does improve upon itself every year.

[Beatles]

I've got to think 16 will be the last version for PS3. Kudos for supporting it this long. I picked up a PS4 over BF weekend and so my next The Show purchase will be for it but I bought 15 for PS3 months ago and am really enjoying it.