How MLB The Show Could Stay Fresh After October

[NastySplitty]

Add the World Baseball Classic. An add-on for MLB 16 or pre-order bonus for MLB 17.

[dalger21]

I am usually the opposite of most people here. I play for the first month or so "The Show" is released. I stop playing because of other games I am playing throughout the baseball season. I'll play off and on til around Feb when spring training starts back up. I then play "The Show" a lot more going into March and the next iteration of the game. It keeps it fresh for me and I don't get burned out of it.

[Thrash13]

Quote: Originally Posted by NastySplitty

Add the World Baseball Classic. An add-on for MLB 16 or pre-order bonus for MLB 17.

I'm definitely on board with this as well. I'm not sure how hard the licensing would be to obtain, but I think the 2K series had the WBC in at one time.

I usually play The Show until the fall when all the other sports games start coming out, but this year I've played The Show much more this time of year and plan to keep playing when I can until 17 is released in the spring.

If they added the things mentioned in the article, it would only help an already great game franchise. That being said, I really hope some of the fielding issues and commentary get the most attention this time around.

[KBLover]

Didn't know there was a video game baseball playing season - so that I could play "out of season" :P

What can it do?

If people don't want to play baseball games in non-baseball season...anything they add can't turn it back to baseball season. It's still playing a baseball game outside of irl baseball season...which is said people don't do.

I wonder how prevalent it is - do people really shelve their The Show games because baseball season is over? They like the game from March to October, but November = I'm not touching it?

It's...baseball. Even a "cool new feature" is still (I would think) playing baseball. In a video game. "Out of season". Even if it had a BaseWars mode (i.e. like the old NES game)...it's still baseball...Conquest is the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" mode...it's still baseball...Even if you could create teams, players, leagues, universes, a la OOTP...it's still baseball. You will still have to play baseball.

So if people don't play baseball games at all "out of season", wouldn't that same mindset come back into play?

I wonder if OOTP has this issue. If the answer is "no because of online play"...MLBTS already has that. Online Franchise. Ranked Play. Battle Royale. DD.

If it's having the "real" players that's "stale", sim years of franchise, set all management and stuff to CPU, then play in like year 10 - you'll have a largely fictional league and the "real players" probably won't be anything like themselves on the field (or get a fictional roster from the vault). Or do a fantasy draft. Having the Red Sox with Yu Darvish, Kenta Maeda, Kyle Schwarber, and Joey Gallo turning into a slow Mike Trout is lots of fun. Play one season at a time fantasy drafting a new team (I don't do this but it would keep it from being "stale" as you could get a new team each time with new challenges).

Heck, play a different slider set every series or month or season. That will change the experience. Grab a ton of them off the Vault - just download them. Who cares who makes it, what it does, etc. Just get it. Pick one at random every series/month/whenever. Load it and play until your next time to change. Combine it with Dynamic Difficulty set to max for maximum variety.

I don't think The Show necessarily needs to change, but the mindset of players that tells them "I can't play baseball outside of irl season because it's stale now".

[bravesfan1984]

Stay fresh? I just started my franchise after the season concluded with adjusted ratings for the 2016 season. It's as fresh today for me as the day one purchase months ago. With carryover saves, I'm more inclined to continue playing.

[Retropyro]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bullit

My play actually increases in the winter months,because I don't have real baseball dividing my attention. I have finished a season and a half in my Nationals franchise. If my track record holds I should finish 2 if not 3 more years before the next game comes out. But I would like more off season features added. like those mentioned above.

This. Add in NBA 2K17 being a bust this year, The Show will have my full attention until MLB 17 comes out. Franchise and RTTS will keep me occupied and entertained.

[JeremyB]

Just going into mid July in my Jays franchise

As I've said before there is nothing better in the frigid depths of a winter storm then kicking back with a hot cup of coffee and being in the warm summer months of the show

[bukktown]

Quote: Originally Posted by JeremyB

Just going into mid July in my Jays franchise As I've said before there is nothing better in the frigid depths of a winter storm then kicking back with a hot cup of coffee and being in the warm summer months of the show

Tell me you can't almost smell the fresh cut grass!!!