What makes The Show 2020 worth $60? (a somewhat cynical overview)

[FindingTim]

@ MODS

I don't think this thread was written fairly or with a clear mind.

Can someone please delete it, and rid it from my conscience?

Thanks


Hey all -

I read these forums daily and I've been reading early reviews and watching gameplay footage on Youtube.

I'm right at a 50-50 split about whether or not I want to purchase this game.

My more cynical side worries that the development crew has tried to cater to both the casual fan (Javy Baez as a cover athlete speaks to this imo) and the hardcore baseball romantics looking for a deep and authentic simulation. Will both parties be satisfied, or will the satisfaction of one be at the expense of another?

I'm desperate for reasons to buy this game. Here is a quick summation of what I've gathered as positive reactions from the Impressions thread:

1. "The sound of the ball off the bat!!! Orgasmic!!!"
2. Minor leaguers are in the game (this is probably the #1 appeal for me)
3. There are real advertisements! (personally, this is almost a non-factor)
4. Improved variety of hit types (don't we hear this every year?)
5. Star players stand out more? Fielding ability matters more.
6. Hitting feels a little more natural this year. (in my opinion, old generations of baseball video games more accurately captured what it actually feels like to hit than The Show - which feels more mechanical and pre-determined in comparison)

Here are the negatives I seem to be hearing:

1. Animations are still tired, bland, and mostly unchanged. (watching Youtube gameplay vids, my brain is hard-wired from years of repetition that I know exactly what the player's movements are about to look like the millisecond it begins -- for example, that awkward semi-cross-body throw from 3B to 1B, followed by the first basemen's 'casual' stride and throw across the diamond. That animation is so tired and overdone, it's about as interesting and fresh as me taking a leak. (sorry to be vulgar... just felt like an apt comparison). Additionally, hitting mechanics and animations, which should have been a TOP priority for years, still look mechanical and programmed. About as smooth as Chuck Hayes shooting a free throw.

2. The re-location is super limited, and not really worth the hassle. Where is the realism when you're playing home games in Old Miami ?? Or moving the Rays to Montreal, only to have them play at Industry Field. Weak sauce. NCAA Baseball for PS3 had an awesome create-a-stadium... yet we don't have the resources or capability to implement one in 2020? I don't buy it.

3. Minor league rosters are a.) incomplete and b.) lacking accurate player options - which is, frankly, a franchise-breaking flaw that needs to be fixed asap.

4. Commentary is dry and unchanged -- a similar feel to that generic voicemail message that you haven't changed in a decade.

_______________________

Did anyone ever play Baseball Pro '98 ? I think it had Mariners Randy Johnson on the cover. It's an unheralded, overlooked classic. And somehow, Sierra nailed the romantic, somewhat-nerdy, stat-oriented look and feel of the soul of baseball love. It's hard to explain, but they touched on something that aligned with the fabric of the game.

I find myself skeptical that these developers truly love baseball in that same way. In fact I'm a bit skeptical that the face of the team, Ramone Russell, even loves baseball that much. (if I'm off here, please tar and feather me). I'm tired of hearing about "slick" new features like Perfect-Perfect. I don't want an arcadey-modern menu and text overlay that appeals to modern 17-year-old fans. I want something timeless and elegant -- less Michelob Ultra and more aged petit sirah.

Instead of concocting new Diamond Dynasty modes and adding autographs to Pesky Pole, how about fine-tuning all the intricacies of Franchise mode, which deserves to be treated as the heart and soul of any sports video game - even if the numbers lean toward online.

For some reason, I find myself a bit disenfranchised. I want to be excited. I want to feel like the developers poured their hearts and souls into the facets of the game that actually matter. I am desperate to be convinced that this game is worth my hard-earned cash, and that it's a labor of love made by true die-hard baseball enthusiasts. Yet I find myself skeptical that it's become a mild cash-grab, with just enough improvements to pass it off as a new version. "Relocation" has been billed as a key new future. What exactly does this re-location consist of, aside from changing the text for Location and Team Name, the team logo, and the default stadium? It sounds like the template for DD create-a-team was simply transferred to franchise. "Huuge new feature!!" ... (Dr. Evil voice: "riight....")

Someone, please, convince me I'm not just a jaded, cynical a******. Tell me this game is a superb addition to the franchise, and I'm not seeing or thinking clearly.

I beg you.


Note: I haven't lost sight of the big picture. When you imagine a video game landscape where there is no baseball video game at all, it makes clear all the great things The Show brings to the table. Similar to how it's easy to get lost in all of planet earth's problems, and lose sight of the fact that it's a miracle that there is anything at all.. The Show does a lot of things right. But, like a really good movie that isn't quite great - and, assuming that, like a movie, we are considering video games to be works of art - I reserve the right to a critical viewpoint - one which dreams on what the work could be, while still appreciating what is.

[Fredette]

What did you expect? Every Sports Games have the same problems since PS3 era. It's like a curse when you release every year the same game , with same engine, for fullprice + microtransactions + digital deluxe versions.

I watched Videos for MLB the Show 20 RTTS on YT and it's feel like the 19 version with some minor tweaks...Like i said, a patched version. Let's hope PS5 will bring up fresh wind...

[countryboy]

I'm not going to try to convince you to buy the game, as you can read through the impressions thread and various other threads and judge for yourself whether the game is worth the asking price or not.

All I will say is this, as a response to your plea...

I have been playing baseball video games since I was a young tot playing Baseball on the original Atari 2600. If its a baseball game, I have played it and likely own it.

On the diamond, MLB '20 is the best all around playing baseball game that I have ever played. Period. Off the diamond, it leaves things to be desired no doubt. But the core of this game, the reason that I play this game is the gameplay, and The Show '20 captures what I have played in real life, and what I see on TV better than anything else that is available on the market.

If gameplay is your number one priority, you at least owe it to yourself to try it out. If having a full fledged, in depth franchise mode is your number one priority, then I would pass on trying out '20, because its going to be essentially what you have experienced the past few years.

[Ace2734]

I just want to say I absolutely love your metaphors, similes and all comparisons. Perhaps unintentionally, feeling “disenfranchised” was the best one.

On a more serious note, I agree with you on pretty much everything. For my money (literally) it’s worth $60 because it’s the best sports sim on the market by far.

It’s flawed, sure, but visuals and gameplay improve enough for me to justify the cost.

Hopefully the future holds franchise upgrades and less diamond dynasty/rtts stuff. I hate to beat that dying horse, but those modes cater to the younger, casual fan and that’s where The Show and their team has their targets set. (Just look at the silly promotion material)


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[Phillies19]

I'm sorry but if you have to write all of that to try find a justification to spend $60 in a game, I think just forget it altogether and move on.

[Caulfield]

‘‘...we want to talk, right down to earth, in a language everybody here can easily understand.’’

look in my eyes, what do you see?


at $1.25 a week, a yearly purchase, if you enjoy baseball, getting the Show is no difficult decision.

[KnightTemplar]

Much of what you read here is purely subjective. You can either give the posts weight, or not. From ‘frame rate is smooth’ to ‘frame rate is awful’. From ‘game color looks bland’ to ‘game color jumps out at you’, from ‘the pitch speed makes the game unplayable’ to ‘they finally got the pitch speed to where it should be’. There’s really no advice that can be objectively applied using these boards. I only listen to Caufield .......my wife worries about me.

[Caulfield]

Quote: Originally Posted by KnightTemplar

Much of what you read here is purely subjective. You can either give the posts weight, or not. From ‘frame rate is smooth’ to ‘frame rate is awful’. From ‘game color looks bland’ to ‘game color jumps out at you’, from ‘the pitch speed makes the game unplayable’ to ‘they finally got the pitch speed to where it should be’. There’s really no advice that can be objectively applied using these boards. I only listen to Caufield .......my wife worries about me.

your wife is right to worry, if you listen to Caulfield, you in deep poo-doo