MLB: The Show
MLB: The Show is a Major League Baseball video game series produced by San Diego Studio, a development team that is part of SIE Worldwide Studios. The series has received critical and commercial acclaim,[1][2][3][4] and since 2014 has been the sole baseball simulation video game on the market.[5]
| MLB: The Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Developer(s) | San Diego Studio |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S |
| First release | MLB 06: The Show February 28, 2006 |
| Latest release | MLB The Show 20 March 17, 2020 |
The series debuted in 2006 with MLB 06: The Show for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, following the MLB series from 989 Sports. There has been a new release in the series every year since 2006.
The series was released on PlayStation 2 from 2006's MLB 06: The Show through 2011's MLB 11: The Show and was available on the PlayStation 3 from MLB 07: The Show through MLB The Show 16. Portable versions of the series for either the PlayStation Portable or PlayStation Vita accompanied every entry from MLB 06: The Show through MLB 15: The Show. The series started releasing on the PlayStation 4 with MLB The Show 16.
After over two decades of exclusivity with PlayStation consoles and seven years as the sole baseball simulation on the console market, on December 9, 2019, it was announced that MLB: The Show will cease to be an exclusive PlayStation franchise, and will be released on other console platforms in the future, though the edition of the game in development at the time—MLB The Show 20—would be a PlayStation 4 exclusive.[5] MLB The Show 21 will be the first title in the series to feature on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
Gameplay
Gameplay simulates a typical game of baseball, with the player controlling an entire team or a select player. The player may take control of one of 30 Major League Baseball teams in any game mode (excluding Road to the Show) and use that team in gameplay. The Series has variable game modes in which a player takes control of a team for a single game, one season, or a franchise (multiple seasons).[6]
Predecessors from 989 Sports
| Game | Release date | Cover Athlete | Platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star | Team | |||
| MLB '98 | July 1, 1997 | Bernie Williams | New York Yankees | PlayStation |
| MLB '99 | March 31, 1998 | Cal Ripken Jr. | Baltimore Orioles | |
| MLB 2000 | February 28, 1999 | Mo Vaughn | Anaheim Angels | |
| MLB 2001 | February 29, 2000 | Chipper Jones | Atlanta Braves | |
| MLB 2002 | May 7, 2001 | Andruw Jones | ||
| MLB 2003 | June 17, 2002 | Barry Bonds | San Francisco Giants | |
| MLB 2004 | April 30, 2003 | Shawn Green | Los Angeles Dodgers | PlayStation, PlayStation 2 |
| MLB 2005 | March 4, 2004 | Eric Chavez | Oakland Athletics | |
| MLB 2006 | March 8, 2005 | Vladimir Guerrero | Los Angeles Angels | PlayStation Portable |
Games
Special Edition Covers
| Game | Star | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MLB The Show 21 | Jackie Robinson | Brooklyn Dodgers |
International Covers
| Game | Star | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MLB 13: The Show | Wei-Yin Chen | Baltimore Orioles |
| MLB 14: The Show | ||
| MLB 15: The Show | ||
| MLB The Show 16 | ||
| MLB The Show 17 | Miami Marlins |
Commentators
| Commentator | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Total appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Vasgersian |  | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
|
15 |
| Dave Campbell | | | | | | | |  | | | | |
|
|
|
7 |
| Rex Hudler | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
|
6 |
| Eric Karros | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
|
6 |
| Steve Lyons | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
|
4 |
| Harold Reynolds | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
|
1 |
| Dan Plesac | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
|
4 |
| Mark DeRosa | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
|
3 |
| Heidi Watney | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
|
2 |
| Total | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
Reception and sales
| Year | Game | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | MLB '98 | |
| 1998 | MLB '99 | |
| 1999 | MLB 2000 | |
| 2000 | MLB 2001 | |
| 2001 | MLB 2002 | |
| 2002 | MLB 2003 | |
| 2003 | MLB 2004 | 660,000 |
| 2004 | MLB 2005 | 900,000 |
| 2005 | MLB 2006 | 400,000 |
| 2006 | MLB 06: The Show | 940,000 (PS2), 350,00 (PSP) |
| 2007 | MLB 07: The Show | 930,000 (PS2), 280,000 (PS3), 280,000 (PSP) |
| 2008 | MLB 08: The Show | 420,000 (PS2), 700,000 (PS3), 330,000 (PSP) |
| 2009 | MLB 09: The Show | 330,000 (PS2), 720,000 (PS3), 270,000 (PSP) |
| 2010 | MLB 10: The Show | 410,000 (PS2), 730,000 (PS3), 210,000 (PSP) |
| 2011 | MLB 11: The Show | 130,000 (PS2), 590,000 (PS3), 180,000 (PSP) |
| 2012 | MLB 12: The Show | 930,000 (PS3), 200,000 (PSV) |
| 2013 | MLB 13: The Show | 840,000 (PS3), 150,000 (PSV) |
| 2014 | MLB 14: The Show | 430,000 (PS3), 730,000 (PS4), 120,000 (PSV) |
| 2015 | MLB 15: The Show | 400,000 (PS3), 1.01 million (PS4), 40,000 (PSV) |
| 2016 | MLB The Show 16 | 380,000 (PS3), 960,000 (PS4) |
| 2017 | MLB The Show 17 | 1.16 million |
| 2018 | MLB The Show 18 | 1.06 million |
| 2019 | MLB The Show 19 | |
| 2020 | MLB The Show 20 |
References
- "MLB 11: The Show". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
- "MLB 12: The Show". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
- "MLB 09: The Show". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
- Square, Push (2020-01-17). "MLB The Show 19 Is the Best-Selling Baseball Game of All Time". Push Square. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
- "MLB The Show is Set to Begin Arriving on New Platforms as Soon as 2021". DualShockers. 2019-12-10. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
- Kato, Matthew. "The Sports Desk – 48 MLB The Show 17 Details: Gameplay, Graphics, Diamond Dynasty & More". gameinformer.com. Retrieved 7 April 2017.