there is nothing wrong with the ui ever, idk why people always use that excuse. what should matter outside of the graphics is gameplay and content. due to every game being worth 70 dollars or more
Yes and no. 22 had worse gameplay than 21 with desyncs and other issues, 23 has had the best gameplay in the last 4 titles, and 24 has too many foul balls and K's are extremely difficult online.
@@dockzz6893I think he’s saying just graphics and content wise. It’s pretty insane we’ve been on Next Gen consoles for dam near half a decade yet the Graphics have barely changed. And there’s like 0 new crazy features that weren’t available on PS4 years ago
Here’s some things they should at to MLB the show. 1. Adding college baseball to road to the show. 2. Situation Mode 3. One cutscene I would recommend adding is when your playing a game at a stadium with a retractable roof and it’s raining if the rain starts to pick up then it goes to a cutscene showing the roof closing to keep the rain out. 4. World Baseball Classic 5. Adding alternate uniforms to custom teams in franchise mode.
I’ll add on to this, I think they should add a bunch of legacy teams from the past as playable teams for Offline and Online Play, as well as being able to play different baseball eras in franchise mode, similar to what NBA 2K has right now
We really, really need to go to a 2 or 3 year release cycle for sports games. Release roster updates, rule updates etc, and release every 2/3 years. Even better, stagger them so NBA is 2025, MLB is 2026, NFL is 2027... It would give the developers real time to actually invest time into new features....Unfortunately, it will never happen.
One of the vivid "gaming moments" of my life was playing The Show 07 on PS3 for the first time. I remember watching Curtis Granderson walk up to the plate and seeing his shirt flutter in the wind. I remember seeing the shadows move across the field as the game went on. I thought, "Oh my goodness. Gaming will never surpass this peak. I literally cannot imagine what it will look like in 10 years." And here we are 18 years later with uniforms that are static and no dynamic lighting. I will never understand how sports games made 15+ years ago somehow always seem to look and feel better than anything made in the last 5 years.
I think you got MLB 2K7 mixed up with The Show, The Show never had jersey physics or wind physics, early 2K did until they switched game engines and developers in 09
This right here man. I am borderlilne obsessive in playing my franchise and when I can't send a save to the next game, I don't have a reason to buy the new one.
PLEASE cover this game more i really like having you put context behind games that i want to buy and i didn't really have that in that last cycle for the show
Cool. I hope that you continue to cover MLB The Show 25 when it releases. Franchise mode is what I always play, and it needs some TLC or a complete overhaul. Keep up the good work!
They don't have contract clauses, 10/5 no trades, can send anyone down even if they have more than 5 years of service time, by the way the draft is international and you're complaining about not having international free agency? You can draft an 18 year old Japanese guy. I could go on for paragraphs but I won't waste my time on someone who's so unaware.
@@somerandomguy5977 don't know what you're talking about. There are other Baseball games that have this (international free-agency) even if the players are randomly generated.
@@somerandomguy5977the draft is NOT international, yes some players have come to college from other countries (Javier Baez) but because they didn't sign as an IFA contract they can only be drafted. The Show 2006 was created around the 2006 CBA and there was talk of an international draft but in none of the CBAs since 1995 have the MLBPA agreed to an international draft bc it is usually caveated with the ask of a salary cap and that's NEVER happening. So please before you belittle some one for asking the game to be MORE real, do ya research.
Haven’t watched the video yet, but my suggestions for RTTS mode is 1. PRE GAME BATTING PRACTICE, I want it to feel realistic on game day 2. To go with the realism need pre game field practice as well 3. Need to be able to go to the batting cage and hit off a machine or a coach toss, and it’d be cool to add the hitrax (that’s already in the game) to this idea and we can see how well we’d hit it on a field, same thing with pitching to test pitches 4. Off days can also be hitting days at the field as well 5. College maybe 6. Semi walkable clubhouse 7. Better graphics 8. Talk to agent WHENEVERRRR I WANT
@ yep from 14-16 was the best years for it but if you could hit the goals then 13 on back was easy to get good at as well personally I struggled with the goals system and was happy it got changed in 14.
The only changes in graphics since the PS3 era for MLB the show is that they made the lighting better and the helmets shinier. Everything else looks exactly the same.
I stopped buying sports games since 2018 due to all of them going towards the “ultimate team” microtransaction approach and getting rid of all other game modes
The sheer lack of innovation and the insidious introduction of microtransactions in the Road to the Show mode has basically killed the mode for me. What would've been awesome to see added to that mode is like an early years portion, showcasing your player starting off in their high school days, then up through college, and then finally arriving at the minors. It would add a ton more immersion and accomplishment to the feeling of finally making it to the majors after about 4-5 years of high school/college ball, getting to choose from a handful of licensed colleges like they did for the story mode in NBA 2k16, and give you a chance to actually hone your skills realistically so that by the time you arrive to the minors, you *feel* like a hot young stud like Paul Skenes or Roki Sasaki, with blazing gas and nasty breaking stuff you've developed up till then. And also they need to bring back the point system for increasing attributes, it's far simpler and makes it much easier to increase stuff like pitch break; the training minigames they added in are just dumb and repetitive, imo. Oh yeah, and kill off the microtransactional elements, we don't need that shit in our career modes
I haven't played the game in years and hearing that there are microtransactions in road to the show and it being worse made me sad because it was a fun side mode to play while taking a break from diamond dynasty. So sad man
It's a sports game. Stop asking for "immersion" and ask for them to fix velocites, pitch mixes, guys having completely borked stats (guys with bad arms having cannons et cetera), runners immediately going back to tag up on line drives, every single manager being the same using the same ai, constant suicide squeezes, et cetera.
I absolutely hate that in recent modes you can’t even be the #1 overall pick and you can’t delay your career by going back to college. So you always start as an 18 year old 2nd-15th round pick starting in AA. Makes NO sense. Just simply create a “story” where you’re the next prodigy and be a top draft pick with huge expectations. Nobody plays RTTS to be a mid player anyways
@@somerandomguy5977it would be nice to have that alongside actual good offline modes. MLB the show hasn’t been a well rounded game since probably 2017-2018
If they ever add an Eras mode to MLB The Show. I wonder how they'd get around The Steroid Era. Besides replacing Barry Bonds with Jim Dowd again and ignoring the existence of Jose Canseco.
Barry Bonds was NEVER found guilty of using steroids. Some guy from ESPN pushing a book did his own investigation, and yet it still didn’t line up with the MLB’s investigation. Also during the Bud Selig era, when he was Baseball’s Commissioner, HGH and other supplements were not banned, just steroids. But aside from the Media’s bias on Performance enhancing drugs and supplements, the players the Media hated, are still part of Baseball’s history whether people like it or not. So they definitely should be part of the game, including Pete Rose for his alleged betting.
Chances of this get better and better by year as SDS added known juicers (McGuire and Sosa) in 23 as well as Pettitte and Palmeiro in 24. Still would take a long time to get most juicers, but hoping the land Bonds as its an easy year to make him the legends cover.
MVP 2005 had a great concept for long term play where you start out with a bare minimum stadium and over years of running a franchise you can eventually upgrade your stadium to be way bigger/better than how you started out. There's no reason that can't be done 20 years later on better hardware. Also, Madden 2007 had a great franchise mode where the user could control hiring vendors like hot dog, cotton candy, and beer/soda vendors and you could set the prices as well as set prices for tickets and price tickets based on seating sections. This stuff needs to be in modern sports games because it's already been proven they can do it because they already have, literally decades ago. It comes down to profit/greed > quality. If they made a great game where people could play it for years, then they wouldn't make money creating a mediocre sequal.
Wish MVP Baseball would come back, or even 2K at this point. Not sure about the licensing agreement situations though. We just need some competition. Badly.
Same thing applies to NHL 2K. an NHL 2K Career mode that could rival EA's Be-A-Pro would be fantastic. Plus, NHL 2K had so much depth with it's minigames. Driving the Zamboni, and on the Wii. you could actually take part in a skills competition, like in the All-Star game. Competition would really bring out the best for everyone.
Sony only has a 3rd party license and was the only developer to make an MLB game other than 2K who decided to drop out after MLB 2K13. EA could theoretically come back to baseball if they wanted to
@@SpaceDragonX783 Ditto. But that same thing was said about CFB 25 and look what happened to that. That success has EA thinking about bringing back other games that we missed like college bball, fight night, etc. Personally, I’d love to see MLB 2K back or MVP Baseball just to make MLB the Show try again.
I have a small complaint but it's annoying as can be. They need to stop retiring jersey numbers in The show. It's a video game, i want to make classic players their real numbers like Mo Vaugn and Dave Henderson #42. The need to let you fully edit the player's uni number and not have these ridiculous retired numbers for a game!!
A baseball career mode when executed well is one of the most fun experiences in a sports game. Unfortunately I haven’t had fun playing one since MLB 2K13
@@Spartan-301stThese games shouldn’t even be able to run on the PS4. New Gen sports games should have such crazy graphics and interface they couldn’t run on old systems. Fact they do tells you how little improvements they’ve made the last half decade
Glad you’re looking at MLB the Show. It’s never a bad game, but also never a new one. Honestly, the game has been free day one on GamePass for a few years now and they’ve done so little to change it, that I haven’t bought it since 20. It even went on sale for around $10 and I didn’t think it was worth it. Genuinely interested in what Road to the Show is going to look like.
I’m an avid show fan. Diamond dynasty ‘23 guru, hated 24’s systems that i went back to my rtts roots to try and get my money’s worth. RTTS as a comeback fan for 5 years now needs NEEDS expansion. There needs to be content all throughout the career. Not just the first hour. Once u make it to the majors and earn your first mvp it’s stupid easy to just never have anything worth doing anymore.
@somerandomguy5977 Games suck now because people will still buy it no matter what. Companies only seem to care abut microtransactions, or whatever can make them the quick buck. Developers should be constantly looking to improve their graphics and/or their gameplay or otherwise they will fall off, and stagnate, like mlb the show is doing right now. You can play any of the mlbs in the past couple years, and you wouldn't notice much of a difference, graphics wise, or gameplay wise.
Absolutely please focus on this a thousand times I’m so disappointed with this franchise. I missed buying The Show this year cause they didn’t do anything at all
Usually agree but I find myself disagreeing a bunch here in this video. MLBTS 24 isn’t a great game by any means, Diamond Dynasty is VERY fair to its users realistically, however it is too fair making it very boring when anyone can have a near full 99 team by end of April. However the removal of seasons in 25 is exciting. Franchise HAS been touched, and while it still isn’t great and suffers from bad logic and development systems, the addition of the draft and other minor features were nice. Again, a long way to go but it is a step in the right direction. Finally, saying that Franchise is in much worse shape than RTTS, a mode that is literally only fun for the first 2 seasons, is an insane take. Both modes aren’t good by any means, but I can play franchise for hours and have fun, RTTS is quite literally play game, exit, repeat after you’ve maxed out programs.
First off, love that you are covering The Show. My go to when it comes to sports gaming. Just one thing I wanted to bring up about Franchise, as it is my preferred game mode. I do take issue with you saying it is "untouched" over the last few years. They did add a brand new scouting system in 23 that you did not mention. The system is by no means perfect, but a significant improvement over the system in 22 in my opinion. I will admit there are little changes elsewhere, especially from 23 to 24. Trade logic still sucks and the game becomes boring quite fast unless you are super dedicated to the team you are building. Hope to see you cover 25 upon its release to hear more insight about this franchise.
MLB The Show has animations that have been in the game since at least 2008. Sony San Diego is more concerned about the online Diamond Dynasty mode. MLB The Show has the most basic franchise mode of all the sports games. The Road to the Show mode is filled with useless cut scenes and dialouge options that dont mean anything. The game is also just graphically and animation wise very out dated. Take a look at what Konami did with the eBaseball engine for the new Pro Yakyuu Spirits and compare it with MLB The Show. Sony San Diego is the EA of MLB.
I’ve been sharing your videos for years bro and the sports games get worse by the year. I’m about to give up on them all together at this point like why bother. Every company just copies and pastes BS new features that no core gamer of said franchise cares about or they just delete the best content from 10 years ago. EA sports, 2K, San Diego Studios, you name it - it’s all the same stagnant ish like you mention. The gaming industry is absolutely cooked there is no incentive to take time to make a great game anymore when everyone is on a 11 month cycle to produce a new game. We’re donezo as far as quality sports games for a very long time maybe forever!
Glad to see you covering more baseball. The Show has been my favorite sports game for over 10 years now. As an avid baseball fan, the games always feel like a baseball love story to me. While the gameplay has been similar in the last few releases and franchise hasn't gotten a whole lot of updates, I still love every game. I'm also happy to see diamond dynasty doing away with seasons. One aspect that I don't think gets enough credit is the live moments. Madden and 2k previously had moments as part of their titles, but I don't recall them updating throughout the course of each season like MLB does. Stoked for 25 and would love to see you do more MLB videos!
The problem with sports games now is it's mostly just roster updates every year with few changes in-between years. The games don't have any variety in them to differentiate them from previous modern titles, creating frustrating repetitiveness.
I played MLB the show for the first time I guess three years ago? I really enjoyed it. It was a great breath of fresh air to Madden but honestly, I’m not gonna play this game over college football. No matter how I try and shorten the season in my franchise it just takes too long and if you’re not playing this game regularly at least for me I’m not a 12-year-old kid anymore. It’s hard for me to hit if I stop playing this game for months so I think it’s still a really great franchise that needs a facelift.
Change the gameplay to casual, the game will still be a simulation but if you go some time without playing it won't feel like a chore to get hits it will be fun.
I play Diamond Dynasty every year and never end up playing online. I just love building a roster of my favorite players instead of grinding for the best players available. I do an all-time White Sox squad and have an absolute blast with playing seasons and Conquest.
Yeah Ik and maybe update the cutscenes and animations. There’s 0 point to all the coaches and player interactions after ur 1st year. They’re all just the same thing over and over Also they do the same thing with Madden where on field and winning animations haven’t changed since like 2019
Absolutely! Let us have players that can do everything instead of minimizing certain attributes that we had to use the equipment and perks to balance out our player. I would have multiple players so I can play with all the archetypes.
Would love to see you make more baseball and hockey videos. I'd like to see a triple play retrospective. I know it'd turn into mvp baseball but those games were great up until the last one in 2001.
It's not similar it's far worse. 09-13 pitch speeds were much faster and pitching felt good. Now pitching feels fake you feel no umph on your fastballs there's a "disconnect"
Personally in my experience, and what I feel most peoples primary issue with The Show 24, was the return of sets and seasons in Diamond Dynasty. I’m aware franchise mode is very bare bones and that is something I’m unfamiliar with but it definitely needs improvement from what I’ve seen. Sets and Seasons have destroyed DD, the entire aspect of that mode is to see your team progress over the course of the year, a higher overall card being released keeps you engaged, not just having 99s off rip like in 23, or going from 85-99 three times throughout the course of the year, it’s just not the same; SDS essentially tried fixing something that wasn’t broken to begin with. I think 25 will be a step back in the right direction, no more sets and seasons, that combined with DD already being super consumer friendly and not very pay to win, so long as the gameplay and hitting engine don’t take an unexpectedly terrible turn like we’ve seen in older games (The Show 22), I think 25 will be more like The Show 20 or 21, excited to see what’s to come.
I haven't played the game since 2022 so when I heard that sets and seasons exist i was like "well it's a good thing it's not coming back because that defeats the whole entire point of diamond dynasty."
Just because you “feel” something doesn’t make it true. People want a deep and awesome RTTS. That goes for every sports game and they also want a good online experience tied into your career mode somehow. 2K does it best but the gameplay on 2K has taken a step back over the years unfortunately. But that is a great example of how to make a game.
It is actually true that the Diamond Dynasty mode WAS able to be played free to play without a major grind to have a good team, however every year since 22 it has been leaning more towards the full pay to win side.
Yes. Would love to see your independent well-thought out commentary on all Sports games. I came here from you talking about my beloved childhood game: Super Baseball 2020, subbed after AngryJoe showed you love.
It's so crazy to me how many people give ideas other than "test a card". You get a new player, and go to a practice session. We all have hundreds of cards we'll never use because it takes five minutes to put them on a team, start a game, get to them in the lineup, then you have 1 AB. There is no practice mode with DD players.
Offline modes have been a serious problem in the game for years even during games people loved like 20 or 21, the real crime this year was diamond dynasty. Sets and seasons killed grinding, since you couldn’t keep cards you worked really hard for once the season was over. And even worse, all the new good content was locked behind packs that you couldn’t get for free. The graphics, gameplay, and servers are not where it should be in 2025. MLB the Show 25 needs to improve substantially or I’m not buying it.
Every sports game has now made career modes forced to be connected to online play somehow. Sports fans simply don’t want this and it’s not what we play career modes for
i love your videos, you make very high quality content every time that never disappoints. and i appreciate the work you do. keep it up your opinions need to be heard.
Most of these points here are definitely valid. As someone who has played every MLB The Show from 19-24, Franchise and RTTS do feel unchanged. But there is one thing I will defend: Diamond Dynasty IS an extremely fair mode for free to play. I've never spent a cent on it and I've had tons of fun with it. Except for maybe the online modes, nothing seems too off limits to me. There is no second currency that you can only get by spending money, they hand out regular packs like candy, et cetera. Nothing is locked behind a paywall, and only a few things are in the figurative sense. Should it be the best mode in the game? Or the most paid attention to? No. But it definitely is, and, unlike Ultimate Team or MyTeam, that's not a bad thing.
I was really disappointed when they announced what's coming to the next one because the RTTS section was only one slide. Diamond Dynasty had like 5 slides going on and on about what's coming to that mode. I wish they would make the game more realistic. I posted in the MLB The Show forums not too long ago and gave my idea of how I think RTTS should be. It's too easy to dominate your whole career and become an all-star or hall of famer. I don't think I ever seen anyone become a journeyman or anything similar when playing in RTTS. It may sound crazy, but I would like to have decent stats but only be able to get 1-year deals for once after my 6 years are up. I did get one response where someone did say that most people want to hit 255 HRs a season and they prefer to play that way, so it looks like many aren't looking for realism. I was once that player but hitting that many a season gets tiring eventually and you are too dominant for anyone to catch up to you.
Development of MLB the show has had a very similar trajectory to Madden - basically stagnant for a decade except for the addition of microtransactions. At least The Show's engine is better at depicting an accurate simulation experience, unlike in Madden.
Diamond dynasty is not a micro transaction mode. There is one currency which you can buy but it is very obtainable by just playing the game and you can make millions by playing the game. Unlike madden where there is madden cash and coins there is only stubs in the show (coins)
We need a proper simulation career mode like we had back in the day. We used to be able to manage finances, transportation, concessions and stadium upgrades. It was great
I’d love it if they took it a step further and incorporated some of MVP Baseball and OOTP’s features and maybe even expanded on them. The potential and resources to make the best baseball game possible are there even if SDS never will do it
Wow some MLB the show content. Love your content Softdrink. There's a couple things that a lot of people including myself would love to get back into conversation. 1. Online franchise, sadly MLB the show has been taken out since mlb the show 2017 and still the sim heads want the mode back. Stuff as simple as an off season fantasy drafts salary caps all robbed from the online franchise community. 2 it would be awesome if they'd bring back balanced gameplay where you could actually pitch instead of SDS making this game a HR derby. Haven't seen ERA's so high in custom leagues since beginning of 23. 22 was the past balanced show sadly been almost game breaking for 23 and 24
Please pin this comment. MLB the Show has a marketplace where you can buy and sell any item (mostly) at any time. Because of this, there are no micro transactions. Anyone can spend 10 whole minutes a week on their phone buying and selling gear (I actually mean 10 minutes) and have max currency at all times. No other sports game has this, especially 2k. It changes everything and takes away any need to ever spend money beyond buying the game. I repeat, anyone can have max currency all the time by buying and selling equipment.
When Diamond Dynasty first released it was the only model I played. Now everyone just buys good players the first day it's out and it takes all the fun out of it.
Absolutely please do a full review of 25 and a reaction to the trailer!?!? But as a very recent return player of the Show, I have to admit (mostly because of how grindy Madden and Gran Turismo have become) I have really enjoyed DD on the show. My Best friend and I both quickly built up 99 overall teams since season 2. I can tell you, having all cards available is a lot better! Also, having the ability to cross play on my switch to do some of the grinding when I'm not at home is a whole other element! If Sony released a handheld like the switch that you could replace your phone for quick games to a mini grind , they would change their whole portfolio! In my opinion
9:46 - These vague changes are just empty babbling. Why pretend otherwise? MLB 25 is just going to be MLB 24 is just going to be MLB 23 is just going to be you get the idea. Until the league license becomes non-exclusive again, nothing is going to become meaningfully better.
I emailed them a few years ago telling them that they need a good rivalry/grudge system in the game so that your player in rtts can develop enemies over the course of his career. Also having a rpg like system where you can argue calls to the point of straight up arguing with the umpire, maybe even develop relationships with umpires as a hitter, pitcher or catcher. Following a third base coaches signs for either bunting, swinging away or stealing would be cool. Also, giving my runner time to decide whether I want to steal or not would be great too. Most times in RTTS I can’t even take a lead before the pitcher is already throwing. If I were San Diego Studios I would do a roster update for 2026, overhaul the graphics engine, optimize it, implement these systems and test them and release a game every 2nd or 3rd year going forward with significant changes between releases because people will get sick of the same thing over and over eventually to a point where you will have to make some changes. Remembered some more things: having a plays of the week sports center kind of thing pop up presentation would be cool, a league ticker at the bottom, a player social media only feed where they can give props to or have beef with. Maybe steal from the 2k nhl games and allow your RTTS player to spend money on houses, cars etc have a trophy room.
You use to be able to carry your Road to the Show player from year to year, I stopped gaming for a few years starting in 2020 and I’m getting back into it but on The Show my RTTS player was carried over for like 3 or 4 years.
This is the first time seeing gameplay and even just in game footage for the show 24 and to me it looks almost lifeless. Look at the ground textures at 1:18. There was no effort put into it what so ever.
Honestly, I still think the show is my favorite sports game but I agree with everything you said. Franchise needs major improvements now and road to the show desperately needs new life in it. Both seem to be getting a focus this year atleast more than usual so that’s good. But yeah they have really been coasting by last few titles and I probably played less the show last year compared to any other year I started playing it.
I'm not a baseball fan and will never play these games but I'm here for the support. No shame in covering more ground. Do all the sports as long as you're passionate and accurate. I've enjoyed pga2k. You don't need to like IRL golf to play it
Funny how you talked about 21 being the last game people liked when I saw it as the beginning of the end and the game where I foresaw The Show ending up like Madden and 2K. It was the fame that tied player progression in Road to the Show to the stupid preset system which took forever to level through and made equipment earned via virtual packs all the more important. It also killed the freedom to customize your player from previous games where you would raise caps and stats, sometimes with fun minigames. Speaking of Road To The Show it forced the player in to being a Two Way Player from the get go, eliminating much of the freedom Road to The Show had. I tried to play franchise mode, but by that time it was just the same thing from 2013-2014 to be honest. I ended up deleting the game from my PS4 and actually went back to 20. But 21 was where it killed it for me. I haven't purchased another Show game since and don't think I will considering the stat of the franchise.
21 was truly the last game I enjoyed. Basically the same game from 22 onwards. Hoping they move towards X/S and PS5 exclusive after the success of CFB 25
As someone who's played the Show every year since 2016, I can attest that the game's had its ups and downs. I got tired of MLB 23, and MLB 24 was the first time I stopped playing the game in the middle of the year instead of the end of the year. Before MLB 23 and 24, MLB 18 was widely considered to be the worst in the franchise, and in some ways, it still is, but 22-24 have given it some competition. Broadly, RTTS and Franchise need help desperately. Both modes have been neglected and need improvements across the board. Logic improvements for franchise is the absolute bare minimum, so hopefully they have some interesting things planned for 25, like combines and what not. The Show's gameplay is weird because it can feel very inconsistent. The game seems to play well offline in franchise, but it feels different in DD, and the game doesn't play as well online due to it being too easy to pitch, and the hitting feeling inconsistent in regard to exit velocities being all over the place, and laggy connections making everything worse. DD, as mentioned in this video, has its ups, but it's not as free to play friendly as it used to be. Over the last 2-3 years, the monetization and emphasis on packs has gotten worse, and while sets/seasons might've been worth a shot, it only made things worse. DD needs a new mode or 2 badly, and there's been too much of a focus on broadly collecting cards to get even better cards over playing different modes on and offline to get the best cards. One thing not mentioned in this video (likely because Softdrink's not as familiar with the Show than with other sports games,) that's also hurt the Show is how legends are handled. In 2K and Madden, when a legend is added, they usually stay in the game. With SDS and the Show, there's usually a decently sized list of removed legends year after year. For example, Yogi Berra, Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk, Dave Winfield, Rogers Hornsby, Reggie Jackson, Ty Cobb, and so on used to be in the game. For the most part, for years now, all of these legends have been removed, and it's unclear if they'll ever come back. A few legends, like Jim Rice and Andre Dawson do return, but many legends don't. Now, while this might not be all SDS's fault, the fact that we get a sizeable list of removed legends per year is just bad and causes more problems than one may think. First, it makes DD worse because there's less options in general. Second, it makes historic teams impossible given how many notable guys are missing. Third, in the case of major legends, like Yogi and Ted, it's very difficult to get new legends of similar caliber to make up the difference, and in the case of the Show in recent years, they largely haven't tried much. The Negro League legends are amazing and very cool to see, but in terms of getting other legends from, say, the early 1900s-1970s, the game has gotten stale. SDS has largely moved to trying to maximize the 90s and 2000s eras as much as possible. While I do agree that getting any former player possible is appreciated, SDS has really begun to stretch the term 'legend.' Not only are the newer 'legends' players who've had shorter peaks, but they're also guys we've seen in the game before as actual players.
They just need to fix their saving issues; for years in the show I’ll randomly have my road to glory player deleted out of nowhere, or my franchise deleted. It’s by far the #1 issue the show has had for a long time now, countless road to glory TH-camrs have to cancel their series bc of this
I haven't played since '22 or '23 I think, but like this video indicates, not much has changed. Things I have been criticizing for years: Gameplay- 1) Crowd noise/intensity in the playoffs. Playing in game 7 of the world series feels the same as a game in July. 2) Stealing is horrible. Two step leads aren't enough, three step leads you're automatically picked off. Pick off attempts are a completely predetermined animation (similar to blocked kicks/punts in madden). It's very hard to get a good jump and focus on batting. 3) Batting ratings are too simplistic. It's easy to replicate physical traits (contact, power), but how do you replicate mental traits? "Discipline" in real life means swinging at strikes, and not at balls - aka a good eye. In the game "discipline" means how good the player is at checking their swing? They need to get innovative and come up with a way to make balls vs. strikes, or fastball vs. off-speed, easier for the user to identify based on the player up to bat. 4) Fielding ratings. Players need to have different fielding rating per position. Many players play several positions but are not equally good at all. Maybe add a "comfortability/familiarity" rating for each position. Franchise Mode- 1) Simulation is horrible. If you're a true franchise player, you're going to sim 90%+ of the regular season games. I had a year where Aaron Judge (97 OVR) batted .220 with 23 homeruns, and Aaron Hicks (76OVR) hit .325. Come on, up/down years happen, but let's stay within a certain range of the norm. 2) Unrealistic playing time distribution. I don't want to set lineups vs L/R pitchers. I want one preferred lineup, and then set strategies on who plays more frequently, who needs schedule rest, and who plays situationally. Set up a "games started "distribution like NBA2K has a "minutes distribution" gameplans. If your team uses utilitymen, I should be able to get them playtime in multiple positions. At the end of the year, Chris Taylor shouldn't have just 50 games at LF. He should have 30 at LF, 25 at 2B, 18 in CF, 9 at SS, etc. 3) Lack of manager strategies and creativity. MLB managers are not play callers or motivators like other sports; they instill philosophies. If I have a deep roster, I should be able to schedule more rest days. If I have a great bullpen, I should be able set my preference to yank starters earlier during simulated games. If I have a homerun hitting roster, I don't want to be super aggressive on the basepaths. 4) Trades. Logic is horrible as indicated in the video. Teams don't have strategy when it comes to buying and selling at the deadline. Players should be worth more or less based on the team's position. A player's contract, skill, position, and age all need to be taken into account. Giancarlo Stanton is a still a decent player, but I shouldn't be able to trade him to the Athletics for their top prospect. In fact, he would have negative trade value to any team. Trades are limited to three players. 5) Free Agency. Unrealistic contracts - I remember playing a few years ago and saw Juan Soto sign a 4yr $84mil deal with the Rockies. This is after he declined $400mil in real life! How much money do I have to spend and how much is left? I'm tired of agreeing to contracts with players and then advancing to the next day and it tells me I don't have the funds. 6) Letter grade prospect potential. What does B mean? 80? 89? That's a big difference. 7) Player contract renewals. Why am I spending 10 minutes to manually renew contracts of 60 minor leaguers? How burdensome. 8) MLB draft. Just horrible and unrealistic across the board.
You could have used gameplay from MLB 21 the show and if not for the UI we would have no idea
there is nothing wrong with the ui ever, idk why people always use that excuse. what should matter outside of the graphics is gameplay and content. due to every game being worth 70 dollars or more
@@juronamoo5963he’s saying that the UI is the only thing they changed. He’s not complaining about the UI he’s complaining that it’s an asset flip
Yes and no. 22 had worse gameplay than 21 with desyncs and other issues, 23 has had the best gameplay in the last 4 titles, and 24 has too many foul balls and K's are extremely difficult online.
@juronamoo5963 you're talking about the same thing as him 👌 quit buying games for $70
@@dockzz6893I think he’s saying just graphics and content wise.
It’s pretty insane we’ve been on Next Gen consoles for dam near half a decade yet the Graphics have barely changed. And there’s like 0 new crazy features that weren’t available on PS4 years ago
Here’s some things they should at to MLB the show.
1. Adding college baseball to road to the show.
2. Situation Mode
3. One cutscene I would recommend adding is when your playing a game at a stadium with a retractable roof and it’s raining if the rain starts to pick up then it goes to a cutscene showing the roof closing to keep the rain out.
4. World Baseball Classic
5. Adding alternate uniforms to custom teams in franchise mode.
I’ll add on to this, I think they should add a bunch of legacy teams from the past as playable teams for Offline and Online Play, as well as being able to play different baseball eras in franchise mode, similar to what NBA 2K has right now
6. Sell it for PC.
@@Cybele12yes madden needs this too.
Dont they already have situation mode for franchise
Technically they do have a situation mode
We really, really need to go to a 2 or 3 year release cycle for sports games. Release roster updates, rule updates etc, and release every 2/3 years. Even better, stagger them so NBA is 2025, MLB is 2026, NFL is 2027... It would give the developers real time to actually invest time into new features....Unfortunately, it will never happen.
Why would they change the release cycles when people will still buy them every single year?
@ yep, they wouldn’t. It sucks
One of the vivid "gaming moments" of my life was playing The Show 07 on PS3 for the first time. I remember watching Curtis Granderson walk up to the plate and seeing his shirt flutter in the wind. I remember seeing the shadows move across the field as the game went on. I thought, "Oh my goodness. Gaming will never surpass this peak. I literally cannot imagine what it will look like in 10 years."
And here we are 18 years later with uniforms that are static and no dynamic lighting. I will never understand how sports games made 15+ years ago somehow always seem to look and feel better than anything made in the last 5 years.
I think you got MLB 2K7 mixed up with The Show, The Show never had jersey physics or wind physics, early 2K did until they switched game engines and developers in 09
MLB the Show was goated and it was a good start to the games.
You weren't too far off
@@viperman240 You're probably right. I was playing it at a friend's house all those years back, I just assumed it was The Show.
As a franchise guy i really miss the transferrable franchise saves.
I never even knew about that feature 🤦🏾♂️😂 Man I missed out
Yes this is very important. People stopped making old rosters because they have to do it every year.
Damn man, I had a franchise with the A’s from 2017 until they ended it, I miss that team
This right here man. I am borderlilne obsessive in playing my franchise and when I can't send a save to the next game, I don't have a reason to buy the new one.
Transferable RTTS too
PLEASE cover this game more i really like having you put context behind games that i want to buy and i didn't really have that in that last cycle for the show
MLB THE SHOW VIDEOOOOOOOO RAHHHHHHH
RAHHHHHHH
RAHHHHHHHHHHHH
Mid sport😂😂😂literally the most irrelevant in the country
@@FirstTakeShortss no???? a lot of people still watch baseball?
@@FirstTakeShortss well this is funny. Considering baseball is more watched than the NBA right now lmaoo
it's crazy how responsive menus are a rarity these days. There are no excuses for input delay on a STATIC screen.
It's not static. They add little useless animations. Once again someone unaware complaining about the wrong thing.
They are doing so much weird data tracking of your inputs behind the curtain
I've been dying to see you do more The Show content. Please keep it going
Cool. I hope that you continue to cover MLB The Show 25 when it releases. Franchise mode is what I always play, and it needs some TLC or a complete overhaul. Keep up the good work!
one huge thing this game is missing is INTERNATIONAL FREE AGENCY PERIOD. like how do you not have that????
They don't have contract clauses, 10/5 no trades, can send anyone down even if they have more than 5 years of service time, by the way the draft is international and you're complaining about not having international free agency? You can draft an 18 year old Japanese guy. I could go on for paragraphs but I won't waste my time on someone who's so unaware.
@@somerandomguy5977 don't know what you're talking about. There are other Baseball games that have this (international free-agency) even if the players are randomly generated.
@@somerandomguy5977 The draft shouldn't have any international players at all.
@@somerandomguy5977the draft is NOT international, yes some players have come to college from other countries (Javier Baez) but because they didn't sign as an IFA contract they can only be drafted. The Show 2006 was created around the 2006 CBA and there was talk of an international draft but in none of the CBAs since 1995 have the MLBPA agreed to an international draft bc it is usually caveated with the ask of a salary cap and that's NEVER happening. So please before you belittle some one for asking the game to be MORE real, do ya research.
I wouldn’t mind some fake players tbh at least like how they are in the draft mode
The bottom line is, sports games should not be released on a yearly basis. Three or four years apart at the most.
Haven’t watched the video yet, but my suggestions for RTTS mode is
1. PRE GAME BATTING PRACTICE, I want it to feel realistic on game day
2. To go with the realism need pre game field practice as well
3. Need to be able to go to the batting cage and hit off a machine or a coach toss, and it’d be cool to add the hitrax (that’s already in the game) to this idea and we can see how well we’d hit it on a field, same thing with pitching to test pitches
4. Off days can also be hitting days at the field as well
5. College maybe
6. Semi walkable clubhouse
7. Better graphics
8. Talk to agent WHENEVERRRR I WANT
1 and 8 used to be a thing by the way got changed in 17 I believe.
@ that’s crazy because 2017 is the first ever time I got this game 😂 so I was just 1 year too late damn lol
@ yep from 14-16 was the best years for it but if you could hit the goals then 13 on back was easy to get good at as well personally I struggled with the goals system and was happy it got changed in 14.
4 was in the show 17, it gave you a metric shit ton of training points, put it on beginner, max sliders, get a ton of training points
@THESERGEANTROACHFROMCOD forgot about that one the mode used to be so fun then they killed it for money.
Baseball is a global sport. Not adding full WBSC teams would be a crime.
Absolutely keep showcasing how little these games have been progressing without competition!!
The only changes in graphics since the PS3 era for MLB the show is that they made the lighting better and the helmets shinier. Everything else looks exactly the same.
I think the Graphics and core Gameplay have been the same since The Show 08(PS3) 😮
@@BUPMY1it's gotten worse especially in the last two years
You still can’t play home run derby at night. Home run derby is always played at night in real life.
I stopped buying sports games since 2018 due to all of them going towards the “ultimate team” microtransaction approach and getting rid of all other game modes
The sheer lack of innovation and the insidious introduction of microtransactions in the Road to the Show mode has basically killed the mode for me. What would've been awesome to see added to that mode is like an early years portion, showcasing your player starting off in their high school days, then up through college, and then finally arriving at the minors. It would add a ton more immersion and accomplishment to the feeling of finally making it to the majors after about 4-5 years of high school/college ball, getting to choose from a handful of licensed colleges like they did for the story mode in NBA 2k16, and give you a chance to actually hone your skills realistically so that by the time you arrive to the minors, you *feel* like a hot young stud like Paul Skenes or Roki Sasaki, with blazing gas and nasty breaking stuff you've developed up till then. And also they need to bring back the point system for increasing attributes, it's far simpler and makes it much easier to increase stuff like pitch break; the training minigames they added in are just dumb and repetitive, imo. Oh yeah, and kill off the microtransactional elements, we don't need that shit in our career modes
I haven't played the game in years and hearing that there are microtransactions in road to the show and it being worse made me sad because it was a fun side mode to play while taking a break from diamond dynasty. So sad man
It's a sports game. Stop asking for "immersion" and ask for them to fix velocites, pitch mixes, guys having completely borked stats (guys with bad arms having cannons et cetera), runners immediately going back to tag up on line drives, every single manager being the same using the same ai, constant suicide squeezes, et cetera.
I absolutely hate that in recent modes you can’t even be the #1 overall pick and you can’t delay your career by going back to college. So you always start as an 18 year old 2nd-15th round pick starting in AA. Makes NO sense. Just simply create a “story” where you’re the next prodigy and be a top draft pick with huge expectations. Nobody plays RTTS to be a mid player anyways
@@bschneid💯💯💯
@@somerandomguy5977it would be nice to have that alongside actual good offline modes.
MLB the show hasn’t been a well rounded game since probably 2017-2018
If they ever add an Eras mode to MLB The Show. I wonder how they'd get around The Steroid Era.
Besides replacing Barry Bonds with Jim Dowd again and ignoring the existence of Jose Canseco.
That’s why they will never make that game mode
Barry Bonds was NEVER found guilty of using steroids. Some guy from ESPN pushing a book did his own investigation, and yet it still didn’t line up with the MLB’s investigation. Also during the Bud Selig era, when he was Baseball’s Commissioner, HGH and other supplements were not banned, just steroids. But aside from the Media’s bias on Performance enhancing drugs and supplements, the players the Media hated, are still part of Baseball’s history whether people like it or not. So they definitely should be part of the game, including Pete Rose for his alleged betting.
Chances of this get better and better by year as SDS added known juicers (McGuire and Sosa) in 23 as well as Pettitte and Palmeiro in 24. Still would take a long time to get most juicers, but hoping the land Bonds as its an easy year to make him the legends cover.
I haven't played in a long time but they should put John Dowd in every game as a nice nod to the past.
@@jamesmarshall6619 I was a Reggie Stocker fan
'Check swing' continues to be frustrating, too.
Most check swing “flinches” are called a strike. 😂
MVP 2005 had a great concept for long term play where you start out with a bare minimum stadium and over years of running a franchise you can eventually upgrade your stadium to be way bigger/better than how you started out. There's no reason that can't be done 20 years later on better hardware.
Also, Madden 2007 had a great franchise mode where the user could control hiring vendors like hot dog, cotton candy, and beer/soda vendors and you could set the prices as well as set prices for tickets and price tickets based on seating sections. This stuff needs to be in modern sports games because it's already been proven they can do it because they already have, literally decades ago.
It comes down to profit/greed > quality. If they made a great game where people could play it for years, then they wouldn't make money creating a mediocre sequal.
Wish MVP Baseball would come back, or even 2K at this point. Not sure about the licensing agreement situations though.
We just need some competition. Badly.
MVP Baseball 2005 will be turning 20 years old this year and It is still the best undisputed baseball game currently.
Same thing applies to NHL 2K. an NHL 2K Career mode that could rival EA's Be-A-Pro would be fantastic. Plus, NHL 2K had so much depth with it's minigames. Driving the Zamboni, and on the Wii. you could actually take part in a skills competition, like in the All-Star game. Competition would really bring out the best for everyone.
Sony only has a 3rd party license and was the only developer to make an MLB game other than 2K who decided to drop out after MLB 2K13. EA could theoretically come back to baseball if they wanted to
I agree but I think the reason comes down to publishers believing it may not sell well. I also can't really trust modern day EA Sports on anything.
@@SpaceDragonX783 Ditto. But that same thing was said about CFB 25 and look what happened to that. That success has EA thinking about bringing back other games that we missed like college bball, fight night, etc. Personally, I’d love to see MLB 2K back or MVP Baseball just to make MLB the Show try again.
I have a small complaint but it's annoying as can be. They need to stop retiring jersey numbers in The show. It's a video game, i want to make classic players their real numbers like Mo Vaugn and Dave Henderson #42. The need to let you fully edit the player's uni number and not have these ridiculous retired numbers for a game!!
Micro transactions had ruined ALL sports games.
A baseball career mode when executed well is one of the most fun experiences in a sports game. Unfortunately I haven’t had fun playing one since MLB 2K13
Agreed. I just wish the skilled point system would come back. I enjoyed working my way up to 99 in every skill.
The last good MLB the show RTTS was 2017
They need to go full current gen.
All new releases should. It’s mind blowing how they continue to let One and PS4 limp along, then wonder why nobody upgraded.
@@Spartan-301stThese games shouldn’t even be able to run on the PS4. New Gen sports games should have such crazy graphics and interface they couldn’t run on old systems.
Fact they do tells you how little improvements they’ve made the last half decade
@ and calling it new gen is even wilder! They’ve been out for 4 years lmao
Man if Konami gives us a proper english localization of Pro Baseball Spirits then The Show is definitely cooked
I'm all for more videos that would put The Show, NHL, and FIFA/FC in their place.
Glad you’re looking at MLB the Show. It’s never a bad game, but also never a new one. Honestly, the game has been free day one on GamePass for a few years now and they’ve done so little to change it, that I haven’t bought it since 20. It even went on sale for around $10 and I didn’t think it was worth it.
Genuinely interested in what Road to the Show is going to look like.
I’m an avid show fan. Diamond dynasty ‘23 guru, hated 24’s systems that i went back to my rtts roots to try and get my money’s worth.
RTTS as a comeback fan for 5 years now needs NEEDS expansion. There needs to be content all throughout the career. Not just the first hour. Once u make it to the majors and earn your first mvp it’s stupid easy to just never have anything worth doing anymore.
You could have used MLB The Show 19 footage and I don't think anyone would be able to tell the difference.
This comment is why games suck now. Bash the graphics, fuck the fact that the game is broken. You type have ruined gaming.
@somerandomguy5977 Games suck now because people will still buy it no matter what. Companies only seem to care abut microtransactions, or whatever can make them the quick buck. Developers should be constantly looking to improve their graphics and/or their gameplay or otherwise they will fall off, and stagnate, like mlb the show is doing right now. You can play any of the mlbs in the past couple years, and you wouldn't notice much of a difference, graphics wise, or gameplay wise.
Then why buy a PS5 if u don't care about graphics 😂 it's important@@somerandomguy5977
Absolutely please focus on this a thousand times I’m so disappointed with this franchise.
I missed buying The Show this year cause they didn’t do anything at all
Usually agree but I find myself disagreeing a bunch here in this video. MLBTS 24 isn’t a great game by any means, Diamond Dynasty is VERY fair to its users realistically, however it is too fair making it very boring when anyone can have a near full 99 team by end of April. However the removal of seasons in 25 is exciting. Franchise HAS been touched, and while it still isn’t great and suffers from bad logic and development systems, the addition of the draft and other minor features were nice. Again, a long way to go but it is a step in the right direction. Finally, saying that Franchise is in much worse shape than RTTS, a mode that is literally only fun for the first 2 seasons, is an insane take. Both modes aren’t good by any means, but I can play franchise for hours and have fun, RTTS is quite literally play game, exit, repeat after you’ve maxed out programs.
Wouldn’t say it’s riddled with microtransactions compared to 2k and madden
You can get a great team on dd just by playing
First off, love that you are covering The Show. My go to when it comes to sports gaming. Just one thing I wanted to bring up about Franchise, as it is my preferred game mode. I do take issue with you saying it is "untouched" over the last few years. They did add a brand new scouting system in 23 that you did not mention. The system is by no means perfect, but a significant improvement over the system in 22 in my opinion. I will admit there are little changes elsewhere, especially from 23 to 24. Trade logic still sucks and the game becomes boring quite fast unless you are super dedicated to the team you are building. Hope to see you cover 25 upon its release to hear more insight about this franchise.
Please do a Bigs 2 retrospective and career mode especially
Greatest arcade style sports game ever. Better than NFL Street and it ain’t close.
Dude love your work, doing the real work and reviews that very few are doing. Keep it up always sharing your channel growing the community.
MLB The Show has animations that have been in the game since at least 2008. Sony San Diego is more concerned about the online Diamond Dynasty mode. MLB The Show has the most basic franchise mode of all the sports games. The Road to the Show mode is filled with useless cut scenes and dialouge options that dont mean anything. The game is also just graphically and animation wise very out dated. Take a look at what Konami did with the eBaseball engine for the new Pro Yakyuu Spirits and compare it with MLB The Show. Sony San Diego is the EA of MLB.
I’ve been sharing your videos for years bro and the sports games get worse by the year. I’m about to give up on them all together at this point like why bother. Every company just copies and pastes BS new features that no core gamer of said franchise cares about or they just delete the best content from 10 years ago. EA sports, 2K, San Diego Studios, you name it - it’s all the same stagnant ish like you mention. The gaming industry is absolutely cooked there is no incentive to take time to make a great game anymore when everyone is on a 11 month cycle to produce a new game. We’re donezo as far as quality sports games for a very long time maybe forever!
Glad to see you covering more baseball. The Show has been my favorite sports game for over 10 years now. As an avid baseball fan, the games always feel like a baseball love story to me. While the gameplay has been similar in the last few releases and franchise hasn't gotten a whole lot of updates, I still love every game. I'm also happy to see diamond dynasty doing away with seasons.
One aspect that I don't think gets enough credit is the live moments. Madden and 2k previously had moments as part of their titles, but I don't recall them updating throughout the course of each season like MLB does. Stoked for 25 and would love to see you do more MLB videos!
The problem with sports games now is it's mostly just roster updates every year with few changes in-between years. The games don't have any variety in them to differentiate them from previous modern titles, creating frustrating repetitiveness.
I played MLB the show for the first time I guess three years ago? I really enjoyed it. It was a great breath of fresh air to Madden but honestly, I’m not gonna play this game over college football.
No matter how I try and shorten the season in my franchise it just takes too long and if you’re not playing this game regularly at least for me I’m not a 12-year-old kid anymore. It’s hard for me to hit if I stop playing this game for months so I think it’s still a really great franchise that needs a facelift.
Change the gameplay to casual, the game will still be a simulation but if you go some time without playing it won't feel like a chore to get hits it will be fun.
SDS was wayyy too worried about pushing ppl to buy packs this year to be focusing on more innovation 😂
Hmm sounds kinda familiar
Thanks for the condensed info, I hope you continue with MLB info in the future
When people say DD is like MUT, that just shows me that they never really played DD.
I play Diamond Dynasty every year and never end up playing online. I just love building a roster of my favorite players instead of grinding for the best players available.
I do an all-time White Sox squad and have an absolute blast with playing seasons and Conquest.
@@UrlacherBears54 Mini seasons is such an underrated mode
They really need to scrap that bullshit archetype playstyle in RTTS.
Yeah Ik and maybe update the cutscenes and animations. There’s 0 point to all the coaches and player interactions after ur 1st year. They’re all just the same thing over and over
Also they do the same thing with Madden where on field and winning animations haven’t changed since like 2019
Absolutely! Let us have players that can do everything instead of minimizing certain attributes that we had to use the equipment and perks to balance out our player. I would have multiple players so I can play with all the archetypes.
Would love to see you make more baseball and hockey videos. I'd like to see a triple play retrospective. I know it'd turn into mvp baseball but those games were great up until the last one in 2001.
I played from 09-13 and its amazing how similar this 2025 version is to those early 2010 games
It really hasn't changed from the PS3 era.
It's not similar it's far worse. 09-13 pitch speeds were much faster and pitching felt good. Now pitching feels fake you feel no umph on your fastballs there's a "disconnect"
Personally in my experience, and what I feel most peoples primary issue with The Show 24, was the return of sets and seasons in Diamond Dynasty. I’m aware franchise mode is very bare bones and that is something I’m unfamiliar with but it definitely needs improvement from what I’ve seen. Sets and Seasons have destroyed DD, the entire aspect of that mode is to see your team progress over the course of the year, a higher overall card being released keeps you engaged, not just having 99s off rip like in 23, or going from 85-99 three times throughout the course of the year, it’s just not the same; SDS essentially tried fixing something that wasn’t broken to begin with. I think 25 will be a step back in the right direction, no more sets and seasons, that combined with DD already being super consumer friendly and not very pay to win, so long as the gameplay and hitting engine don’t take an unexpectedly terrible turn like we’ve seen in older games (The Show 22), I think 25 will be more like The Show 20 or 21, excited to see what’s to come.
I haven't played the game since 2022 so when I heard that sets and seasons exist i was like "well it's a good thing it's not coming back because that defeats the whole entire point of diamond dynasty."
Just because you “feel” something doesn’t make it true. People want a deep and awesome RTTS. That goes for every sports game and they also want a good online experience tied into your career mode somehow. 2K does it best but the gameplay on 2K has taken a step back over the years unfortunately. But that is a great example of how to make a game.
Sets and seasons are confirmed gone in 25 I believe
@ they are
It is actually true that the Diamond Dynasty mode WAS able to be played free to play without a major grind to have a good team, however every year since 22 it has been leaning more towards the full pay to win side.
Yes. Would love to see your independent well-thought out commentary on all Sports games. I came here from you talking about my beloved childhood game: Super Baseball 2020, subbed after AngryJoe showed you love.
It's so crazy to me how many people give ideas other than "test a card". You get a new player, and go to a practice session. We all have hundreds of cards we'll never use because it takes five minutes to put them on a team, start a game, get to them in the lineup, then you have 1 AB. There is no practice mode with DD players.
I really hope Road To The Show is improved this year. It's been neglected for years.
Offline modes have been a serious problem in the game for years even during games people loved like 20 or 21, the real crime this year was diamond dynasty. Sets and seasons killed grinding, since you couldn’t keep cards you worked really hard for once the season was over. And even worse, all the new good content was locked behind packs that you couldn’t get for free. The graphics, gameplay, and servers are not where it should be in 2025. MLB the Show 25 needs to improve substantially or I’m not buying it.
Every sports game has now made career modes forced to be connected to online play somehow. Sports fans simply don’t want this and it’s not what we play career modes for
i love your videos, you make very high quality content every time that never disappoints. and i appreciate the work you do. keep it up your opinions need to be heard.
Most of these points here are definitely valid. As someone who has played every MLB The Show from 19-24, Franchise and RTTS do feel unchanged.
But there is one thing I will defend: Diamond Dynasty IS an extremely fair mode for free to play. I've never spent a cent on it and I've had tons of fun with it.
Except for maybe the online modes, nothing seems too off limits to me. There is no second currency that you can only get by spending money, they hand out regular packs like candy, et cetera.
Nothing is locked behind a paywall, and only a few things are in the figurative sense. Should it be the best mode in the game? Or the most paid attention to? No. But it definitely is, and, unlike Ultimate Team or MyTeam, that's not a bad thing.
Please fix franchise mode. I played 4000 hours of it this year and I’m so incredibly bored 😂 Great video!
Yes would love to see your reaction to the trailer!!!
I was really disappointed when they announced what's coming to the next one because the RTTS section was only one slide. Diamond Dynasty had like 5 slides going on and on about what's coming to that mode. I wish they would make the game more realistic. I posted in the MLB The Show forums not too long ago and gave my idea of how I think RTTS should be. It's too easy to dominate your whole career and become an all-star or hall of famer. I don't think I ever seen anyone become a journeyman or anything similar when playing in RTTS. It may sound crazy, but I would like to have decent stats but only be able to get 1-year deals for once after my 6 years are up. I did get one response where someone did say that most people want to hit 255 HRs a season and they prefer to play that way, so it looks like many aren't looking for realism. I was once that player but hitting that many a season gets tiring eventually and you are too dominant for anyone to catch up to you.
Development of MLB the show has had a very similar trajectory to Madden - basically stagnant for a decade except for the addition of microtransactions. At least The Show's engine is better at depicting an accurate simulation experience, unlike in Madden.
MLB 07 us my favorite entry. I hope they bring back it's game mode "King of the Diamond"
The 1st one I got and really liked but I haven't been impressed since. 😮
And yes, man, you should be making more videos, man you’re the best
Professional Baseball Spirits 2024-2025 video?
Diamond dynasty is not a micro transaction mode. There is one currency which you can buy but it is very obtainable by just playing the game and you can make millions by playing the game. Unlike madden where there is madden cash and coins there is only stubs in the show (coins)
We need a proper simulation career mode like we had back in the day. We used to be able to manage finances, transportation, concessions and stadium upgrades. It was great
I’d love it if they took it a step further and incorporated some of MVP Baseball and OOTP’s features and maybe even expanded on them. The potential and resources to make the best baseball game possible are there even if SDS never will do it
Wow some MLB the show content. Love your content Softdrink. There's a couple things that a lot of people including myself would love to get back into conversation.
1. Online franchise, sadly MLB the show has been taken out since mlb the show 2017 and still the sim heads want the mode back. Stuff as simple as an off season fantasy drafts salary caps all robbed from the online franchise community.
2 it would be awesome if they'd bring back balanced gameplay where you could actually pitch instead of SDS making this game a HR derby. Haven't seen ERA's so high in custom leagues since beginning of 23. 22 was the past balanced show sadly been almost game breaking for 23 and 24
I took a couple years off and came back last year. I loved it! I don’t know what to expect in 25.
I’m definitely interested in a review. Wish this game had eras in franchise mode it would be amazing.
Thanks for talking about MLB The Show. Hopefully we can see some real changes this year with The Show.
Please pin this comment.
MLB the Show has a marketplace where you can buy and sell any item (mostly) at any time. Because of this, there are no micro transactions. Anyone can spend 10 whole minutes a week on their phone buying and selling gear (I actually mean 10 minutes) and have max currency at all times. No other sports game has this, especially 2k. It changes everything and takes away any need to ever spend money beyond buying the game.
I repeat, anyone can have max currency all the time by buying and selling equipment.
When Diamond Dynasty first released it was the only model I played. Now everyone just buys good players the first day it's out and it takes all the fun out of it.
I love your videos and I enjoy watching them. I watched your NBA 2K6 one and it was very good!
Please continue covering The Show.
Absolutely please do a full review of 25 and a reaction to the trailer!?!?
But as a very recent return player of the Show, I have to admit (mostly because of how grindy Madden and Gran Turismo have become) I have really enjoyed DD on the show. My Best friend and I both quickly built up 99 overall teams since season 2. I can tell you, having all cards available is a lot better! Also, having the ability to cross play on my switch to do some of the grinding when I'm not at home is a whole other element! If Sony released a handheld like the switch that you could replace your phone for quick games to a mini grind , they would change their whole portfolio! In my opinion
first 2k, now the show, when a fifa of the fall of PES video
i dont play madden but your videos gave me knowledge of american football
9:46 - These vague changes are just empty babbling. Why pretend otherwise? MLB 25 is just going to be MLB 24 is just going to be MLB 23 is just going to be you get the idea. Until the league license becomes non-exclusive again, nothing is going to become meaningfully better.
I emailed them a few years ago telling them that they need a good rivalry/grudge system in the game so that your player in rtts can develop enemies over the course of his career. Also having a rpg like system where you can argue calls to the point of straight up arguing with the umpire, maybe even develop relationships with umpires as a hitter, pitcher or catcher. Following a third base coaches signs for either bunting, swinging away or stealing would be cool. Also, giving my runner time to decide whether I want to steal or not would be great too. Most times in RTTS I can’t even take a lead before the pitcher is already throwing. If I were San Diego Studios I would do a roster update for 2026, overhaul the graphics engine, optimize it, implement these systems and test them and release a game every 2nd or 3rd year going forward with significant changes between releases because people will get sick of the same thing over and over eventually to a point where you will have to make some changes.
Remembered some more things: having a plays of the week sports center kind of thing pop up presentation would be cool, a league ticker at the bottom, a player social media only feed where they can give props to or have beef with. Maybe steal from the 2k nhl games and allow your RTTS player to spend money on houses, cars etc have a trophy room.
When you get to an NHL game, it really feels so bare bones and the gameplay is so hit or miss it's crazy.
You use to be able to carry your Road to the Show player from year to year, I stopped gaming for a few years starting in 2020 and I’m getting back into it but on The Show my RTTS player was carried over for like 3 or 4 years.
Dude I’d love if you would dive in/blast all sports games as they are ALL doing the same ole roster update bs (especially any EA titles!)
Definitely drop a full review for The Show 25 when it releases!
i would love a PGA 2k trailer review and/or the EA sports one too
really nice job with the video, made a lot of good points
This is the first time seeing gameplay and even just in game footage for the show 24 and to me it looks almost lifeless. Look at the ground textures at 1:18. There was no effort put into it what so ever.
Honestly, I still think the show is my favorite sports game but I agree with everything you said. Franchise needs major improvements now and road to the show desperately needs new life in it. Both seem to be getting a focus this year atleast more than usual so that’s good. But yeah they have really been coasting by last few titles and I probably played less the show last year compared to any other year I started playing it.
I know people say they hate sets and seasons, but we've never had so many cards to chose our line ups!
It would be cool to see you cover the Backyard Sports series as well as the Mario Sports games as well. Those would be very fun to see! :D
For sure cover mlb the show and review it. Need an trusted unbiased source reviewing it.
MLB 25 The Show NEEDS to be on Next Gen only so the game can look better graphically
microtransactions suck in any game
I'm not a baseball fan and will never play these games but I'm here for the support. No shame in covering more ground. Do all the sports as long as you're passionate and accurate. I've enjoyed pga2k. You don't need to like IRL golf to play it
Have you cover WWE 2k yet? That would be awesome if you ever cover it at some point
Funny how you talked about 21 being the last game people liked when I saw it as the beginning of the end and the game where I foresaw The Show ending up like Madden and 2K. It was the fame that tied player progression in Road to the Show to the stupid preset system which took forever to level through and made equipment earned via virtual packs all the more important. It also killed the freedom to customize your player from previous games where you would raise caps and stats, sometimes with fun minigames. Speaking of Road To The Show it forced the player in to being a Two Way Player from the get go, eliminating much of the freedom Road to The Show had. I tried to play franchise mode, but by that time it was just the same thing from 2013-2014 to be honest. I ended up deleting the game from my PS4 and actually went back to 20. But 21 was where it killed it for me. I haven't purchased another Show game since and don't think I will considering the stat of the franchise.
21 was truly the last game I enjoyed. Basically the same game from 22 onwards. Hoping they move towards X/S and PS5 exclusive after the success of CFB 25
All recent sport titles are copy and paste with very little change.
As someone who's played the Show every year since 2016, I can attest that the game's had its ups and downs. I got tired of MLB 23, and MLB 24 was the first time I stopped playing the game in the middle of the year instead of the end of the year. Before MLB 23 and 24, MLB 18 was widely considered to be the worst in the franchise, and in some ways, it still is, but 22-24 have given it some competition.
Broadly, RTTS and Franchise need help desperately. Both modes have been neglected and need improvements across the board. Logic improvements for franchise is the absolute bare minimum, so hopefully they have some interesting things planned for 25, like combines and what not. The Show's gameplay is weird because it can feel very inconsistent. The game seems to play well offline in franchise, but it feels different in DD, and the game doesn't play as well online due to it being too easy to pitch, and the hitting feeling inconsistent in regard to exit velocities being all over the place, and laggy connections making everything worse.
DD, as mentioned in this video, has its ups, but it's not as free to play friendly as it used to be. Over the last 2-3 years, the monetization and emphasis on packs has gotten worse, and while sets/seasons might've been worth a shot, it only made things worse. DD needs a new mode or 2 badly, and there's been too much of a focus on broadly collecting cards to get even better cards over playing different modes on and offline to get the best cards.
One thing not mentioned in this video (likely because Softdrink's not as familiar with the Show than with other sports games,) that's also hurt the Show is how legends are handled. In 2K and Madden, when a legend is added, they usually stay in the game. With SDS and the Show, there's usually a decently sized list of removed legends year after year. For example, Yogi Berra, Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk, Dave Winfield, Rogers Hornsby, Reggie Jackson, Ty Cobb, and so on used to be in the game. For the most part, for years now, all of these legends have been removed, and it's unclear if they'll ever come back. A few legends, like Jim Rice and Andre Dawson do return, but many legends don't.
Now, while this might not be all SDS's fault, the fact that we get a sizeable list of removed legends per year is just bad and causes more problems than one may think. First, it makes DD worse because there's less options in general. Second, it makes historic teams impossible given how many notable guys are missing. Third, in the case of major legends, like Yogi and Ted, it's very difficult to get new legends of similar caliber to make up the difference, and in the case of the Show in recent years, they largely haven't tried much. The Negro League legends are amazing and very cool to see, but in terms of getting other legends from, say, the early 1900s-1970s, the game has gotten stale. SDS has largely moved to trying to maximize the 90s and 2000s eras as much as possible. While I do agree that getting any former player possible is appreciated, SDS has really begun to stretch the term 'legend.' Not only are the newer 'legends' players who've had shorter peaks, but they're also guys we've seen in the game before as actual players.
They just need to fix their saving issues; for years in the show I’ll randomly have my road to glory player deleted out of nowhere, or my franchise deleted. It’s by far the #1 issue the show has had for a long time now, countless road to glory TH-camrs have to cancel their series bc of this
Stadium creator is the mode that I go to the most, and it is in dire need of updates and patches
I haven't played since '22 or '23 I think, but like this video indicates, not much has changed. Things I have been criticizing for years:
Gameplay-
1) Crowd noise/intensity in the playoffs. Playing in game 7 of the world series feels the same as a game in July.
2) Stealing is horrible. Two step leads aren't enough, three step leads you're automatically picked off. Pick off attempts are a completely predetermined animation (similar to blocked kicks/punts in madden). It's very hard to get a good jump and focus on batting.
3) Batting ratings are too simplistic. It's easy to replicate physical traits (contact, power), but how do you replicate mental traits? "Discipline" in real life means swinging at strikes, and not at balls - aka a good eye. In the game "discipline" means how good the player is at checking their swing? They need to get innovative and come up with a way to make balls vs. strikes, or fastball vs. off-speed, easier for the user to identify based on the player up to bat.
4) Fielding ratings. Players need to have different fielding rating per position. Many players play several positions but are not equally good at all. Maybe add a "comfortability/familiarity" rating for each position.
Franchise Mode-
1) Simulation is horrible. If you're a true franchise player, you're going to sim 90%+ of the regular season games. I had a year where Aaron Judge (97 OVR) batted .220 with 23 homeruns, and Aaron Hicks (76OVR) hit .325. Come on, up/down years happen, but let's stay within a certain range of the norm.
2) Unrealistic playing time distribution. I don't want to set lineups vs L/R pitchers. I want one preferred lineup, and then set strategies on who plays more frequently, who needs schedule rest, and who plays situationally. Set up a "games started "distribution like NBA2K has a "minutes distribution" gameplans. If your team uses utilitymen, I should be able to get them playtime in multiple positions. At the end of the year, Chris Taylor shouldn't have just 50 games at LF. He should have 30 at LF, 25 at 2B, 18 in CF, 9 at SS, etc.
3) Lack of manager strategies and creativity. MLB managers are not play callers or motivators like other sports; they instill philosophies. If I have a deep roster, I should be able to schedule more rest days. If I have a great bullpen, I should be able set my preference to yank starters earlier during simulated games. If I have a homerun hitting roster, I don't want to be super aggressive on the basepaths.
4) Trades. Logic is horrible as indicated in the video. Teams don't have strategy when it comes to buying and selling at the deadline. Players should be worth more or less based on the team's position. A player's contract, skill, position, and age all need to be taken into account. Giancarlo Stanton is a still a decent player, but I shouldn't be able to trade him to the Athletics for their top prospect. In fact, he would have negative trade value to any team. Trades are limited to three players.
5) Free Agency. Unrealistic contracts - I remember playing a few years ago and saw Juan Soto sign a 4yr $84mil deal with the Rockies. This is after he declined $400mil in real life! How much money do I have to spend and how much is left? I'm tired of agreeing to contracts with players and then advancing to the next day and it tells me I don't have the funds.
6) Letter grade prospect potential. What does B mean? 80? 89? That's a big difference.
7) Player contract renewals. Why am I spending 10 minutes to manually renew contracts of 60 minor leaguers? How burdensome.
8) MLB draft. Just horrible and unrealistic across the board.