MLB 09 The Show Hands-On From OS
by 
Various media outlets got a chance earlier this week to spend some time with MLB 09 The Show and its developers. Operation Sports has their full preview and has also posted an interview with an online producer. Overall the game sounds like it is pretty much what everyone is expecting. I wish I was able to say the interview made me more confident about online performance this year though.
In real baseball, it is easy enough to figure out who the stars are and why they mean so much to their respective teams. Yet, it is the little things that are done on the field and in the dugout that will ultimately determine which teams are the most successful. In that same way, it is easy enough to realize that the core mechanics of MLB 09: The Show –- hitting, pitching –- are solid overall, but it will take many hours of playing time to decipher whether or not MLB 09: The Show is another game of the year contender.
Last year one of the few weaknesses The Show had was with online play. The performance was very inconsistent and in some cases unplayable and the online leagues had some baffling restrictions placed on them. Those issues are discussed in the interview.
On the gameplay side, what we tried to focus on was just tuning up the experience. So any frame-rate issues you would have seen last year, any hitches with the batter, any release points with the pitcher, we tried to sure those up and tried to make it as close to the offline experience as possible. Obviously there is inherent lag, so there is plenty of trouble doing that, but you’re going to get a pretty true experience on the online gameplay side.
January 23, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Ugh I wish developers would stop blaming peoples connections. 2K does this too. Sorry but I can play all my EA games smoothly even the ones with 20 different people in FIFA. Dont tell me The Show is lagging because of my or my friends connection. Thats BS.
January 23, 2009 at 7:11 pm
everything sounds great except i get the feeling that online is going to be terrible again
January 23, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Here you guys go again with the online complaints. Can you guys name me 5 games that have perfect online play? I know that online play is a big part of gaming these days but if there's a little lag is that really gonna ruin the game as a whole?
January 23, 2009 at 8:35 pm
lately you can look at nhl, fifa, nba live being about as close to perfect as possible. but there is a difference between being perfect like you say and being acceptable. the show and mlb 2k8 were not even close to being the acceptable level
January 23, 2009 at 9:35 pm
NHL 09, Battlefield Bad Company, COD4, COD World at war, NBA Live 09, Burnout Paradise. There is six for you right there. There is no such thing as perfect but these games were near perfect everytime and there was no serious degradation in game play at all.
MLB 07 the show and MLB 08 the show were both unplayable online. the severe lag in the pitcher batter interface made the game rediculous and quite unplayable. Now you cant tell me that a game of baseball, which doesn't have the numbers as far as moving players simultanously as any of the other major sports, cant make the game work properly. Madden does it, NBA Live does it, HHL 09 does it, FIFA 09 does it.
The bottom line is that Sony doesn't want to give up the server resources to make this game stable for online play. When will we these guys learn. Most people IMHO would gladly pay a nominal fee for smooth, lagfree online play.
OH, BTW lets throw Soul Calibur 4, Hot Shots Golf, Tiger Woods Golf, onto the list as well.
January 25, 2009 at 6:40 am
Madden
Live
Fifa
NHL
Gears Of War
Call of Duty
GRAW 2
January 23, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Is it me or do all baseball games have terrible online and 2k sports games. ( NBA MLB COLLEGE HOOPS) only sports games that i own that are good online are MADDEN NCAA NHL
January 23, 2009 at 8:30 pm
When you are a part of a league community, right after you determine if the core gameplay is sufficient, you look at the online component. This game keeps getting praised for being the best baseball game ever, but without a solid online experience, it's limited.
January 23, 2009 at 8:35 pm
good point i agree
January 23, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Why can't Madden be this deep!!!!!! EA Sucks
January 23, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Agreed!
January 24, 2009 at 4:05 pm
also agree
January 24, 2009 at 12:45 am
I noticed that the author of the article mentioned overcast skies….I hope this is true.
January 24, 2009 at 3:21 am
Forget online play, only some users play it. Focus on the part that EVERYONE with the game will encounter..THE GAMEPLAY
January 24, 2009 at 4:05 pm
they've already addressed the gameplay years ago…keep up.
January 25, 2009 at 6:44 am
Shut the hell up…ONLINE is likely the most important aspect of the game…Most people aren't on their Ps3 playing by themselves..They want to play competition online
January 25, 2009 at 6:42 am
Sounds like the same game with Progressive lighting and the same lag…While I love the SHOW if I can't rely on the online play I won't buy it…Online is the only reason I play sports games
January 25, 2009 at 8:24 pm
I actually know of no one who plays the games online.
January 25, 2009 at 10:23 pm
I played 3 games online last night on 08. The first two had too much lag for hitting on my end. The last one was quite a bit better. Funny thing is the pitch speed was much slower and unrealistic in the laggy games, but it still had too much lag to be responsive for a real experience. The last game the pitch speed seemed pretty much normal with just a little lag in bat response.
I hadnt played online in 8 months or so. Back then, when I played in the West room, most of the time lag wasnt much of an issue. Last night I just played in the generic room, so who knows where the other person was from. This seems to make a difference in 08.
January 26, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Pasta will you be bringing a preview to us? Did you preview the game?