It’s not really a big story anymore because this has been happening for years, but Sony announced its internally developed first-party game MLB The Show 24 overnight – and once again, PlayStation owners will be forced to pay full-price for the title, while Xbox Game Pass subscribers can play it at no extra cost. This obviously isn’t the first time this has happened, as it’s been occurring ever since the series went multiformat.
Despite being developed by subsidiary San Diego Studio, the MLB publishes the game on other platforms, like Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch. Still, this has never been a great look for PlayStation, considering it’s claimed day one releases into subscriptions are “unsustainable” in the past. Apparently, this franchise is proving very sustainable in Xbox Game Pass.
The game itself is due out on 19th March, and will feature Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as its cover star. Interestingly, the Toronto Blue Jays all-star’s father was the main athlete highlighted in MLB 06 on PS2 and PSP, before the series was rebranded The Show. This means the franchise has now featured both father and son over the years.
While gameplay updates will be announced in due time, pre-orders are open for $69.99 on PS5 and $59.99 on PS4, with the Standard Edition including 5 The Show Packs and 5,000 Stubs to get you started in Diamond Dynasty. Feature Premieres will follow on YouTube and Twitch in the lead up to launch, while the title’s Collector’s Edition will be officially unveiled on 6th February.
[source blog.playstation.com]
Comments 35
I think The only reason it seems sustainable on gamepass is because people are buying it on PlayStation and Switch. If they put the game on all 3 online services then the only thing that would be keeping the lights on would be through heavy monetization
Every PS5 owner should put away a bit of money every month and eventually buy an Xbox Series X as well. Then you'll have Gamepass, the console wars won't matter to you and you'll get the best of both worlds. Honestly life-changing.
Will be playing this on Xbox of course. It puzzles me as to why doesn't Sony put it on its own subscription service?
Word is the only reason that no longer exclusive to PlayStation is because MLB threatened to revoke license from Sony if not expanded to other platforms. Same may hold true for Game Pass availability.
@Tasuki because it sells on PlayStation
@sd7232 It's definitely true that MLB requested the game go multiformat, but I don't really understand how this happens year after year with Game Pass.
Obviously the game is still selling well on PS5 and PS4, but it just looks like such a poor value proposition for PlayStation players — especially when it's a first-party game.
Alas, it's not really a big story or surprise anymore really.
Yearly sports games should never be $60/$70, especially if they're gonna put microtransactions and lootboxes in these games now.
I want to speak from the heart here , Sony gave away late in the year MLB17 and I thought I’ll try that , bam hook line and sinker I became a massive mlb fan , traveling to the yearly games or home run derbys in the UK.
Since the free ps plus game I’ve ponied up and bought everyone even going back and filling the gaps and buying ones I didn’t have ( crazy but I love this game ) Sonys ( or it was ) their best hidden gem exclusive from their own studios.
Since the forced multi format I’ve even been buying on switch so I can carry on my play trough when out and about,
This gamespass move stings a little I have to admit, I’m not sure on the motivations or the end game , maybe build an Xbox fan base and hope one day the can charge for it ? Seems a strange strategy.
I’m a member of the highest tier on ps , I think it would be a cool move to put it in there , but I’m losing faith
As a bizzare uk skew of being an mlb fan and ps user I feel victimised ( can’t blame me )
Still I’ll keep buying it on the two platforms guess I’m part of the problem but US MLb fans with Xbox’s- one assumes thats who the deals for are laughing all the way to the bank.
The annoyance it’s it’s so so good , the soundtrack the road to the show everything, it’s hard to justify its price especially buying it twice but if I didn’t lever as much joy as I do from the series I’d be even more furious
Come on Sony recognise and reward my loyalty at least once
I COULD play this on GamePass since I got a few months for free. However, I’d rather buy it for PS5 if I were to play it, seeing as how Sony made it.
Stupid MLB.
This salty headline is something I've come to expect since MLB went multiplat
@Balie3000 you still have to pay for gamepass on top of buying a pointless console if you have a laptop , mobile or even a meta quest you can access gamepass .
That comment about how it "clearly works for Xbox" doesn't really stand, we don't know how much they're paying for the content they're putting on the platform, and putting this title on GP inherently takes away from any sales on Xbox it might have made (thus a sacrificial play: Xbox pays now to avoid a steady stream of income going directly to Sony).
It's a goofy thing but I think it's pretty clear that it's simply out of Sony's hands. The MLB is only really interested in getting anyone they can to become new baseball fans and Microsoft is willing to pay for it. They don't really care about the optics of the situation as they know Sony isn't going to stop making such a lucrative series for them.
Plus, as has been proven the last few years, it hasn't had any major impact on sales for the game on Playstation platforms and it also has done pretty well on Switch now too. If sales started to plummet we might have seen some sort of change by now but that just hasn't been the case.
Sony probably just looks at the situation and says "Well no need to rock the boat as it's floating just fine."
What people don't realise is that the game is being distributed by MLB on XBox and not Sony. XBox would have made the deal with MLB.
I get Sony do not have a say in the gamepass deal, but they could at the very least make the same deal and put it on their own sub aswell, try and give some value back to their customers and not have such bad optics over the years.
PS plus really needs to improve alot to be in the same league as gamepass. It's nowhere near at the minute and some day 1 deals like that would get me to resubscribe. As a multiplatform gamer it's not even a contest on which service gets my money
@get2sammyb “Apparently, this franchise is proving very sustainable in Xbox Game Pass.”
That’s because Microsoft are paying an arm and a leg to have it on Game Pass.
As for, “ PlayStation owners will be forced to pay full-price for the title, while Xbox Game Pass subscribers can play it at no extra cost.”
Sony is about making $$$. There’s a reason why EVERYTHING they sell is expensive from the hardware to accessories and even services like ps+. They want to make a profit on everything they sell which devalues the brand from the consumer’s perspective because he/she doesn’t get much value out of it. This is the new Sony.
It's the same attitude that now means Sony charge their console users to play their 1st party games online while they allow PC players to play them online for free.
Best way to play is to own a PS5 and GeForce NOW for Gamepass games, the ultimate combo, Xbox console isn’t needed anymore 👍🏻
@Balie3000
It's better to build a PC since that is an Xbox and so much more.
@colonelkilgore
This right here. PlayStation players buy games. Xbox gamers buy games to a far lesser degree and that's a problem Game Pass exacerbates. Microsoft painted themselves into a corner with Game Pass. I'm sure they would rather sell copies of games rather than give them away at no extra cost on a service that loses them lots of money (both in current revenue and potential revenue).
@TheCollector316 I'm sure Microsoft know what they are doing they have some very clever buisness people, that's probably why they are now a 3 Trillion dollar company.
Microsoft plan about 10 years ahead they are prepared to take loses until it pays.
@Sifi
That's part of the reason I was completely surprised regulators failed so miserably at their jobs. The empty ten-year deals do not mean a thing, but the loss of Activision-Blizzard and Bethesda as competitors in the market will be felt long past ten years, especially in ABK's case.
Bit of a strange way to put it. What you mean is, you can pay twice as much on Gamepass to rent the game for a year, and they’ll let you play a load of other games for the year too.
Completely different service.
I've played The Show since before it was The Show, but I never go full price any more, and I don't buy it every year either. I'll keep an eye on the new features and how it plays, and then decide if I want to get it once it drops to $30 later this year. As someone who LOVES single player offline franchise sports games, but realizes that developers don't give a crap about people like me any longer, its a frustrating side of my gamer life.
Dumb question: If mlb the show continues to come out on switch and other last-gen consoles (and why wouldn’t it, given how many people play on those consoles), is there reason to think they’ll ever bother with making use of new-gen tech? I don’t ask for much, but having the grass look like grass would be nice.
I've never bought a game in the series but I've played each one since they've been on Game Pass. I'd be much more inclined to buy one now though because of that. They're really well made games.
@Balie3000 I did this coming the other way around. Last gen I had an Xbox One. In 2020 I got a Series X but also procured a PS5. Best choice ever. I got to play all the PS4 exclusives I missed (and probably have a few left still), have enjoyed the new games, and frankly I don't care which game is exclusive to whom, I know I can play it (also own a Switch). Xbox continues to be my multi-platform gaming console of choice, but those Sony exclusives are great indeed.
Hell yeah, I love paying full price so Game Pass users can keep playing for free! Nice job Sony, just brilliant.
Love how people are making out like Sony had any choice in this.
MLB made them go multiplatform and put it on games pass.
But Sony is getting paid for it to be on there so I don't know what the issue is.
Game Pass is not profitable for Microsoft. It's that simple it's just there a sort of haha Sony for them but the actualy service is costing them millions without much return.
Just think how much Microsoft is having to pay for it to be on the system.
I don't quite understand the push back on Sony for this.
They don't release their first party day and date. MLB the show and the studio would not exist if Sony took the brunt of the cost and put it on their ps plus.
Plus many games third party go on game pass and the numbers are still high for purchases anyway.
Xbox game pass is really a try before you buy model for most people. They jump in on the cheap for a month try out the game and then buy it if they like it.
Let's pay 100+ for game pass a year for mlb the show or just pay the 70 or cheaper for the game out right. I really don't see a comparison
It's honestly weird that MLB The Show (and the previous MLB series) was a Sony exclusive for as long as it was, over 20 years. It does suck that PS players have to play whereas Xbox users can play it on Game Pass, but it's the only way to get engagement from Xbox players. MS has conditioned their fans to not buy games, so selling the game at full price on Xbox would be a waste of resources for MLB and Sony.
It's ironic because I could play this on Game Pass, but playing Xbox still feels weird so I'd rather play it on my PS5.
Thing is, there's no way I'm ponying up $70 for a game I could play for free on my other console. So now, I just don't play The Show anymore.
MLB seems like something that you pick up once it's in the bargain bin nowadays.
@Casco The perfect trifecta of gaming 👌🏻 We bask in the light
@TheCollector316 I'm a console peasant. I like things simple
@Gavalaar The setup works really well for me... in ways I don't think you can understand
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