Sony takes MLB to The Show @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on November 29, 2005

News: Sony announces the next rendition of their MLB Baseball series.

Late this afternoon Sony announced that MLB 06: The Show is in development for the PS2 and PSP. This will be the first first-party baseball game released since Take Two purchased exclusive third party rights to games based on the MLB.

New for 06 will be the additions of Rivalry Mode and King of the Diamond Mode. Rivalry Mode allows players to set up multigame rivalries with complete stat tracking for all of the players involved. King of the Diamond attempts to bring players back to the sandlot with a one-on-one pitcher/batter duel. Which makes me ask, how else does a pitcher face a batter?

The greatest player of all time, Rex Hudler, is also being added to the play-by-play team of Matt Vasgersian and Dave Campbell to make it a teriffic trio. Other features of MLB 06 (straight from Sony's mouth) include:

MLB 06: The Show for PlayStation 2 reports to camp with the new Game Time Decisions feature, bringing more depth to Franchise and Season Modes by providing scenarios in which users will need to take full control of their team and decide which players to place in the line up at critical times. Additionally, the new 40-Man Roster feature offers the ability to take full control of a team's roster and manage all 40 players for each and every game. For a complete package of unprecedented online options, MLB 06: The Show now offers head-to-head gameplay for both King of the Diamond and Rivalry Mode to go along with 32-team tournaments, live sports tickers, downloadable rosters, instant messaging and more. Additionally, the implementation of a new online news service provides users with MLB updates on news and events from around the league or their favorite team. Returning gameplay favorites for PlayStation 2 include, Release Point Pitching, the Pitching Confidence Meter, Guess Pitch, EyeToy functionality, and Career Mode with the all-new Career Spotlight feature that underscores accomplishments and showcases them in the limelight.

MLB 06: The Show for the PSP system suits up for the season with the all-new Career Mode for gamers to create a player and take them out to play anytime, anywhere, and a Season Mode that now offers multiple seasons. Users can choose their favorite team, play the regular season, advance to the playoffs, be crowned the World Series Champion and even create their own dynasty. With the new Historical Greats option, nostalgic fans of America's Pastime players can go up against baseball legends. For gamers on the go, MLB 06: The Show offers multiplayer gameplay, either locally via Ad Hoc Mode or across the nation via Infrastructure Mode. Additionally, sports fanatics can utilize the new online news service to get the latest MLB news feeds online or save them to the Memory Stick Duo and review them offline at their convenience.

Those of you with long memories will remember that MLB 2006 was already released for the PS2 this Spring. So here's to title confusion!

But we'll have more on this MLB 06 very soon.