MLB The Show 21 | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | San Diego Studio |
Publisher(s) |
|
Series | MLB: The Show |
Platform(s) | |
Release | April 20, 2021 |
Genre(s) | Sports |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
MLB The Show 21 is a baseball video game by San Diego Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, based on Major League Baseball (MLB). It was released for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, as well as the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S (a first for the franchise) which included it being on Xbox Game Pass at the release for the first time, with MLB Advanced Media co-publishing digital versions on the latter platforms. The sixteenth entry of the MLB: The Show franchise, it was released on April 20, 2021. [1] San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. is featured as the cover star, and at age 22 is the youngest player to do so. [2]
Matt Vasgersian, Mark DeRosa and Dan Plesac return as play-by-play commentators for the last time, Heidi Watney as sideline reporter and Alex Miniak as public address commentator.
New to the series is the ballpark creator feature, which gives players the ability to change ballpark dimensions, wall height, foul territory and other scenery options. This feature also allows players to share and download ballparks that other players have created online. It was exclusive to the ninth generation versions of the game. [3]
For the first time in the series, the game was made available on Xbox consoles, with cross-platform compatibility between the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. [4] It was also announced that the Xbox versions of the game would be available for Xbox Game Pass subscribers at no additional cost at release, a decision made solely by digital co-publisher MLB Advanced Media and not Sony themselves. [5] [6]
Baseball legend Jackie Robinson was on the cover of his namesake editions, with $1 donated to his foundation for each copy of the edition sold in the United States. [1]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | PS4: 79/100 [7] PS5: 78/100 [8] XSX: 81/100 [9] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Game Informer | 8.5/10 [10] |
GameSpot | 7/10 [11] |
GamesRadar+ | [12] |
Hardcore Gamer | 4.5/5 [13] |
IGN | 8/10 [14] |
MLB The Show 21 received "generally favorable reviews" from critics, according to review aggregate Metacritic.
GameSpot gave the game 7/10, praising the Stadium Creator and changes to pitching but criticizing the lack of additions to Road to the Show and Franchise modes, saying, "Much like its predecessors, MLB The Show 21 is still one of the best sports games available once you step over the foul line." [11] GamesRadar+ gave the game 4/5 stars, calling it "a solid home-run hitter, but not the baseball revolution we were hoping for on PS5 and Xbox Series X." IGN gave it 8/10, saying: "MLB The Show 21 isn't the generational leap forward we might've expected following a new console launch, but it's still the best baseball sim you can play on any platform."
In the US, MLB The Show 21 was the best-selling digital game across PlayStation and Xbox platforms for the month of April 2021. [15] [16] By July 18, 2021, the game had surpassed 2 million sales across all platforms, with the game reaching 4 million players. [17]
MVP Baseball was a baseball game series published by EA Sports, running from 2003 to 2007 with five games produced. In 2003, MVP became the official successor to EA's long-running Triple Play Baseball series, and it simulated Major League Baseball from 2003 to 2005. However, an exclusive licensing deal between Major League Baseball and Take-Two Interactive in 2005 prohibited EA Sports from making another MLB game until 2012. In response, EA made NCAA college baseball games in 2006 and 2007, but discontinued the series in 2008 because of poor sales.
R.B.I. Baseball is a baseball sports video game series. R.B.I. stands for "run batted in". Launched in 1987 as a localized version of Namco's Family Stadium series, the R.B.I. Baseball series initially ran through 1995. In 2014, the series was rebooted as a competitor to MLB: The Show, with releases each year until its cancellation. The series ended in 2022 with the release of MLB The Show 22 on the Nintendo Switch.
MVP 06: NCAA Baseball is the fourth edition of the baseball video game series developed by Electronic Arts. Because of Electronic Arts' loss of the Major League Baseball (MLB) license to Take Two Interactive in 2005, which held the exclusive MLB license until 2014, the publishers decided to transition the MVP series to feature NCAA baseball, joining the publisher's NCAA football and basketball lines. MVP 06 was released on January 17, 2006 for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 consoles. The athlete on the cover is former Texas Longhorn David Maroul.
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartphones, tablets, Blu-ray players and high-definition televisions. This service is the account for PlayStation consoles, accounts can store games and other content.
Major League Baseball 2K6 is a 2006 Major League Baseball licensed baseball video game developed by Kush Games and published by 2K. It was released for Xbox 360, Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. This is the first time the any 2K Sports game was released for a Nintendo system since the 2K3 Series of games and the first Major League Baseball 2K game as World Series Baseball 2K3 was canceled for the system along with the 2K4/ESPN Series of games.
Major League Baseball 2K7 is a Major League Baseball licensed baseball simulation video game developed by Kush Games and published by 2K. Released on February 27, 2007, it is the only 2007 MLB licensed game available for the Xbox and Xbox 360. It is also available for the PlayStation Portable, the PlayStation 2 and, for the first time, the PlayStation 3, though its competition came in the form of MLB 07: The Show from 989 Sports. Portable versions for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable were released. It is the first baseball game to be released for the Nintendo DS and the last major release for the original Xbox game console.
Major League Baseball 2K8, or, in shorter terms, MLB 2K8, is an MLB licensed baseball simulation video game co-developed by Blue Castle Games and newly renamed 2K Los Angeles and published by 2K Sports for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, and Xbox 360. It was released on March 4, 2008. A demo was released on Xbox Live Marketplace the next day on March 5 for Canada, United States, and Asian markets and features the 2007 World Series opponents.
MLB 08: The Show is a baseball simulation video game developed by San Diego Studio published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable systems. It is the longest-running officially licensed Major League Baseball game series on the PlayStation systems. MLB 08: The Show is the third edition of the MLB: The Show series of video games. The game was announced for all three PlayStation consoles on December 11, 2007, and released on March 4, 2008 in North America. Ryan Howard, all-star first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, is featured as the game's cover athlete.
Major League Baseball 2K9, or MLB 2K9 for short, is an MLB-licensed baseball simulation video game published by 2K. The game was developed for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and Wii. The game was released on March 3, 2009, to mixed-to-positive reviews.
Platform exclusivity refers to the status of a video game being developed for and released only on certain platforms. Most commonly, it refers to only being released on a specific video game console or through a specific vendor's platforms—either permanently, or for a definite period of time.
Nicktoons MLB is a baseball video game released for the Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS platforms. The game was developed by High Voltage Software and published by 2K in 2011. It features playable characters from Nickelodeon shows including SpongeBob SquarePants, Invader Zim, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Danny Phantom, Planet Sheen, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Fanboy & Chum Chum, T.U.F.F. Puppy, and two characters that only appear in the 3DS version, one which is from The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, and the other from the Nickelodeon game Monkey Quest. Characters from Rugrats, Rocko's Modern Life, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Hey Arnold!, The Angry Beavers, CatDog, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, Back at the Barnyard, and The Mighty B! make cameo appearances in the game's loading screens. In addition to Nickelodeon characters, the game also features players from real Major League Baseball teams.
MLB: The Show is a Major League Baseball video game series created and produced by San Diego Studio, a development team that is part of PlayStation Studios. The series has received critical and commercial acclaim, and since 2014 has been the sole MLB baseball simulation video game on the market for consoles.
Major League Baseball 2K5 is an MLB licensed baseball simulation video game published by 2K. MLB 2K5 is available for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The previous game in the series made by Sega Sports was ESPN Major League Baseball back in 2004. The first edition of the series, powered by ESPN. Unlike the other "2K5" branded sports games, this was published by 2K, making it the first Visual Concepts-developed sports game not to be published by Sega, though Sega's logos are still seen in the background of menus and ballparks. The game included Web Gems instant replays, K-Zone pitching, Slam Zone hitting, and baserunner mode. The game was released in late February 2005 on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles. The cover baseball player was New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. Later that year, an upgraded version titled Major League Baseball 2K5: World Series Edition was released during the 2005 MLB postseason.
MLB 14: The Show is a baseball video game developed by San Diego Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, based on Major League Baseball (MLB). It is the ninth entry of the MLB: The Show franchise. Announced on November 4, 2013, the game was released on April 1, 2014 for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. The PlayStation 4 version was released on May 6, 2014. Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera is the featured athlete on the cover. As with the previous two entries, Canada has a unique cover, with Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie on the cover.
Super Mega Baseball is a baseball video game series developed by the independent studio Metalhead Software in Victoria, BC, Canada and published by EA Sports.
The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North America, and South Korea, and was released worldwide one week later. The PS5 is part of the ninth generation of video game consoles, along with Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S consoles, which were released in the same month.
The ninth generation of video game consoles began in November 2020 with the releases of Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Series S console family and Sony's PlayStation 5.
Dirt 5 is a simcade racing video game developed and published by Codemasters. The game was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on 6 November 2020, for Xbox Series X/S on 10 November, and for PlayStation 5 on 12 November and 19 November, for Stadia on 24 March 2021, and for Luna on 15 July 2021. It was the last video game released by Codemasters as a publisher before acquired by Electronic Arts (EA) on 18 February 2021.
F1 is a racing video game series by Codemasters under the EA Sports banner since 2021. The series holds the official license of the FIA Formula One World Championship, with the FIA Formula 2 Championship available since the 2019 game. A total of twenty-one games have been released to date, with the series' latest installment, F1 23, released in June 2023.
MLB The Show 22 is a baseball video game by San Diego Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, based on Major League Baseball (MLB). It was released for the PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, as well as Nintendo Switch, a first for the franchise. The seventeenth entry of the MLB: The Show franchise, it was released on April 5, 2022. Los Angeles Angels two-way player and 2021 American League MVP Shohei Ohtani is featured as the cover star. A special manga style art by Takashi Okazaki of Shohei Ohtani is featured on the cover art for the MVP and Digital Deluxe editions of MLB The Show 22.