With the All-Star game only a month away, SCEA and Major League Baseball has announced a partnership to donate money towards cancer research. Starting from June 13 through July 10, for every copy of MLB 10 The Show sold in US retail stores, SCEA will donate $10 of its proceeds to SU2C (Stand Up To Cancer) to aid in the fight against cancer. MLB has been a well-known partner with SU2C so it’s only fitting for the most popular baseball game in the industry to also get involved with the organization. If you already bought MLB: The Show but would like to show your support you can visit the SU2C home page to find out how you can help.

[Source: PlayStation Blog]

Welcome back! After a very long off season Gabe and Eric are back yet again with another episode of Spawn Kill’s sports podcast, The Away Team. In the third episode they talk about what they’ve been playing which includes Final Fantasy XIII, they discuss all the important sports video game news that dropped since the last podcast, preview some upcoming titles like Split/Second, and discuss which is the better baseball game this year: MLB ‘10: The Show or MLB 2k10.

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Every time I play MLB 10: The Show I’ll see something different, that’s how baseball is. Most likely you will see something new every game of the year and The Show gives you the same exact feeling. This combined with the level of detail in the game makes it the most realistic baseball game ever made. But creating a realistic game isn’t the only thing SCE Studios San Diego has done. You can personalize the game in a way that makes it your own. With the ability to import your own music, edit walk up music, bring a created player through the majors, your experience with MLB 10: The Show can be different than anyone else’s. Even though we didn’t see a huge change from last year’s title, the additions and improvements made to this year’s game makes The Show undoubtedly the best baseball game on the market.

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With only one more day to go, the follow up to last year’s best baseball title, MLB 10 The Show looks to once again provide gamers with the most realistic baseball game in the market. For those who haven’t been closely following the upcoming title or if you just missed something, we created a one stop shop for everything you need to know about The Show. What you’ll find in this preview are some highlights of key features and additions to MLB 10 The Show and all the videos released, and yes that includes the “Dear Playstation” commercial that we all love.

If you haven’t seen it already or even if you have, the commercial for MLB 10 The Show is hilarious. Check it out.

The realism that Kevin Butler is talking about in The Show comes from all the little subtleties in the game.  Last year I was blown away by how accurately they were able to capture certain player’s rituals or mannerisms at the plate or on the mound.  This year’s version will include all of that and will also bring a more realistic environment. MLB 10 will have real-time players in the dugouts and bullpens, fireworks, rally towels/tundersticks, working clocks and home run counters like the one seen in San Francisco. Of course you can’t bring a game to life without fans and this year crowd detail has also been improved. They will be much more active this year, reaching over the wall for foul balls, scrambling for home run balls and making more noise in pressure situations. This might seem like very small additions but brought together it helps bring the real game to into the virtual one.  Here’s the trailer showing off some of these features.

Road to The Show (RTTS) is one of the best modes of the MLB The Show franchise. It has been the leading sports title in creating a realistic and engaging “create a player” mode. This year in RTTS you’ll have much more control over what your player looks like and his accessories. Once you create your player you’ll be sent right to the Double-A season. While last year’s version had you start in spring training, starting in Double-A will give you a more realistic approach to working your way to the majors as most players don’t receive an invite to spring training until after their first year. Before you get into a game you now have the option to participate in pre-game batting practice or when you get called from the bullpen you’ll get some time to throw practice pitches. Just like batting practice and your time warming up on the mound, it doesn’t help you gain experience, but it will help you get ready for the game or at-bat. Once you are in a game you have full control of what you want to experience. You can play out every pitch/play in the game, only the last pitch in the at-bat, or just plays that involve you. Whether you are on the field or in the batters box there is a bigger emphasize on fundamental baseball. Throwing to the wrong bag, stealing when you shouldn’t be or failing to cover a base will put you in a bad spot with the manager. Lastly a huge emphasis went into gaining skill points and the flow of the game. New training modes have been added for both hitters and pitchers, and goals throughout the game will be shown in way as to not break from the pace of the game. You can also hit the D-pad to show the goals of the game in case you missed it, which is really nice.

To go along with RTTS you now have the full control as the catcher in the new Catcher Calling the Game mode. You’ll be calling for pitches and locations which includes 9 zones inside the strike zone or 8 zones outside. Just like in real life it is your responsibility to know the batters and your pitchers strengths and weaknesses. The pitcher might shake you off so you can pick another pitch but sometimes the catcher knows best and he’ll throw that pitch if you keep asking for it. You’ll have to also watch out for wild pitches and base runners, which adds to the difficulty of being a catcher. It’s a really cool mode and I’m excited to get a chance to call a game but then again, playing every game as a catcher might take it’s toll.

Making it’s return to the series is the Home Run Derby. Fans have been asking for this to be added to the game for some time now and we finally have it. You won’t only get the Home Run Derby, you’ll be getting the entire All-Star experience. During your franchise or RTTS season you’ll get a chance to play in the All-Star Futures Game along with the Derby and the regular All-Star game. Check out this trailer that showcases the new All-Star experience.

MLB 09 The Show suffered from very poor online play, mainly due to lag. Sony has been saying they have worked very hard on fixing that issue for MLB 10 and if they can then I think fans will enjoy the improvements to the Online Leagues. In addition to added customization when creating the league, people can now drop in and out of leagues during the season. If someone can’t handle the season and needs to back out, the commissioner can find a replacement to take over that team. Fatigue is also another factor managers will have to deal with as you will no longer be able to use your ace for every game. Here are some of the key features of the new online leagues:

·    Additional Commissioner Slot (6 total leagues now)
·    NEW Auto-resolve feature. Set to On/Off when creating a league and helps keep leagues progressing
·    Ability to Drop and Replace players within an In-progress league
·    Apply a Custom Slider to a league
·    League Invitation system upgrade
·    New My Complete Leagues list, showing a summary of all completed leagues, the winner and playoff participants
·    New League Round-up and League History tabs in Gamer Card
·    More emails and communication on league changes
·    Players Needing Leagues upgrade. Commissioner can now send invites directly from that screen
·    Additional information about users for a commissioner resolving a game
·    Quit a league at any time (commissioner or league member). No more being held hostage

Finally Real Time Presentation Mode is one of the brand new features to this year’s game. The new presentation mode should give gamers a further sense of realism by attempting to capture the camera angles and shots seen while watching a game on TV. Instead of going in-depth on how this new system works here is a short video displaying the Real Time Presentation.

There is a lot of detail put into every offering of The Show and I don’t expect MLB 10 to be any different. If you want to learn more about the game you can read the full preview here. I am extremely excited about the upcoming title and I hope that all of these new features can come together to bring us the realism that we have come to know and love from this franchise.

For those who missed out on last night’s GameTrailers TV, here’s the MLB 10 The Show Debut Trailer. Nothing really special but it does show some in-game footage that we haven’t seen much of so far. It definitely gets you pumped and ready for the upcoming release in 3 weeks but I would have liked to see more actual gameplay. Enjoy the trailer courtesy of GameTrailers and remember to check back with us as we’ll have a little preview of the online leagues and the Real Time Presentation that is new to this year’s title.

Look out sports fans!  We’re bringing you episode one of The Away Team Podcast!  This brand new sports podcast is hosted by our Lead Sports Writer The Herp (Eric) and he is joined by a fellow sports game aficionado Lethalwraith (Gabe).  In this first episode they’ll talk a little bit about what they’ve been playing which includes Tiger Woods Online, Vancouver Winter Olympics and give you a preview of MLB 10 The Show.  They also look at some of the latest headlines around the virtual sports world as well as the occasional attempted patricide with a 15 inch butcher knife over backseat gaming. You’ll also get their opinion on whether or not sports games would benefit from not having to release a new title every year.  So come in, pull up a chair, and join us in discussing the ever competitive world of video games sports.

As stated in the podcast if you are interested in joining a Spawn Kill Madden Franchise League on PS3 or if you just want to challenge the cast send a message to their gamertags: TheHerp80 and Lethalwraith.

Follow The Away Team on Twitter, and for you iTunes users out there you can download and subscribe to the podcast here.

@TheHerp80 – @Lethalwraith

Putting out a solid sports game every year isn’t the easiest thing to do. Companies either don’t improve enough from the successful title or they try to do too much and turn a game that was once great into a disappointment. Sony’s MLB series was struggling to break through the baseball market with 2K Sports’ and EA’s titles getting all the spotlight. It wasn’t until they decided to take a couple of years off to create The Show that they became the baseball franchise for three years running. With MLB 10 The Show, Sony hopes to yet again provide the best baseball experience to gamers by introducing some new features while improving presentation, Road to The Show, and the all-important online play.

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MLB ‘10 The Show, the follow up to last year’s critically acclaimed sports title, looks to continue to dominate the baseball market. For those looking for some pre-order goodies, Amazon has got you covered. Pre-ordering the upcoming title on Amazon and you’ll receive a code that unlocks six classic stadiums: Shibe Park, Forbes Field, Polo Grounds, Crosley Field, Sportsman’s Park and Griffith Stadium. You can redeem it at the PlayStation Store just a few days after the game ships. For hardcore baseball fans this is a pretty good incentive to pre-order The Show from Amazon. The upcoming PS3 exclusive baseball sim is set to release on March 2^nd.

With winter meetings heating up and baseball dominating the sports headlines it’s no better time than now to announce the cover athlete for MLB 10 The Show. For the follow up to the best baseball game this year, American League MVP Joe Mauer will grace the cover for MLB 10. The catcher for the Minnesota Twins, Joe missed some time at the begging of the season but came back with a bang hitting over .400 during his first months back. This year he led the MLB with an average of .365 while piling up 96 RBI’s, 28 HRs and an OBP of .444. The 2 time Gold Glove winner is a great choice for the cover, way better than the overrated Dustin Pedroia, yeah you heard me Red Sox fans.  Along with the announcement comes some new screen shots for next year’s title, which include a crotch shot of Derek Jeter, you know you want to see it.

Not too much is known about the upcoming baseball sim but from the post on the Playstation blog some new features include “Home Run Derby, Catcher Mode (play as the field general just like Joe Mauer), new pitching and fielding practice/training modes in Road to The Show, user controlled pick-offs, Movie Maker feature (make your own highlight reel), daytime transitional lighting, 11 new stadiums, improved online experience, and much more.” Stay tuned for more screen shots and a preview of what is to come for MLB 10 The Show.

[Source: Playstation Blog]