MLB 09: The Show

MLB 09: The Show
Cover art
Developer(s)	SCE San Diego Studio
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Series	MLB XX: The Show
Engine	MLB 07/ San Fran Studios (PS3) San Diego Studios Engine (PSP) MLB 06 (PS2)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable[1]
Release date(s)	NA March 3, 2009 [2]
Genre(s)	Sports
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer, Online: Ethernet Broadband required
Rating(s)	ESRB: E (Everyone)
Media/distribution	Blu-ray Disc, DVD, UMD

MLB 09: The Show is a baseball simulation video game developed by SCE San Diego Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable systems.^[1] It belongs to the Major League Baseball game series on the PlayStation systems. MLB 09: The Show is the fourth edition of the MLB: The Show series.^[1]

The game is a baseball simulation in which, depending on the gameplay mode, the player controls one or all of the players on a Major League Baseball team or some select Minor League Baseball teams. Depending on the gameplay mode, the player may control a team for a single game, season, or franchise, and can also create a player and control his career.^[3]

Gameplay

New Yankee Stadium as it appears in-game.

MLB 09: The Show improves and adds many features to the previous 08 edition.^[3] The franchise and career modes are improved with Road to the Show 2.0, which updated the popular mode with an all-new steal and lead-off system, and more interaction with the player's coaches; Franchise 2.0 adds several new features to its career mode including salary arbitration, waiver transactions, September call-ups, and the 40-man roster. Also receiving an update is the game's online league play, including flex scheduling to allow players to play out-of-order games, and Roster Vault option to allow gamers to create their own custom rosters and upload them online for other gamers to use. The game also allows players to store their favorite songs to their PlayStation 3 and assign them to be played at various points in the game. Players may also create custom chants.^[3]

Among the in-game improvements include "Hotshot Fielding", which allows more dynamic fielder reactions and animations, as well as improved bare-handed flips, "Progressive Batting Performance", in which player abilities improve or regress depending on how the gamer plays. With "Multi-Branch Fielding", players can now take full control of fielders and break out of any animation in the process, while "Adaptive Pitching Intelligence" (API) allow catchers to call the game based on individual strengths and weaknesses of each pitcher and analyze tendencies of batters. The game also accurately graphically reflects the pitch being thrown on the pitcher's hand, and includes 18 different pitch types including six fastball variations (four-seamer, two-seamer, running fastball, cutter, splitter, sinker), five breaking pitches (10-4 curve, 12-6 curve, slider, slurve, screwball), four change-ups (straight, circle change-up, palmball, forkball), and three specialty pitches (knuckle, knuckle-curve, and the vulcan changeup). The "Pitch Command System" (PCS) affects a pitcher's ability to throw a specific pitch change depending on how often the pitcher throws it. Umpire personalities have been tweaked further as well.^[3]

The game also features pitch analysis, a breakdown of all the pitches thrown during the current game being played, which allows gamers to be able to sort a pitcher by LHB or RHB, pitch type and result. This feature is also available for batters, and the batter analysis allowed for a breakdown of how a batter had performed based on LHP or RHP, Pitch Type, and result. SportsConnect Online User Tracking (SCOUT) allows gamers to set their game preferences, store them on the server, and then allow the system to look for a Quick Match with an opponent that fits their criteria.^[3]

The game also features live MLB updates in-game, as well as SportsConnect Headline News.^[3] In addition, SportsConnect provides weekly roster updates that can be downloaded onto the console.

Cover athlete

The cover athlete of MLB 09: The Show is the Boston Red Sox's second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who was the American League MVP of the 2008 regular season. He made appearances in several Dear PlayStation commercials with Kevin Butler debating whether he could hit a pitch.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	90% (PS3)[4]
Review scores
Publication	Score
GameSpot	9.0/10[5]
IGN	8.7/10[6]

The PlayStation 3 version of MLB 09 The Show received generally favorably reviews upon its release. For instance, its score on Metacritic was 90 out of 100, which Metacritic equates to "Universal acclaim."^[4] The game's main competitor, MLB 2K9, scored lower, with a 64% Metacritic average.^[7]

Soundtrack

MLB 09: The Show Soundtrack
Artist	Song
Darker My Love	"Two Ways Out"
Eagles of Death Metal	"Wannabe in L.A."
Hockey	"Work"
Van Halen	"Humans Being"
Ming	"El Barrio Boricua"
Night Horse	"Shine On Me"
Rise Against	"Collapse (Post-Amerika)"
Led Zeppelin	"Kashmir"
The Blue Van	"Man Up"
Spoon	"Don't you Evah"
The Parlor Mob	"Everything You're Breathing For"
The Stills	"Rooibos"
TV on the Radio	"Golden Age"
Valencia	"Safe to Say"
Zodiac Death Valley	"Methadone Mambo"
Kaiser Chiefs	"Never Miss a Beat"

Songs can also be added from the player's hard drive into the game.

See also

• Major League Baseball 2K9
• MLB 08: The Show
• MLB 10: The Show

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "MLB 09 The Show Announced for PlayStation 3, PSP (PlayStation Portable), and PlayStation 2 (press release)". SCEA. 2008-12-23. http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/12-22-2008/0004945954&EDATE=. 
2. ^ Jeff Haynes (2009-01-13). "MLB '09 Details Emerge". IGN. http://ps3.ign.com/articles/944/944580p1.html. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "MLB 09 The Show: Exclusive first look". ESPN. 2008-12-20. http://sports.espn.go.com/videogames/news/story?id=3775962. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "MLB 09: The Show (ps3) Reviews". MetaCritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps3/mlb09theshow. Retrieved 2009-12-12. 
5. ^ Todd, Brett (2009-03-10). "MLB 09: The Show Review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/sports/mlb09theshow/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review. Retrieved 2009-12-12. 
6. ^ Haynes, Jeff (2009-03-10). "MLB 09: The Show Review". IGN Entertainment, Inc.. http://ps3.ign.com/articles/959/959003p1.html. Retrieved 2009-12-12. 
7. ^ "MLB 2K9 Metacritic score". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/majorleaguebaseball2k9. 

External links

• Official site
• Official site (PS3)
• Official site (PS2)
• Official site (PSP)
• (Reviews)

Preceded by MLB 08: The Show

Major League Baseball Officially Licensed Videogame 2009

Succeeded by MLB 10: The Show