MLB The Show 25 has reached the end of the game cycle, and it’s time to take stock of the Diamond Dynasty ups and downs. Sets and seasons were dispatched — a welcome return to form for the franchise. In its place was the return of the power creep. That should have been a welcome addition, but something has felt off about MLB The Show 25 from the start.
Three True Bores
In recent years, MLB The Show has become Three True Outcomes: The Game. Think about how many runs your score from the home run versus stringing together hits. Why does this happen? In my humble opinion, there are a few reasons.
Real-life Major League Baseball has become more and more of a three true outcome game in recent seasons. Thankfully, that’s been curtailed a bit — speed and athleticism are starting to be valued at levels the game hasn’t seen in decades. But there will always be teams like the Yankees that load up with sluggers who can hit bombs but can’t run bases or field very well. In real baseball, there’s a handful of teams built that way. In MLB The Show 25, almost every single Diamond Dynasty team is.
Home runs sell the game, make people want that next great card, and, most importantly, keep people engaged on streams. Never underestimate how important the streaming community is to sports games’ publishers. It’s a free advertisement. The top influencers always have the latest and greatest cards. Why wouldn’t you go all out to get that new Trout after seeing him hit homer after homer on Player X’s stream?
The problem isn’t the cards or the streamers. It’s the gameplay. Right now, MLB The Show’s hitting rewards good sluggers over good hitters. So what can change? As much as we hate them, those perfect-perfect outs aren’t going away. I’m OK with that. Until it happens to me, but really, if it’s rare, then I can live with it. But the frustration comes from doing everything right and not being rewarded for it, especially when a player with 125 power can make iffy contact and hit it out.
I’m not saying home runs should go away. But if MLB The Show 26 can make it so that only half of the runs scored come via the long ball, that’d be a nice improvement.
The Paywall
Scream 7 is coming soon, and I love the Scooby-Doo nature of the killer reveal. But MLB The Show 25 doesn’t need a big moment where we learn the villain’s identity. We already know who the Diamond Dynasty villain is. It’s greed.
Every year, the Ultimate Team-ification of Diamond Dynasty happens a little bit more. But MLB The Show 25 was the first time in the series that I’ve been truly discouraged with the amount of content behind quasi-paywalls. Completing collections often required getting lucky in special event-themed packs. You could earn one or two of these in programs, but you’re otherwise left to spend about 40,000 stubs on a pack. Or, you can buy the cards in the marketplace. Oh, you’re short on stubs? Have I got good news for you! For just some of your hard-earned money, you can replenish that stubs balance.
I know we live in the era of battle passes and microtransactions in gaming. I know companies like Sony San Diego rely on additional revenue streams beyond just the game’s sales. All of that is the reality, and I understand it, but here’s the controversial part: I just don’t care. If I spend $100 on the premium edition, that should get me more than a bunch of invitations to spend more money.
You can still field a pretty competitive team just by playing. But you have to be willing to play a lot. That brings us back to the fun factor. When gameplay feels stale, I don’t want to play enough to “Grind 99”. That’s partly on me, but I’m not alone in feeling like MLB The Show 25 is stale.
The Future
SDS can fix this. I know the team there is passionate about baseball and wants to make a great game. Fixing gameplay will go a long way toward keeping players around longer. But if they really want to win back their most dedicated players, they have to stop morphing Diamond Dynasty into Ultimate Team. When MLB The Show was at its peak, the secret sauce was that it was always player-focused. Be that again. If they do, I might even spend some money to support them.
