I am an avid baseball fan and, hometown playing or not, the sport gives me a rush of adrenaline and joy whenever the pros have at it. So it really sucks how Microsoft has surprisingly chosen to stay ignorant about America’s favorite pastime in video game form, not only robbing themselves of a lucrative business source, but leaving baseball enthusiasts who own an Xbox console with mediocre to no titles from the sport.
What they’re offering…
Apart from some quaint little Microsoft 3D Baseball titles developed for Windows, there has been no exclusives or anything close resembling a killer title for the Xbox brand. Sure MVP Baseball and Triple Play are excellent franchises in their own right, however, they can be experienced on every other entertainment system besides the Xbox.
Let’s be real, the MLB 2K series is average at best.
Moving on to more current gaming technology, the 360 has stuck with one major MLB licensed game series, the MLB 2K franchise. Yes there is more arcade-type baseball sims, however, for true realism, the answer was 2K. This mega array of games, which is multi platform, is the only line of defense for the Xbox logo against Sony’s powerhouse MLB: The Show. This blockbuster series manufactured for PlayStation puts 2K to shame, with unprecedented graphics, fluid movement from players, and an overall sense of realism that kicks all of their competitors back into the minor leagues. The only cool thing the MLB 2K series on Xbox has got going for it is the color commentary, other than that it shapes up to be a bland, ugly, and uninspired baseball game.
Oh My God MLB: The Show…
Here we have a next generation baseball experience regardless of which PlayStation you have and are going to control it on. The character models are ridiculously detailed, as are the ball parks, the presentation is top-notch, and features are extremely abundant. Poor Microsoft has to deal with this baseball gem every year as all they are left with is a substandard array of baseball fixes.
Alas, there might be small glimmer of hope for Xbox as RBI Baseball is set to roll out on every console imaginable this year, including Microsoft. Although still not an exclusive, maybe this will set the Xbox brand in a direction that could provide some truly remarkable baseball games for us long time fans.
