Sports games have been in a very roughs spot for a few years. The exclusivity and stagnation have been disastrous for the games in terms of quality and reception with fans. Folks are generally not happy, and a big part of the problem comes down to having only a single publisher behind many franchises. NBA and NFL games in particular have been caught in the trap for a while. The change that’s needed won’t come for a while but there are things moving in the right direction.
It turns out that MLB The Show 21 is being the first game to break console exclusivity this generation. The MLB games were exclusive with Sony for years, meaning they were locked to the PS4 and now the PS5. That made it a bit difficult to get into the game if you were on a budget and couldn’t get access to a new console. That has now changed as MLB has reworked the contract to end the multi-year Sony deal.
According to the announcement the games, be they ports of existing titles or new releases, will jump to “console platforms beyond PlayStation platforms as early as 2021.”
Fans remain hopeful for not only new platform ports though. There’s a noticeable fervor around fixing the franchise mode and making it less dependant on certain uncontrollable factors. Gamers are looking forward to seeing the next-gen baseball titles and what new features they bring to the table. Let’s hope that MLB The Show 21 makes some great changes.
This also led to a major tease from Nintendo of all folks. The Nintendo of America Twitter account teased a potential release for the MLB franchise. There’s no confirmation to be had, but it is good news. The Switch hasn’t gotten a baseball title since launch in 2017, so it’s cool to see. And although Nintendo’s little tease isn’t a confirmation, things are looking good. For context, the Major League Baseball video game franchises have not been seen on a Nintendo platform at all since 2012.
