After an early access period for purchasers of the Jackie Robinson Edition, baseball simulation MLB The Show 21 is available now on PlayStation 5 and PS4 worldwide. Sony has decided to charge full price for the release, with the annual sports title commanding a fee of up to £69.99/$69.99 on its next-gen console; Xbox owners can download the release as part of their Game Pass subscription at no extra cost.
We’re disappointed with PlayStation’s decision to not even offer a discount for PS Plus subscribers, as while Game Pass members are effectively “renting” the game, their subscription will entitle them to a discount of up to 20 per cent should they choose to outright buy it at a later date. Sony has argued that the inclusion of the game on Microsoft’s service was made entirely by MLB, but that shouldn’t have prevented it from providing an equivalent value for its own fans.
Nevertheless, we’ve been playing the game for a few days now, and it’s good. Road to the Show has been stripped back as part of the new unified Ballplayer system, and some elements of the UI defy logic – but the core on the field gameplay is as excellent as ever. It does feel like, having developed the title entirely during lockdown, Sony San Diego has had to pick its battles – and so the graphics engine hasn’t really been updated, even on PS5.
But there’s absolutely loads to enjoy, and if you’re a fan of the card collecting mode Diamond Dynasty then thousands of hours of gameplay await. We’ll have a review later in the week, so keep your eye out for that; if you did happen to pick up the game already, you can peruse our MLB The Show 21 guide for various tips and tricks through link.
Comments 66
Omg.
Yes we know it's on gamepass.
Stop acting like a petulant child and accept it already.
@Ashkorsair As an Xbox Series X owner, I kind of even have to agree. It's already been well established that it's on Game Pass and PlayStation owners have to pay for it. Yeah, a PS Plus discount would have been nice for people, but otherwise this is beating an already dead horse.
Sweet! I converted 3 years of Game Pass Ultimate for $1. MLB here I come on xbox series x!
Is there a reason I can't find this in physical form anywhere in the UK? Did they not print physical copies?
Already getting review bombed for that reason too 🙄
Lmao you REALLY have to rub it in that people on PlayStation have to pay full price for it
Here's the thing though
It's still being released at full price on Series X, and at some point, it's probably going to leave Game Pass especially given how much Xbox likely had to pay for an MLB-published game that was at the end of the day, developed by Sony themselves. I wager it'll probably even leave before year's end. After that, Xbox owners will have to pay up like everyone else anyway so no use complaining about it. It's not like paying monthly for a subscription to play the game until it goes out of the service for an entire year cancels out paying a one time full price to keep the game for good
@TheFrenchiestFry As I said in the article, they get a 20% discount to buy it outright. No reason that couldn't have been matched for PS Plus members.
Man I was planning on buying this at launch but not paying $70 when Xbox gets it free. Guess I’ll wait til next year to try it out.
It's on Gamefly if you really want to rent the game so badly. Problem solved.
@TheFrenchiestFry Microsoft didn't have to pay to get MLB on Xbox. MLB decided the game was going multiplat, or they would revoke the license. It was an agreement between MLB and MS to put it on GamePass, Sony probably didn't have a say in the matter.
@Octane Sony did have a say in providing their customers with an equivalent value, though, such as a 20% discount that matches the Game Pass one.
They decided not to do it.
@get2sammyb Makes you wonder if they're testing the waters on this one.
"Did we still hit targets in spite of the Game Pass thing? And if not, do we need offers to compete with Game Pass on launches like this? Also, how does Game Pass money stack up against full price sales?"
To be honest, I will have no sympathy for Sony if the game sells like crap. In my opinion they should have just let the licence go and have the developer do something else, rather than agree to make it on xbox and for it then to appear day one on game pass 😂
This game deserves to flop on PlayStation, it's the only way Sony will get the message that their longtime supporters deserve equal if not better treatment.
The least they could have done is added some exclusive content or modes to the PS versions but I presume they were blindsided by the Game Pass deal and it was too late.
It's also no coincidence that the game currently sits on a yellow Metascore; the first time in the franchise's 15 year history. If ever there was evidence that an annual exclusive going multiplatform would harm quality, this is it!
@get2sammyb Please keep bringing up this enormous disparity in customer value. Sony absolutely deserves to have this rubbed in their face at every opportunity.
This isn't sarcasm btw. The fact that you are more than willing to take Sony to task over this should be commendable. Not everyone will see it that way, but please don't stop applying the pressure. MLB fans who have played The Show on PlayStation for ages deserve far better than what they're getting.
@get2sammyb ended up with the jackie robison deluxe edition, I'm a sucker for baseball!
I was not expecting any kind of discount (too late for that) but a psplus package or something would have been a nice gesture, even if it is a couple of packs that will end up being worthless... bascially just an aknowledgement that we are getting the short end of the sitck here
I gladly bought it full price for my ps5. The fact that it's so heavily shouted that it's "free" on gamepass seems like kind of a crutch for Microsoft. I guess Microsoft felt so desperate that they had to bend over backwards to offer it day one on the service to get players. & Nothing against pushsquare with this, of course. Just saying. This kind of route is damaging the traditional gaming experience and I don't like it one bit. Just take care of getting us the awesome consoles and the amazing games, and we'll buy them and do our part.
@TurboTom I agree, if this was something done unilaterally by MLB then Sony should stop doing businness with an ureliable partner and drop the licese!
However, that's a spur of the moment reaction. I believe a PES kind of baseball game may not justify their investment on continuing the franchise and considering all they have invested during the years I can also understand why would they prefer to continue it.
But still, if this was just MLB's call then they should have them sticking their license where the baseball sun don't shine
Agree with the early comments about beating a dead horse here. If people are pissed with Sony don't buy the game. I don't mind the site highlighting a disparity, it's really the immature, entitled tone used while doing so. Sony doesn't owe you anything.
As for Sony not giving a 20% discount on Plus, it's not apples to apples. MLB is the publisher on Xbox. They arranged the Game Pass deal and therefore get the related discount on Xbox. Would it be nice if Sony threw its players a bone? Sure, absolutely! But they have never offered a first party game at a 20% discount at launch. Why would they devalue their own product at launch? Just to sort of kind of maybe put a band aid on the "optics"?
I get people’s frustration about these stories but I actually think it’s important, would be great to see in a months time what the PlayStation sales are like compared to those on mlb 20 to see if it’s had an affect or not.
@get2sammyb Of course, but not giving a discount isn't something I can blame a company for. If they made it more expensive on purpose, sure. But I don't think it's the same.
Additionally, the game is still full price if you don't have GamePass, right? And the discount is only for GamePass members once it goes out of rotation. Correct me if I'm wrong.
And hasn't this really angered the Playstation Nation - having to pay $70 for the game - even though Xbox owners also would have to pay that much for this OR pay a Subscription Fee to play the game whilst it remains on the service.
Yes Game Pass owners could buy the Game at a 'discount' to keep it forever - but they have also paid money to MS to pay developers and publishers to access the game on Game Pass.
The fact that its available through Game Pass doesn't change the fact that for ALL those who don't subscribe to that service, they are ALL in exactly the same position as Playstation owners.
As for getting a 'discount' if GP subscribers want to actually 'buy' the game, they have paid to 'rent' it already so that 'discount' offsets some of that cost and its more like a 'used' game.
From what I hear, one of the ways MS 'pay' publishers/devs for their games on Game Pass is by the numbers of GP subscribers that download and play the game rather than a 'fixed' fee up front - so they would of received 'something' from the GP subscriber already and a discount means they don't end up paying 'more' to own the game having already paid to play it on Game Pass. You are also restricted to buying the Digital version - you don't get discount to buy the Physical release which could be 'cheaper' than the Digital version with the Game Pass Discount by the time the game 'leaves' the service too.
I remember when you could go to a 'Blockbuster' and rent a Game and sometimes Blockbuster would sell those games off Cheaper than buying New - considerably cheaper sometimes with just the 'disc/cart' (no case, liners or booklets) but point is, this is similar...
Meh. I lost interest in Rounders when I left primary school. 😁
@TheFrenchiestFry "and at some point, it's probably going to leave Game Pass"
If it leaves GP this time next year, when MLB The Show 2022 gets added to GP, I don't think that matters too much, it's a yearly game. What's the trade in price on yearly sports games?
@Octane You're not wrong, but Sammy has consistently been saying that PS+ subscribers should get the same 20% discount that GP subscribers get, if for no other reason than equality, and optics.
@get2sammyb "Sony's baseball sim is included with Xbox Game Pass"
If The Show on Xbox means gamer journalism starts using the word "include" rather than "free" when games are added to subscription services like Game pass, PS+ and PS Now then I say it was worth the sacrifice. 😉 Not a pet peeve I was fighting as hard as Sony's $5 cc min but it does bother me. Now if someone could explain to Amazon that $119 isn't "free" shipping. 😝
I will play it later today, for "free" thanks Xbox
@TheFrenchiestFry "I wager it'll probably even leave before year's end. After that, Xbox owners will have to pay up like everyone else anyway so no use complaining about it."
It's safe to say it will probably leave gamepass in a year? guess what by that time it will already be outdated and the next one will be ready to launch on game pass while Playstation owners have to pony up another $70 for the new one.
I'm not 100% on board with game pass as I like owning my games but for sports games in particular it's the best place to play them as they only have a year before the next one is ready so you'll always have the newest one.
Man i dont even have to comment and theres aready salty PlayStation fans. I got the Xbox 1 version for $60 not paying $70 for the Series X|S version sony can go to hell on that and of course people are review bombing no surprise there.
@BAMozzy "but point is, this is similar..."
And Sammy's point is, there is no "similar" rental or discount purchase price on Sony's console for the game Sony made, that up until this year had been a Sony exclusive. Rather than everyone bashing Sammy for pointing out the facts I'm willing to give him credit for not being all fanboi about a Sony game even being on Xbox to begin with. I don't play sports games but I still think MLB being only on PS consoles was a win for Sony.
Also, more to your point, Gamefly is a game rental service that does what you are saying - monthly subscription fee to rent discs, pay a discount to buy the used disc since you already paid a fee to rent it. You don't need to go way back to Blockbuster, it's still happening today. 😀
@BUDSclass201
How did you manage that out of interest?
I’ve a series X too as well as a PS5 and my gamepass ultimate runs out in a couple of weeks. Not sure whether to renew it or not
@Hurblyburbly I believe you can convert your remaining Live Gold time when subscribing to Game Pass for the first time - so unfortunately seems like that ship has sailed for you.
(I don't own an Xbox so I could be wrong)
I still can't imagine the looks on the faces at Sony when they found out MLB sold them out to their competitor to use their own game against them. It's hilarious, but it's kind of scummy on MLB's part.
OTOH, I'm not much of a baseball fan and I never buy The Show. I have '19 from PS+ freebies but haven't played it. But since it's the new big launch and it's included with my Game Pass, I pre-downloaded it the other day and will be playing it this week starting launch day today, so it turned me from a non-customer of the game, to a customer Sony gets some money from me for via Game Pass. It may not be a $70 purchase, but it's a 100% improvement in revenue from me from past The Show launches.
@BAMozzy Yep, like I was saying here yesterday, back in the day most of the games we played were rented, and we got a good deal of our owned games through those rental store sell-offs after so many uses of the cartridges. Good times. Those times have been gone for decades, and with GP it feels like a little slice of it back. Unfortunately it goes along with the sticker price feeling more like it did back then too.
@LTPenguin "My worry is Game Pass will send gaming further down that Netflix route. They'll just churn out cheap games to keep people subscribed, occasionally doing a big blockbuster release to drive subscriber numbers."
Is that much different than normal AAA and first party release schedules though? It's not like there's a new GTA more than every ten years or so....
ha ha do one sony
@get2sammyb
I wish more sites repeated this news. I wish everyone knew how the Xbox has this game at a much better deal as the Xbox massively outselling the PS version is the only way the situation will improve in the future, but with casuals, I seriously doubt this will be the case. Most likely, it’s PS sales will barely change.
a lot of very small minded people on here think it's perfectly fine Sony made the game and it's full price for PS4/5 and free on Xbox and the other idiotic point it won't always be free on game pass... it's an annual franchise idiot's
@rjejr I know, I'm never wrong
wow just ignored about 10 people 😂 really don't need to read idiotic opinions, as if we can't have a discussion about the morality and ethics of it without calling out others for being babies etc vile people
Sports fans should be fully aware of this. You can't win all of the time unless you support every team. Even the best teams lose sometimes.
@Hurblyburbly you can convert ea play to gp ultimate too, works out at £17 for 3 months...
Wait. Is this game on Game Pass?
I’m not really into American sport games but I’m looking forward to trying this out later on Game Pass for free. Notice there’s no quotation marks or a *? That’s because in my case I’m literally going to be playing it for free because I was paying for Game Pass regardless of the game being on Game Pass or not. That’s the thing with Game Pass there’s many games on there that I’d play that I wouldn’t normally bother with, like MLB The Show 21.
It sucks that PlayStation owners are being treated like second class citizens in regards to having to pay full price with not even any discount with PS+. I know I wouldn’t be happy if I were a sole PlayStation owner so I sympathise with them.
MLB tells Sony this has to go multi platform which I get, I’m shocked they didn’t do it years ago.
Sony should have at least negotiated that it wouldn’t appear on gamepass, I’m curious if they tried and MLB said no or Sony had a complete brain fart and didn’t even think about it. Both have leverage here, MLB with the license and Sony with the game, with no competitor even close in quality.
The optics are horrible.
@MaccaMUFC
FIFA got me into football years ago, I never had a chance to play where I grew up in the US.
Would be awesome if MLB The Show did the same for you with baseball.
So much butt hurt over this still. Right now at GameStop the Jackie Robinson edition is $85. That comes with a PS4 disc and a digital code for PS5. By this version and sell the disc for $35-40 and your net cost is discounted.
@BAMozzy If you subscribe to Game Pass JUST to play one game, I think you are kind of doing a disservice to yourself - unless it's a game you want to bang out in a month and then cancel the subscription, then I guess the cost of admission is less than buying the game. But hey, to each his/her own.
The mentality that you are paying $14.99 to rent the game and then buying it at 20% if you like it ends up not being a good value is kind of false - again, unless you really are just paying to play one game (which is ridiculous)!
There are currently 370 games available on Xbox Game Pass for console (286 Game Pass titles with 84 EA Play titles).
$14.99/370= $0.04 per game per month.
That's if you are paying for Game Pass Ultimate.
If you are JUST doing Xbox Game Pass for Console it comes out to less!
$9.99/370 = $0.02 per game per month.
Now you may NEVER play every game on Game Pass, but it's definitely a Blockbuster store's worth of video games available at your finger tips!
Bottom line, when you look at how much you are paying per game per month, the 20% discount to buy while the game is on Game Pass IS a great deal!
On topic: It's weird seeing the PlayStation Studios intro on Xbox.
@Gilvin
To be honest I have never played mlb the show before, although I do have access to one of the earlier games on playstation plus If I wanted to give it a try. Yeah I get what you mean by continuing what they already make, but perhaps the game pass situation could have a least been avoided by Sony publishing it on xbox too, seen as they agreed to make it on xbox anyway 🤷
@rjejr Just because Sony don't (currently) have that same service doesn't mean that a 'similar' service doesn't exist - like Gamefly and Game Pass isn't 'just' the Console but also for Mobile in this case and PC too in some cases. Game Pass enables MLB to reach not just the Xbox console, but also Mobile gamers.
It may not be in Sony's best interest to offer the 'same' service with their portfolio - not just MLB but all their First Party games. At the end of the day though, PS gamers are in the same position as Xbox gamers - they both have to pay the same amount to purchase the same game.
The only difference is that Xbox and Mobile gamers have the extra choice to subscribe to a service to get this, and any of the other games currently in Game Pass service, and for 'paying' for that service, save a bit of money to buy the digital version.
PS gamers have a Choice too of course - buy the game on their preferred platform or buy a platform that supports Game Pass and has the game available.
GPU is $15 a month - 20% of $70 is $14 - so Subscribing just for MLB to get the 20% discount still doesn't work out 'cheaper' to OWN the game.
I know there are many other games you can play in that 1 month and can save money on ALL of those too - but looking at a single game and comparing the cost to 'own' the game on Day 1, regardless of whether you are on PS or Xbox, the cost is 'similar'. The only difference is that Game Pass owners don't necessarily need to own the game and rely on it remaining on Game Pass and maintaining their Subscription to keep playing. Eventually it will be removed and access to it gone - unless people pay to own it.
I know how good value GPU is - I subscribe myself. I also own a PS5 too. The same game though is available for the same price on both consoles. Its not as if EVERY Xbox owner is getting the game Free or much cheaper. You have the choice too - buy it on PS5, get a platform that has MLB on Game Pass and subscribe to rent the game or find some company that rents out MLB for PS...
To me, all this does is highlight the 'deal' that Game Pass is to gamers and why they should consider getting a Platform that supports Game Pass - maybe even buy a Series S/X - which can be bought over 2yrs with 2yrs worth of GPU for as little as £25 a month to play MLB, Outriders and all the other 'hundreds' of games that are available.
Its like you can buy the game on PS5 and Xbox for the exact same amount but there is this 'great' service where you can play it for a 'nominal' monthly fee - so go there to play it instead...
If the article hadn't mentioned the fact that this game is on Game Pass too, then its not promoting that deal. But for ANYONE wanting to buy the game but doesn't have Game Pass, they are ALL equal.
MLB has no history, no fan base on Xbox at all - it makes sense to put it out on Game Pass for a couple of months to build up that community and maybe generate more sales on Xbox in the long run as well as establish that Community so next years version has a fan base that will buy it day 1...
Why pay full price on PS4/5 when you can get it for pennies on the dollar over on the green monster?
Not sure how it being on Xbox Game Pass changes anything for PC games or PS games now
Up to the Publisher.
@God_of_Nowt Not sure how it is in the UK, and when you were last living in the US, but in the US game rentals haven't existed short of Game Fly (which is arguably a pseudo-subscription itself) and maybe a handful of mom & pops in hyper-urban areas in north of 20 years. The last time I saw real physical game rental setup, PS2 was next-gen. I saw a few rental shelves with early PS3 & 360 games, but it was a shelf, maybe a dozen games or two. After that? Nothing. Red Box, our vending machine replacement for rentals in front of every grocery store flirted with game rentals where they had the 4 or 5 top charting games in the box, but that's about it, and they killed that years ago. Not enough sales. And honestly, if you walked by a rental box that rented GTAV, FIFA, the latest CoD, and maybe Halo on a good month every other day, you'd keep walking, too. Spiderman/Miles would barely make the cut for the box if it still existed, and I'm skeptical even that would do it. It would be a red steel can filled with nothing but Animal Crossing and MK8D in 2021.
Rental stores vanished long, long ago, fully supplanted by streaming/subscriptions for video, but until now gaming didn't have an equivalent. The closest gaming has had in decades is buying "used" games at inflated prices at Game Stop and selling them back for a fraction of the cost and gaming the whole "points/credits/rewards" mechanism. If real rentals still exist in the UK, maybe that's why reception to Game Pass and the like is better on this side of the pond, it fills a needed niche/market we have here but doesn't fully exist there. The last time I saw a video game rental as "well stocked" as Game Pass was in the 90's. Back then, even supermarkets (which meant large grocery store, not these hypermart things I refuse to go near today) had a rental area.
So yeah, here, GP (and to a lesser degree PS Now and to a much lesser degree, Luna) really does fill a rental niche that otherwise hasn't existed for probably 2 generations of gamers. And it does it in a convenient digital way which is much more en vogue. Without those services, gamers have mostly been at the mercy of "buy it full price and hope you like it", "wait for a sale", "buy it used", or "buy it full price, race to beat it, then sell it back to GameStop within a week or two to reclaim a fair amount of the cost.
continues yelling at clouds the way we used to back in my day
This game has many of the same exact animations and commentary from 10-15 years ago. I'm starting to get really annoyed with the lazy developer approach and Sony's tolerance of it. At least there finally is a stadium creator (which they should have made a decade ago). I'm so glad I got this on Game Pass and didn't spend any money on it.
Plus, Super Mega Baseball is more fun.
Omg we need more clicks….. “I know, we will talk about game pass some more”
@Gilvin @TurboTom I agree with you. I feel Sony had little say in this and they and PS fans get the short end. But considering the San Diego team has been making nothing but baseball games for years it would a rough transition to assign them to a new up that wasnt baseball. Sony probably realized that. They over specialized and now they are kinda stuck making baseball games.
Shame on these decision makers.
& you can rent it like you have been able to for decades get a grip people. Push Square doing that MS Tap Dance
@Octane There's a Knack 3 joke in there somewhere. 😎
@BAMozzy "The same game though is available for the same price on both consoles. Its not as if EVERY Xbox owner is getting the game Free or much cheaper."
Gamepass subscribers can get it much cheaper by renting it, but PS+ and PS Now subscribers don't have that option. That's all the article says. And it's not wrong. MS subscribers have that option, Sony subscribers don't, and this is for a game made by a Sony dev and up until this year was exclusive to Sony consoles. So regardless of what reasons Sony has, it still looks bad. I don't see how anybody can say the optics of this aren't bad for Sony. 🤷♂️
As for the $15 per month. From all the comments, and my own experience, lot's of people don't pay $15 per month. I've had Gamepass on both Xbox in the past and PC currently for $1 per month. My kid sgot in on the 3 months for $1 deal. You can buy Gamepass on sale, just like you can PS+ and PS Now. The difference is you can't rent MLB The Show on PS+ or PS Now. But I'm sure there are people playing this on Xbox for less than $15 per month.
I just canceled my $15 HBO Max yesterday. I paid $15 for 1 month for Godzilla vs Kong b/c I'm a huge Godzilla fan, but not a big "going into the theater during a pandemic" fan. My wife, my 2 sons and I all watched it. Even your cheapest theater that's $20. Though I would have preferred, and been willing to pay, to see it in a theater if not for the pandemic. But since I had HBO Max for GvK I also watched:
Man of Steel
Batman v Superman Directors Cut
Justice League Snyder Cut
The New Mutants
King Arthur Legend of the Sword
Suicide Squad
I Hate Suzie
The Flight Attendant
Man w/ the Iron Fists (not sure how I missed that one, it was epic)
Godzilla King of the Monsters (2nd time, my wife wanted to see it)
So I paid $15 for GvK, but I watched a LOT of stuff. Not for free, but it works out better than $15 for GvK. I'm sure people paying $15, or whatever, for MLB The Show will find other stuff to play on Gamepass. I'm currently playing Ori Will of the Wisps, my son is playing Nier Replicant. I tried to play No Man's Sky but my PC said no, just showed me a 1 FPS slide show. Then the radiation killed me. I'm nto playing MLB The Show (don't even know if it's even on PC) b/c baseball games aren't my thing, I'll just keep watching my NY Mets. Slightly less boring.
Anyway, tl;dr The Show for $15/m is still a better deal offered on XBox GP than any offer Sony gave it's customers as an option.
@BAMozzy Lol That's how I had so many NES and SNES games (Which I do have most of to this day) when I was a kid compared to my friends. Their parents would always buy the latest greatest games on launch day but they would only get one or two games a year so they had to choose which ones they really wanted. My parents however would let my brother and I rent a game every weekend depending on well we did at school that week. We would also save our allowence and check out what used games they had for sale. Yeah we would get them six months after launch but if we wanted to play them that bad we would just rent them.
@get2sammyb Despite being on Gamepass I preordered The Show on Xbox and paid full price for it mainly cause I wanted to support the decision to bring it to Xbox and no better way then giving them my hard earned cash.
Game is great so far! My son and I have been playing most of the day. Well worth the price!!
@Paranoimia Great minds think alike 🤣🤣🤣
@PowderToastMan #19 proven in comments of other articles on this very website few days ago, that tonnes of people will still wait and not buy it on day one. So let's not pretend to take the high road here.
There is nothing wrong with buying it later. But this "we are superior cause we can buy it for full price" nonsense needs to go away.
Xbox has the same option. It's just that game pass subscribers have, more than 1 option.
Also, People mentioned that they rather buy games on second hand, which honestly results in developer almost never seeing a penny of income than paay full price.
@rjejr Regardless - the game is STILL the SAME PRICE on both console. To 'own' the game on BOTH platforms would cost Xbox or PS gamers the same.
Do you complain about Netflix not having the New Godzilla Movie or go to HBO+ to subscribe to take advantage of that service? Why should Sony sell the game for 20% less on Sony's console but charge Xbox gamers more for the exact same game? Just because MS rents the game out for a monthly fee on Game Pass doesn't mean that Sony should SELL the game for less.
Sony want games to sell Consoles and MS want to sell you a Game Pass Subscription. People have to decide which platform suits their needs best and if renting some of the select games on Game Pass is your preferred method, then get a platform with Game Pass. Sony don't look interested in giving away their First Party games for 'free' as part of a monthly subscription - at least right now - so you have to 'buy' the games you want at the SAME price as Xbox gamers who prefer to 'own' their games outright.
Comparing renting a game to purchasing is a bit like complaining that PS+ gave away Oddworld on Day 1 whilst those without it are expected to pay or complaining that MS has 'X' game free on Games with Gold but PS owners still have to pay 'some' money to get the same game....
@BAMozzy "Do you complain about Netflix not having the New Godzilla Movie"
If Netflix MADE the Godzilla movie, and had had exclusive rights to the previous Godzilla movies in this series, yes I would, very loudly, as would every NF subscriber. And rightly so.
I mean, I know I'm the one who brought up HBO and Godzilla, but come on man, you're way better than that, you know that comparison wasn't even remotely close. 🤷
"Why should Sony sell the game for 20% less on Sony's console but charge Xbox gamers more for the exact same game? Just because MS rents the game out for a monthly fee on Game Pass doesn't mean that Sony should SELL the game for less."
Are you feeling ok today, you get the second Covid vaccine shot or something? MS included the game in Gamepass AND if you subscribe to GP you can buy the game for - get this - 20% off. Not full price. So, if Sony took 20% off the price for PS+ subscribers it would THEN be the same price for both Sony and MS buyers.
That entire last paragraph again misses the point. Sony made MLB The Show. Up until this year that game has been exclusive to Sony consoles. Sony was forced by MLB to make it multiplat. MS, Sony's competitor, decided to BOTH include the game in it's monthly subscription service AND sell it to those subscribers at 20% off. Sony decided to ONLY sell it at full price, no rentals or discounts, for a game they made.
So when you say things like "People have to decide which platform suits their needs best" that is exactly the problem, some people may choose MS's console over Sony's console so they can play A GAME THAT SONY MADE. Sony is giving their competitor an edge when all they probably realistically had to do was offer 20% off to PS+ subscribers. That alone probably would have been enough to level the playing field, even if it wasn't exactly level, it would have shown Sony was aware.
And Sony really needs to be aware, they've been a train wreck in expectation management the past 6 to 12 months - from "knowing generations" to the store closures which they at least undid, PS5 stock issues, the 2nd SSD slot not working yet and probably 1 or 2 others I'm forgetting. This is another bad look for almost everyone looking at it.
@rjejr Sony never owned MLB - they paid MLB to use the licence and keep the game on their Platform exclusively until they had to renegotiate the terms and conditions of using that License. They had the choice to walk away from a 'licenced' Baseball game or agree to making the game 'multi-platform'. Like RARE had the license to make Goldeneye but after losing the Licence, made Perfect Dark.
Nothing was stopping Sony from making an Exclusive Baseball game (like PES is to Football) and let someone else make a multi-platform Baseball game. MLB sells about 1-1.5m average and hardly worth 'fighting' for when they also have to pay MLB for the License too. That can change when you are selling many more copies and getting money from those renting the game on other platforms. Also GP enables them to reach a wider audience which is beneficial to them!
They could well offer MLB at a Discount in the future - maybe when it leaves Game Pass and IF the game is discounted by 20% to PS+ owners - just like it could end up on sale to those with Gold Subscriptions too but they shouldn't 'have' to do it because of Game Pass.
Xbox Game Pass discounts are based on Microsoft Store price and are not combinable with other offers and are not redeemable for cash. Discount offers exclude titles within 30 days of launch and are not available with selected titles so you cannot take up Game Pass just to get 20% off MLB and as far as I know, that '20%' discount isn't available right now. You are assuming that this game will get the Full 20% discount off of the Microsoft Store price to purchase the Digital version WHEN it finally leaves. By which time, it could well of been offered by Sony on PS+ or discounted in a PS+ sale....
Sony had the choice to go multiplatform to keep the official licence, drop the licence but keep making an 'exclusive' Baseball game OR put the money into that studio making a new Exclusive (not Baseball) BUT agreed to keep making a licensed multi-platform release. Financially, they must of decided that it was 'better' to keep the License and grow the franchise on other platforms!! MLB isn't exclusive, isn't a Sony franchise (never was - they just paid to use that license) and becomes just another 'game' that just so happens to be made by a Sony owned studio.
With Playstation sites constantly telling Playstation gamers that they can go and play this game on Game Pass instead of buying it on their preferred platform, you are essentially advertising Game Pass for MS.
You do not owe any of these companies 'Loyalty', you are paying for their products, paying for their services etc. The PS5 is, in my opinion, better than the PS4 - not speaking Hardware - but the entire ecosystem is better. You can play all your existing PS4 games - that's better than what you got for upgrading to the PS4 from 3. You get 20+ games free on PS5 - games like Days Gone, Uncharted etc and we know that things will improve - just like they did over the PS4's life.
@3Above
I've not actually played any of the show games before to be honest, but I do have access to one of them with playstation plus, so might give it a try sometime. Yeah I understand what you mean about them probably already too invested in making the show games, but perhaps Sony could have prevent it from going to game pass if they was the publisher for the xbox version or something like that 🤔
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