MLB The Show 19 is a baseball video game by SIE San Diego Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, based on Major League Baseball (MLB). It is the fourteenth entry of the MLB: The Show franchise, and was released on March 26, 2019, for PlayStation 4. Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper is featured as the cover star.
Matt Vasgersian, Mark DeRosa and Dan Plesac will call the play-by-plays. Heidi Watney joins the game as a sideline reporter and Alex Miniak replaces Mike Carlucci as the public address announcer.
Development[]
On November 2, 2018, it was announced that Bryce Harper would be featured on the cover for the 2019 edition of the game. However since he was a free agent at the time, he was depicted on the placeholder image in a white hoodie. On February 28, 2019, after Harper signed with the Phillies, the official cover design was released.
New features include Moments and March to October. Moments lets the user relive and recreate famous moments in MLB history. This mode will be intertwined with the MLB The Show's Diamond Dynasty, but also can be played strictly offline. As you complete moments, you get rewards like diamond dynasty cards and stubs, the game's virtual currency. The game also features an improved emphasis on defense, with updated mechanics and animations. Pitchers are broken down into three categories: Plain Filthy (Who move the ball well), Flamethrower (Who throw the heat) and Control Freak (Who focus on location), while batters are broken down into five: Pure Power (Power hitters), Small Ball (Puts the ball in play), Mr. Utility (Great situational player), Rock Steady (Solid all around) and The Anomaly (Power hitters with great speed).
Returning favorites include Franchise Mode (In which the player can take control of any MLB team over the course of several seasons) and Road to the Show (In which the user creates a new player and plays out his career through Double-A, Triple-A and the majors).
Reception[]
MLB The Show 19 received generally favorable reviews from critics, according to Metacritic.
In its 8.7/10 review, IGN wrote: Refined gameplay, new modes, and a deep Road to the Show mode give MLB The Show 19 a promising opening day. Game Informer gave the game 8.5/10, praising its graphics and writing, After a down year, Sony delivers exciting new content and a host of fixes. The series is back on track. GameSpot gave the game 9/10, praising the fielding mechanics, RPG elements of the Road to the Show mode and reward system of the game's card collecting mode.
Sales[]
In January 2020, The NPD Group confirmed that MLB The Show 19 is the best selling baseball genre game in U.S. history.