Satisfaction Analysis for 2011 MLB Titles

Last year there were major warning signs that consumers were starting to become tired of the MLB offerings being delivered by SCEA and 2K Sports. The results of the polls were too well defined to be overlooked and that sentiment appears to have carried over into this year which has seen sales decline for both MLB 11: The Show and MLB 2K11. Here is a look at the state of the two games this year (with over 8K voters having chimed in) which could provide an outlook of how they will either bounce back next year or continue to fall.

MLB 2K11

The numbers for MLB 2K11 have proven to be much worse than 2K10 and provides the big picture that the series has dug itself into a hole that it can not recover from. “Dissatisfied” being at 50% is startling, that is up from 36% last year. The “Satisfied but Disappointed” group has shrunk from 39% (the largest portion of 2K10) to 34% and those “Very Satisfied” went from 25% to 16%. The 14% from lost from those categories have shifted into the “Dissatisfied”.

The game has taken widespread criticism for not advancing much from 2K10, which was considered a stabilizing year after the 2K9 disaster. That perception is unlikely to change going into a lame duck year that will likely represent the last for the franchise as the third party contract will be expiring. If the $1 million perfect game contest couldn’t even drum up excitement for 2K11 what could they possibly do that would for 2K12? The bigger question might be do they even care at this point since the end is near?

MLB 2K11 has been plagued by bugs, severe AI flaws, and poor visuals and it is difficult to look past those things. A patch still hasn’t even come yet. Needless to say these numbers represent an absolutely terrible prognosis for the prospects of MLB 2K12.

MLB 11: The Show

On the other hand MLB 11: The Show seems to have recovered somewhat after a year which started to display cracks in support from consumers. The “Very Satisfied” group has gone up from 42% to 55%, those “Satisfied but Disappointed” have dropped from 36% to 29%, and the “Dissatisfieds” have fallen from 22% to 16%.

It may not be a monumental shift but it was important for the series to stifle any downward momentum and it appears to have done so. The Show had grown so much in sales over the previous two iterations that it was due to stall or even pull back sooner or later. Going with the same cover athlete proved to be a mistake and the big attraction being the new analog controls didn’t exactly build a high level of excitement.

MLB 11: The Show has been praised for its gameplay, authenticity, visuals, and aspects of the new analog control schemes. Unfortunately it has continued to struggle mightily with online play while Franchise/Road to the Show glitches have been troublesome for those advancing in the modes. MLB 12: The Show will be looked at to improve in those areas, and there is still some sense that the game will need to advance itself and provide some innovation and a fresher gameplay experience.