MLB games online play update

Today Sony released firmware update v2.17 for the PS3. This update (which is applied when signing into PSN) had one intention…to improve the operating stability of some online PS3 titles. My first thought was how it seemed likely that MLB 08: The Show would be a (if not the main) beneficiary of this update.

So I decided to try some games to see if there was noticeable improvement. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to have helped as the lag is still hit or miss (sometimes within each game). Even when running smooth the bat sync is still off. So its pretty much the same as it has been post release. By the way why is there no friendly quit? Things would be a lot better if you could back out of a game without consequences. If you have played since the update and noticed any difference make sure to leave your observations in the comments.

On the MLB 2K8 side online play has not improved at all. The lag issues are just as overwhelming making the online experience horrendously bad. Sometimes in games slight lag is manageable because you can adjust timing but there is no hope of that due to the controls which compound the lag woes. There have even been instances where the server has been down thus wiping out trading cards that had been earned since they decided to tie redemption of them into online. Oh, and 2K has yet to fix whatever is causing challenges that are accepted from lobby rooms to freeze up systems (Microsoft would not be pleased). How that is allowed to remain is beyond me, so continue to be warned on that.

The state of online play remains disappointing and clearly a non-priority. I’d continue to give the edge to The Show because it is at least possible to get some enjoyable games in along with their online SportsConnect features. You can check out my original detailed online play report here.