News & Updates
  • MLB 14: The Show on PS4 Suffering From Extensive Loading Times
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    Posted May 7th, 2014 at 4:00 pm 21 Comments »

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    One of the hopes for the new hardware was that it would cut down on loading times for games like MLB: The Show. The series has struggled with them in the past – along with NCAA Football it was the worst in this regard last generation. Unfortunately the loading times have not only failed to improve but have gotten much longer.  Read more

  • MLB 14: The Show “Game of Thrones” PlayStation 4 Intro Video
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    Posted May 7th, 2014 at 12:00 pm 4 Comments »

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    Normally an intro video for a sports game isn’t worth sitting through but MLB 14: The Show on PS4 presents an exception. This one is inspired by the title sequence for the HBO series Game of Thrones that has become a part of pop culture – even The Simpsons used similar visuals and music for one episode’s opening.

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  • Players Drafted in First Round Will Be Added to Madden NFL 25 Ultimate Team
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    Posted May 7th, 2014 at 9:45 am 5 Comments »

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    EA Sports has announced that all first rounders selected in the 2014 NFL Draft on Thursday night will be added to Madden NFL 25 Ultimate Team mode. The players will show up in packs and be obtainable through the Auction House.

    This will make it three consecutive years that the company has added incoming rookies for the upcoming season to Ultimate Team in the previous season’s Madden. There were 10 rookies added to Madden NFL 13 and 40 added to Madden NFL 12. Last year having those players on a team also meant getting them with the new one in Madden NFL 25. This time around it’ll be the top 32 picks that will make their way into Madden NFL 25. The company has not gone into further detail about what packs they’ll be in and if there will be 99 rated “Future Stars” cards again.

    The ratings will also provide the first chance to get an idea of how the players will be shaped for Madden NFL 15. In the past two instances ratings were close to dead on from the earlier Ultimate Team versions to their first full appearance in Madden months later. Those that weren’t only deviated by 1-3 points overall for the most part.

  • Kevin Durant Announced as Cover Athlete for NBA 2K15
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    Posted May 6th, 2014 at 4:15 pm 19 Comments »

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    On the same day Kevin Durant was officially named league MVP, 2K Sports has announced that he’ll also be on the cover of NBA 2K15 due out on October 7. It’ll be coming to the Xbox One, PS4, PS3, 360, and PC.

    This will be the fourth video game cover for Durant. He appeared on NBA 2K13 (along with Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose) and March Madness 08. He was also set to be on the cover of NBA Elite 11. When that was cancelled he found out through Twitter which soured his relationship with EA Sports and he became a natural fit as a spokesperson for the NBA 2K series.

    The image released along with the announcement could suggest a bigger focus turned to the online mode “The Park”, which has been met with lukewarm response from the community, and the “Your Time Has Come” slogan may be referencing individual MyPlayers.

  • MLB 14: The Show PS4 Live Stream
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    Posted May 6th, 2014 at 12:45 pm 3 Comments »

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    Though Sony botched the digital release of MLB 14: The Show – not so much harming it but the likelihood affected consumers will buy digital again – the PS4 version is now available to everyone. For part of the day I’ll be on to live stream and that can be viewed at the Pastapadre Twitch page or embedded below! Feel free to watch and chat along with the action. Full isolated gameplay videos, impressions, and more will be posted in the days that follow.

    [Update] Will be back on streaming later tonight. The archived stream from earlier which features a full game and Player Lock game can be watched below!

    [Update #2] Bumped the post back up as I’m live streaming again. This time mostly RTTS.

    [Update #3] Both live streams archives are embedded below.


    Watch live video from Pastapadre on TwitchTV


    Watch live video from Pastapadre on TwitchTV

  • Press Row Discussion: The Failed Digital Launch of The Show on PS4
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    Posted May 6th, 2014 at 11:45 am 5 Comments »

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    MLB 14: The Show is now finally available to download for those who ordered it digitally for the PlayStation 4 arriving nearly 15 hours late. For those looking to find the download button it may only show right now by going to the game page in the PS Store in the “New This Month” section – or do it through the PlayStation app.

    Early this morning T.J. Lauerman, Rich Grisham and I got together for an impromptu discussion on the developments and what it means for The Show and perception of digitally downloading games. Download as an MP3 file or listen below through the streamed video!

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  • Sony Botches Digital Launch of MLB 14: The Show on PS4
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    Posted May 6th, 2014 at 7:30 am 12 Comments »

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    MLB 14: The Show on PlayStation 4 is one of the most anticipated launches in the early months of the new generation but Sony has dramatically fumbled its digital launch. The game was advertised to be available for download as of 12:01 ET and yet has still not been made available. Even when it finally goes out the 47GB download will leave consumers sitting around for many more hours to download and install before they can begin playing.

    There are already precious few advantages to buying digital over physical. Immediacy of access – something already damaged by not taking advantage of pre-downloading coupled with a huge file size – and eliminating the necessity to swap discs when switching between games.

    Communication from Sony has been lacking and that started with last week’s release of the console update that delivered the pre-downloading ability. Representatives from both Sony and The Show inexplicably would not give a definitive answer on whether the game would utilize the new feature. When the advertised 12:01 ET time for downloading the game passed both parties were also not around to address the issue leaving those who had bought the game or desired to do so in the dark initially. No word yet on potential compensation either but that likely wouldn’t come until after the problem is fixed, if it is to come at all.

    In the long run this will not harm The Show so much as it does the prospect of ordering games digitally in the future for those consumers affected. It’s an unappealing option for many already and experiences like this one push widespread adoption even farther down the line.

    [Update, Noon PT] The game is now available to download. It may only be visible in the game page through the “New This Month” section of the PS Store.

  • Digital Pre-Downloading Not Happening for The Show; Release Day Coverage Plans
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    Posted May 5th, 2014 at 2:00 pm 18 Comments »

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    Though Sony advertised the new pre-downloading ability for the PS4 with the latest update, it now appears MLB 14: The Show won’t be the first game to utilize it. The company has, for some inexplicable reason, refused to give a definitive yes or no to the matter in the days since so at this point the assumption has to be it won’t be available to download before midnight. That’s unfortunate as one of the few advantages over buying a physical copy is having it immediately and at a massive size of 47GB The Show will not be a quick download.

    With the game out tomorrow I’ll be streaming for much of the day on the Pastapadre Twitch page so make sure to subscribe. That may even begin in the early AM hours. Also check out the crazy activity of That Sports Gamer who will be streaming all day and playing every single MLB game scheduled for Tuesday. I’ll be joining him for an online game of Mariners @ As at some point assuming the online works well enough (early reports are not encouraging) to complete a game. Full gameplay videos and impressions will follow throughout week!

    [Update] Sony has managed to completely bungle the digital release of the game. It’s still not available to download. More on this later.