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Part Two of Player Face Comparisons Between MLB 13: The Show and MLB 2K13
With baseball one of the last remaining sports that have competition – whether that continues to be the case in 2014 is up in the air at this point – the player face comparison between the two games has been one of the most popular features of the spring the last few years. The Show has won out in all three battles: 21-6 margin in 2012, 14-6 in 2011, and 11-8-1 in 2010.
For 2013 the set of faces has been expanded to 40. If you haven’t already make sure to vote for the better faces in the first set that was posted last week.  Here are the second 13 to vote on – the final set will follow in a few days with results and analysis next week. Read more
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The Show Live Kicks Off With Start of Season
Similar to what was first introduced in NBA Live 09 as the “Rewind” feature, with later variations on the concept having been incorporated by NBA 2K and MLB 2K, “The Show Live” in MLB 13: The Show offers the opportunity to play the current day’s match-ups or go back and play any from earlier in the season with rosters (fed in from MLB.com) accurate to the game in question. With the season opening up last night it’s important to check on how everything is working thus far as modes of this type are not able to be evaluated by reviewers given they don’t have relevance until weeks after release. Read more
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MLB 13: The Show Opening Day Roster Update Out Now
The first regular season roster update has arrived for MLB 13: The Show. This update won’t include players who have yet to make their first major league appearance – next Monday’s will be significant for adding those who debut this week – but does attempt to better reflect the final 25 man rosters, lineups, and rotations. It features the trade of Vernon Wells to the Yankees, the signing of Kyle Lohse by the Brewers, and Aroldis Chapman back as closer. Read more
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MLB 2K13 Perfect Game Challenge Begins
It’s fitting that the Perfect Game Challenge for MLB 2K13 begins on April Fools Day considering the product made available to consumers this year was for all intents and purposes a joke. Those stuck with 2K13 because its their only option, or those who bought it solely for the chance to try and win money, will now find the contest mode live through the end of April.
Last year 2K Sports got the structure right by making it more of a competition than a race – though it was later marred by a cheating controversy. This year the payouts are changing with more gamers taking home a share of the $1 million pot. 30 people will come away with $25K by pitching the best perfect game for each respective team. The top 4 qualifying games, determined by a mathematical equation factoring in the difficulty of the match-up and the quality of the outing, will then have a chance at winning an additional $250K in a live head-to-head battle.
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The Line Drive for March 31
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
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The PC download version of NBA 2K13 is still going for just $10.
•The first Tiger Woods 14 Country Club tournament winner was Raging DJ – the four rounder ends late tonight and more will begin in the next few days.
•EA Sports discusses their “newsroom mentality” which probably explains why their social media accounts have become so insufferable in the last year.
•Check out the werewolf in action in Tiger Woods 14 by using Scott Ratchman at night.
•A new Press Row Podcast was recorded from the sports gaming panel at PAX East.
•Appalachian State is moving up to FBS in 2014 but don’t expect them in NCAA Football 14.
•A roster update to use in starting new Online Associations in NBA 2K13 has gone out.
•Over 30 million votes have already been cast in the Madden NFL 25 cover tournament.
•Last year SCEA pushed out the first regular season roster update for The Show a week after the season began. No word on whether to expect one this Monday or if it will be held a week again.
•New DLC, the Top Gear Car Pack, arrives for Forza Horizon Tuesday.
•A few new screenshots have been released for Out of the Park Baseball 14.
•Yahoo’s Puck Daddy blog chats with the face of NHL 94 Ron Barr.
•How about a video game activated by your stream of urine?
•EA has deals going on for a number of mobile games.
•Here’s a look at the NFL Draft hats that will be out in April.
•New uniforms for the Browns won’t be coming until the 2015 season.
•Xbox SmartGlass will have second-screen functionality w/ Game of Thrones this season.News and content that may have been missed from the last week around the site.
•Blu-ray/DVD Releases This Week. No real high-profile arrivals.
•News on Independence Day Sequels. Roland Emmerich talking some about the plot.
•Trailer for 2 Guns. Action film starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.
•Trailer for The Wolverine. First look at the upcoming post X-Men 3 spin-off.
•Trailer for White House Down. This assault on the W.H. film stars Channing Tatum. -
First News on NCAA Football 14 Could Arrive This Coming Week
In tracking the past four years the first non-cover related info on the respective upcoming NCAA Football titles have come on March 12, March 14, February 26, and February 12. EA Sports has then remained mum regarding NCAA Football 14 well beyond the traditional schedule but that may be coming to an end shortly. Indications received suggest the first news will hit next week.
Other than Denard Robinson being featured on the cover the only insight on the game came last year when EA confirmed NCAA 14 will feature the “Infinity Engine” physics system that was introduced in Madden NFL 13 and that South Alabama – inexplicably having been forgotten for NCAA 13 – will be in with extra attention paid to the accuracy of the school’s representation.
The concern remains that EA has little motivation to invest heavily in a series that may not be around in two years. If the player likeness lawsuit ruling comes down on the side of the plaintiffs – and right now the momentum is clearly on their side rather than the NCAA/CLC/EA – that would likely bring an end to all college-based video games. After two consecutive lackluster-at-best efforts (both having “won” the community award for Most Disappointing Sports Game of the Year) EA is going to have to prove that NCAA 14 will be different. Otherwise the declining consumer support may effectively put the series to rest even before the lawsuit could.
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EA Sports Talking First Tiger Woods 14 Patch
Though for the most part Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 has been received exceedingly well there are of course a number of issues to be addressed and areas prime for improvement through post-release support. News on a server-side update and the first patch has already arrived via the official EA Sports forum for the game however no time frame to expect them has been provided as of yet. Continue on for the current list of fixes confirmed for the updates – more of which will be coming as they continue to be worked on. Read more
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Scouting the Madden NFL 25 Cover Vote: Third Round
The voting in the quarterfinals for both brackets in the Madden NFL 25 cover campaign continues until next Wednesday with support being cast through the ESPN SportsNation page. The lowest seeds remaining are two fives and otherwise it’s all the big names that were expected to still be around at this point. That could change though heading into the semifinals. Colin Kaepernick, Ray Lewis, and Andrew Luck are higher rated seeds in their respective pairings who have demonstrated clear vulnerability within the earlier rounds. Read more
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