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Super Mega Baseball 2 available now, and on Xbox One it’s free
The sequel to one of the best sports games of recent years has now arrived. Super Mega Baseball 2 can be downloaded for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC through Steam.
SMB2 is being sold for $30 however this month Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be able to get the game free on XB1. Three DLC packs accompany the release that range from $3.49 to $4.49 for increasing the customization options.
Super Mega Baseball 2 addresses the primary deficiency of the original by adding in online play. Online features include options for head-to-head and co-op even within the traditionally offline Season Mode. The art style and player models have been refined, presentation overhauled, customization added of teams/logos/uniforms/gear, cross-platform play offered between XB1/PC and PS4/PC, and enhancements are present to take advantage of the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro.
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World Cup DLC coming free to FIFA 18
It’s been a disappointing few months as the realization slowly sank in that EA Sports wouldn’t be releasing a standalone 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia game. Now finally details on the plans for the World Cup have been revealed today with free DLC on the way for FIFA 18 and thankfully it at least has averted the worst case scenario of being content related solely to Ultimate Team.
Coming May 29th (Xbox One, PS4, PC, Switch) the DLC will include the 32 nations that qualified for the tournament plus a few others, an offline customizable tournament mode, all 12 official stadiums, and of extensive course Ultimate Team tie-ins. Read more
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The Line Drive for April 29
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦All first round picks from the NFL Draft have been added to Madden 18 Ultimate Team.
♦The NBA 2K18 sim predicting the Thunder’s season was pretty much dead-on.
♦Twitter poll asked about right stick usage on offense as NBA 2K19 is being worked on.
♦Look for the review of Super Mega Baseball 2 to go live on Sporting News mid-week.
♦Metalhead Software released another trailer for Super Mega Baseball 2.
♦Netherlands has been joined by Belgium to classify loot boxes as illegal gambling.
♦It does look like FIFA 18 will be getting some form of limited DLC for the World Cup.
♦The NBA Playgrounds 2 news appears solidified now given Sony hasn’t pulled the page.
♦Full details on the latest patch improving gameplay for EA Sports UFC 3.
♦The Golf Club made a brief cameo in an episode of HBO’s Barry.
♦Three screenshots leaked out early for the upcoming Pro Evolution Soccer 2019.
♦A number of promotions being run to commemorate PES series reaching 100M sold.
♦Details on a new update available to download now for Out of the Park Baseball 19.
♦Details on the latest roster update to go out for NBA Live 18.
♦Digital sale on Madden NFL 18 for PlayStation 4 being sold for $12.
♦Details on new features with the latest console update for the Xbox One. -
Details on the first ratings changes for MLB The Show 18
Today’s roster update for MLB The Show 18 is the first to include ratings changes. While it’s still relatively early in the season enough data is now present to justify making those changes but the upgrades and downgrades have been kept somewhat minimal considering it has only been a month. The specific ratings mentioned here belong to Diamond Dynasty mode where the numbers are lower across the board than those found in the rest of the game.
Of greatest interest are the players in Diamond Dynasty that have moved to a different tier. Justin Verlander (+2 to 86) is the only one to have gone from Gold to Diamond in this update with the boost coming specifically from K/9 and BB/9 attribute categories. He’s struck out 48 batters in 39 innings while having only walked 8 this season.
Moving up to Gold are Josh Hader (+3 to 81), Gerrit Cole (+3 to 81), Edwin Diaz (+2 to 81), A.J. Pollack (+2 to 81), Rick Porcello (+3 to 80), Johnny Cueto (+2 to 80), and Javier Baez (+2 to 80). Dropping down a tier from Gold to Silver are Ryan Zimmerman (-3 to 78), Jose Quintana (-2 to 79), Chris Taylor (-2 to 78), Zack Cosart (-1 to 79), and Robbie Ray (-1 to 79).
Other notables on the move include Clayton Kershaw (-2 to 90), Kenley Jansen (-2 to 90), Manny Machado (+2 to 88), Didi Gregorious (+3 to 84), Yoenis Cespedes (-3 to 81), Yu Darvish (-2 to 80), Masahiro Tanaka (-2 to 80), Marcell Ozuna (-2 to 80), Adam Ottavino (+6 to 78), Matt Chapman (+5 to 78), Shohei Ohtani (+3 to 78), and Mitch Haniger (+2 to 78). The full list can be found here with all the ratings changes from this Diamond Dynasty update.
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Press Row Podcast: Entering the golden age for value
Subscription services continue to provide great value and the news on three games impacted by them headlined the week in sports gaming. Discussion on this episode of the Press Row Podcast includes Super Mega Baseball 2 being offered for free to Xbox Live Gold subscribers, PES 2018 being added to the Xbox Game Pass service, and a 20% discount for PlayStation Plus subscribers on NBA Playgrounds 2 which looks to also now have a release date.
Additionally there’s sadness over the lack of a World Cup game and curiosity over a survey sent out by 2K Sports regarding the reasons why people may have stopped playing NBA 2K18 which hits on some industry and consumer trends.
Check out the podcast through iTunes for iOS, on Android with the Stitcher app, or with Pocket Casts on iOS, Android, and Windows. The show can also now be found on the recently launched Google Play Music for podcasts. Subscribe and review to help support the show! You can also listen with the streaming player below.
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PES 2018 headed to Game Pass and another content update arrives
Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 today receives its fourth content update. Most notably the previous ones have included improved player faces, new stadiums, new kits, and Xbox One X enhancements. This latest release includes over 100 player face updates, the addition of Nike Mercurial Superfly 6 Elite boots, and 26 new kits with 17 of them for national teams.
The other big PES 2018 news is that the game is headed to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service on May 1. The series already offers a free-to-play option on consoles but that is restricted to only a few modes and limits the number of teams available. Subscribers to Game Pass however will have access to the entire game, giving them a chance to try it out on the Xbox One where the series especially has trouble finding an audience given that it’s far more appealing on the PS4 which allows for creation sharing that fills some licensing gaps.
Interestingly PES 2018 already has an announced expiration date from Game Pass. It’ll only be available on the service through the end of August. Clearly they are hoping to pick up some new fans over those four months but they aren’t going to compete against themselves by having 2018 in Game Pass for free at the same time they attempt to sell PES 2019 in September.
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NBA Playgrounds 2 may be releasing sooner than expected
A week ago NBA Playgrounds 2 was officially announced with a stated summer release window. That would have put its landing date between June 21st and September 22nd. The game may actually be a spring release instead with Gaming Tailgate first spotting the PlayStation Store product page which includes its apparent release date and pricing.
If the Sony page for the game is accurate – and considering they are taking pre-orders it seems reasonable to assume that it is – NBA Playgrounds 2 will release Tuesday, May 22nd. It’ll be sold for $20 which is the same price point as the first NBA Playgrounds. Even better is that PlayStation Plus members that pre-order will get 20% off to make it just $16. The game has not yet been listed on Xbox One or Steam.
Releasing in May would make a lot of sense for NBA Playgrounds 2. The NBA Playoffs will still be ongoing with the Finals set to begin on May 31st. The Draft then will follow on June 21st with those new players becoming available to add to the game. It’ll also be able to avoid heavy market competition by separating itself to a greater degree from the rush of major licensed sports games that release in August and September.
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If there were a 2018 FIFA World Cup game it probably would have released by today
Seven weeks have now passed since the article was written about the lack of news related to a 2018 FIFA World Cup game. Absolutely nothing has happened in that window of time and this likely would have been the date the game would have released by at the very latest. EA Sports has not made any comment related to the World Cup since implying that a new game was being worked on during an investor call all the way back in January.
The last four World Cup games have released on 4/15/14, 4/27/10, 4/24/06 and 4/22/02. That lead time before the World Cup begins was always critical because the tournament only lasts a month. After it’s over interest understandably plummets so sales had to be pushed hard for that compressed window before and during the tournament.
There’s still time before the World Cup begins in mid-June leaving the disappointing but more likely scenarios now of downloadable content and/or Ultimate Team tie-ins with FIFA 18 on the table. EA Play takes place June 9th and that event would provide ample opportunity to promote whatever they may have planned to coincide with the World Cup should they choose to remain silent and hold back that long from revealing any details.
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