Sony is making a bad habit of ending online support for its the previous games in its franchises as soon as newer entries are released, in order to spur adoption of the new games. The most high profile example was probably the premature shutdown of online for Gran Turismo 5 to push Gran Turismo 6, but they have also made it a yearly habit to pull the plug for online support for MLB shortly after the previous one comes out.

And so it will be this year that online support for MLB 14: The Show will be ending on June 18, just three months after the launch of MLB 15: The Show, and 15 months after the launch of MLB 14. It’s shady and anti consumer, and frankly, Sony needs to be called out on it. Imagine if each year, Activision pulled the plug on online support for last year’s Call of Duty. Or if EA did that with FIFA. Or Nintendo with Pokemon. There would be riots.

The online support will be ending across PS3, PS4, and PS Vita. Frankly, this leaves such a sour taste in my mouth that I am in no mood to recommend MLB 15: The Show any longer.

If you pre-order the PS4 version of MLB 15: The Show, Sony’s annual sports franchise that continues to defy the law of diminishing returns and remain consistently great, then you will get a nice bonus: a custom skin for your DualShock 4 controller.

The game will come with a code that will let you order a DualShock 4 skin that lets you show off your team colors. Currently, the retailers that are offering this pre-order incentive are:

• Wal-Mart
• Target
• Best Buy
• Amazon
• GameStop

To get your skin, this is further what you will have to do:

1. Go to mlbtheshow.skinit.com
2. Choose your team and design
3. Enter the PIN code at checkout

That isn’t all, though. To sweeten the deal even further, Gamestop will be offering a pre-order deal that offers a digital pack with the game. The digital pack will include six MLB Player cards and two items that can be Equipment, Ritual Items, Franchise Sponsorships, or Stadiums

MLB 15: The Show launches on March 31 on PS4, PS3, and PS Vita.

Sony San Diego has revealed a special 10th Anniversary Edition for their upcoming baseball game, MLB 15 The Show, to celebrate ten years of them making the baseball games for PlayStation game platforms. The Anniversary edition is $69.99 and for the extra $10 dollars in price you receive $130 in added bonus content.

In addition to all of this, by pre-ordering MLB 15 The Show digitally on PlayStation Store or at various retailers, you can receive a free voucher for a DualShock 4 Skin for the MLB team of your choice from Skinit.

The special Anniversary Edition is actually available for pre-order right now at all leading retailers and the PlayStation Network Store. The game itself is due to launch on PS3, PS4, and PS Vita soon, so stay tuned for more coverage.

The anniversary edition includes:

• Exclusive MLB 15 The Show 10th Anniversary Wood Grain SteelBook and Exclusive Cover
• 12k in Stubs ($9.99 value)
• 15 Bonus Item packs ($15.00 value)
• All 30 MLB Team Dynamic Themes ($ 3.49 each retail)
• Official MLB 15 Dynamic Theme ($3.49 retail)

Developed by Sony Computer Entertainments San Diego Studio, MLB 15: The Show is set to be the tenth game in the series. The game is slated to be released as a Sony platform exclusive game, launching on both last and current gen systems.

Set to be published by Sony Computer Entertainment, MLB 15: The Show is going to be released on March 31st of 2015 and will be made available on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and the PS Vita.

• 1. Development
• 2. Gameplay
• 3. Teams

Development

The development cycle for games that fall into the MLB The Show series are often notoriously lacking in actual development details, likely due to the games being developed by SCE themselves. But here’s what we do know about the game so far.

The game made its début appearance in late December of 2014 when it appeared alongside a début trailer. This trailer was also used to announce the game’s official release date which was confirmed to be March 31st of 2015.

As a means of incentivising players to purchase MLB 15: The Show, Sony Computer Entertainments San Diego Studio have implemented a system that will allow players to carry over their saves from MLB 14: The Show. Called “Year to Year saves”, the official line for this features is, “Users who purchased MLB 14 The Show will be able to continue their Franchise and Road to the Show progress in MLB 15 The Show.”

The game is also set to make some new changes to the fundamental MLB The Show series. For example, MLB 15: The Show is going to be the very first game in the series to make use of real world licensed sporting equipment. Newly formed partnerships with a number of high quality sporting brands will see all new and wholly accurate bats, cleats and gloves to the game, lending it that little bit of extra authenticity that has helped make the series as renowned as it is.

The game is going to include a number of baseball legends in the pool of virtual player cards, these are sporting icons from the last 70 years of the sport. There will be 30 in total with each team having 1 representative.

MLB 15: The Show is also set to host some graphical improvements, but specifically the PlayStation 4 build of the game which is going to feature real time sunlight and shadows based on the changing seasons. The night lighting for stadiums is also going to make the game feel much more realistic.

The much sought after position of cover athlete has already been filled too, with Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig filling the spot for MLB 15: The Show.

The only element of a story in The Show series would be the road to the show which is effectively just a campaign of sporting events.

Gameplay

At this time, SCE San Diego haven’t revealed or announced any gameplay specific features for MLB 15: The Show, but there aren’t likely to be any serious changes to the games fundamental sporting formula.

Teams

At the time of writing, SCE San Diego haven’t released a roster of teams and sportsman set to appear in the game.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

Among the many games that Sony gave us a rundown on today at their PlayStation Experience keynote, one of them was Sony San Diego’s MLB 15: The Show, which is coming next spring for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita. Sony revealed a lot of new stuff about the game, including the cover star (Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig), how it looked (gorgeous, I’m consistently amazed at the visuals they pump out on a yearly basis), information about authenticity (the game will have licensed equipment for the first time ever), and some other stuff that should excite series fans (such as your save data from MLB 14: The Show carrying over to this year’s game).

There was also a brand new trailer for the game, which you can check out for yourself.

At a time when more and more sports franchises- Madden, FIFA, NHL, NBA 2K, WWE 2K- are dropping the ball, it’s good to see at least one sports series still do well.