MLB 15 the Show: New Trailer Continues Building Hype for Upcoming Release

We're at by far the quietest period on the sports gaming calendar. The NFL season's conclusion takes with it the national relevance of the latest Madden release, we're a full four months removed from the latest NBA 2K iteration and even the box on the latest FIFA is starting to show its wear.

In other words: It's the perfect time for Sony to remind you baseball is a sport that exists and create hype around MLB 15 The Show. The gaming giant has released two different trailers over the last week, one a more standard affair you're likely to see on multiplatform ads and another detailing more intricate improvements.

Let's start with the first because it does a marvelous job executing its purpose. This is the type of trailer that makes Xbox One owners despondent Sony has not opened the negotiating table to allow The Show to cross over to other gaming systems. 

The Show always outpaced its competition in aesthetic beauty—and is partially the reason there is no competition anymore from 2K Sports—but it's clear the engineers are readying themselves to take full advantage of the PS4 hard drive. Lighting in stadiums has never looked better. Blades of grass have never shown up clearer. Crowds have rarely looked more dynamic.

While in the first year on PS4 MLB The Show concentrated on making a proper transition—making some changes but concentrating more on keeping brand equity high—this appears to be the real game they wanted to roll out in 2014. New animations abound, as the trailer goes out of its way to emphasize presentation enhancements.

Here is where you say it's pretty easy to cut together a minute-long trailer of pretty visuals from internally selected clips. Many a sports gamer has been fooled in the past by a pretty trailer obscuring a hollow shell of a game. 

Where MLB The Show overcomes the skepticism is with brand equity. We're nearly a decade into this being the best baseball video game on the market. Like NBA 2K, there's an inherent trust factor. So when you throw Yasiel Puig on the cover—doooope move, by the way—and offer a series of cool visuals down to a nostalgic track, you're speaking to the Show choir.

As for the second trailer, which details universal rewards and licensed equipment, it highlights a natural extension of Road to the Show that's been a long time coming. Brands like Nike, Mizuno and a number of others lent their names to the equipment for MLB 15, which adds authenticity while very likely expanding Sony's microtransaction market. It wasn't thoroughly gone over during the video, but I'd be surprised if those pieces of equipment did not come with their own, very purchasable virtual currency cost. 

All of it is a very natural extension of currently existing brands. Gamers get an even authentic mode, Sony finds a new revenue stream and everybody wins.

Universal rewards, which offer brand-based rewards based on in-game accomplishments, seem like another cool extension of the new licensing agreements. That could lead to instant rewards that allow you to equip your Road to the Show player with bats, gloves, etc. without having to slowly accumulate Stubs or dive into the microtransaction waters.

Sponsorship agreements with teams, which have been added to franchise mode, aren't likely to put the game over the top for anyone. I, for one, couldn't care less about seeing a company logo next to my batter's stats when he steps to the plate. But as a sucker for authenticity, it's a cool addition that proves the engineers are doubling down on getting minute details correct.

Oh, and then there are the 30 legends added to this year's game. I won't spoil the end of the trailer, but suffice it to say if you like sniffing out crime, enjoy a good noggin punch or want to honor a recently passed legend, all of it is in the game. MLB 15 The Show will be released in brick-and-mortar stores and in the PlayStation Store on March 31.

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