‘MLB: The Show 17’ Retro Mode takes baseball gamers back to the 8-bit basics

By Gabe Gurwin January 26, 2017

MLB The Show 17 - PlayStation Experience 2016: Gameplay Reveal Trailer | PS4

PlayStation’s The Show games are among the most realistic, accurate, and rewarding sport simulators ever released, but that authenticity comes at a price: For all but the most dedicated players, the games are incredibly difficult to control. In MLB: The Show 17, a new Retro Mode looks to solve this problem.

Taking inspiration from classic baseball games like RBI Baseball and Ken Griffey Jr., “Retro Mode” removes all pitching attributes from players are instead forces them to rely solely on “velocity, break, and control.” This mode also removes the “high” and “low” portions of the strike zone, forcing you to paint the inside and outside corners when batters has a general idea of where the ball is going to end up.

Pitching is done with just one button press, followed by a push of the left analog stick. Players choose the pitch’s velocity after it has already left the pitcher’s hand, as well as where it will end up — this should make getting hits a challenge in a game that is already fairly low-scoring.

As Sony previously showed during its PlayStation Experience event, Retro Mode’s perspective and user interface have also been redesigned to more closely resemble classic baseball games. The point of view is now behind the batter, even if you’re pitching, and on-screen graphics have an 8-bit look that contrast with the hyper-realistic player models and environments in a hilarious way.

Leading up to the game’s March release, MLB: The Show 17‘s developers will be hosting regular live-streams to give fans a chance to see particular components of the game. In February, these will include more information on Retro Mode and “Diamond Dynasty.”

MLB: The Show 17 is out for PlayStation 4 on March 29 and features Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. as its cover athlete. In Canada, he’ll be replaced by Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Aaron Sanchez, while Taiwan will get Miami Marlins pitcher Wei-Yin Chen.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

Cubs superstar Javier Báez nabs a spot on the MLB The Show 20 cover

javier baez cubs mlb 20 cover

The Chicago Cubs didn't exactly have the most spectacular season this year, with manager Joe Maddon being let go after his team ended up in third place in the National League Central division. However, one player who did impress was infielder Javier Báez, and he has been rewarded for his excellent season with a spot on the MLB The Show 20 cover.

Báez is known just as much for his slick fielding skills as he is for his hitting, and his picture on the MLB The Show 20 cover shows him getting ready to throw a laser to first base. Another image of him celebrating a play is visible in the background.

Gaming

MLB Playoffs: How to recreate playoff games in MLB The Show 19

Recreate the playoffs in MLB The Show 19 and see who's the World Series Champion

mlb playoffs how to recreate playoff games in the show 19 postseason

Baseball fans rejoice as the month-long championship journey known as the MLB Playoffs finally arrive. Usually, the MLB Postseason runs from early October to about October 28th, and that’s a long wait for a World Series Champion to be crowned. If you want to skip past the festivities and create your own Postseason excitement, jump into MLB the Show 19 where players don’t have to wait long to experience the Fall classic also known as the World Series. Thanks to a mode known as Postseason mode, you can now play out or simulate the entire MLB Playoffs -- complete with the updated rosters -- in a fraction of the time. Not sure how to do this? Well, we have a guide that will show you how.
How to recreate playoff games in MLB The Show 19

When first booting up MLB the Show 19 after advancing past the title screen, the game will automatically search and download the updated live rosters.
After live rosters are done downloading, you are going to want to press the right bumper and move over to the options tab. From here you’ll want to select the data utility option and select “Save Live Roster”.
In this window, you will be asked to create a name for your Roster and it will then save this file. This will ensure that you have the updated live rosters available when starting your postseason on MLB the Show.
Once you have the updated live roster saved, you are going to press the left bumper and move over to the Mini Modes tab. Here you’re going to select the Postseason mode. From here you will select “Start New” and then select “Load Saved Rosters”.
You will then be given the option to select a saved Roster from your saved files. You’re going to want to select the latest live roster that you have saved manually as previously noted in step 1.
After the updated roster has loaded you will be presented with a Postseason bracket screen with a window labeled “Select User Teams” on the top right. Here is where you will be able to change the Postseason bracket so that it can match the real-life MLB 2019 Postseason bracket.
Once the teams have been selected and placed in their correct brackets, You will have to choose at least one team as the “User” team in order to proceed. This doesn’t force you to play in any games, however, so if you wanted to simulate the entire Postseason you can still do so. Sidenote: Selecting one team will only show you the schedule of the team selected. If you would like to see and possibly play each Postseason game then you will have to set all teams in the brackets as user teams.
After a “User” team has been selected, you can advance to the next screen which is simply called Options. Here you can make changes to the structure of how the Postseason operates. If you’re still aiming for authenticity, however, you will want to copy the settings we have here.
Advancing at this point will get you to the Postseason home screen. Here you can manage different items like pitching rotation and team lineups but most importantly, you can view the Postseason bracket and Schedule by selecting the schedule option.
Once you’re in the Schedule window you will now be able to see the Postseason schedule for the team(s) you have selected as user teams. From here you can go to a specific game in the series or any blank date and press the X (or A on Xbox) button. You will then be given a list of options as seen below.
At this point, you can choose how you want the Postseason to play out. You can play each individual game and feel the intensity of the fall classic or you can simply simulate through the entire Postseason like we did.
Our simulation has the Houston Astros winning another World Series trophy. Personally, that sounds like a safe bet but we’ll see what the actual outcome is in a few weeks as the MLB Postseason is in full swing.

Smart Home

Amazon slashes price of the Fire HD 8 Tablet and Show Mode Dock bundle by half

amazon slashes the fire hd 8 tablet and show mode dock bundle price in half with alexa charging 2 1

If you've been on the hunt for the year's best deal on an Amazon Echo smart display, your target is in sight. Amazon slashed the price of the Fire HD 8 Tablet bundled with the Show Mode Charging Dock by 50% for Prime members.

The excellent Fire HD 8 Tablet runs up to 10 hours on battery power. You can watch TV and movies, read books and magazines, listen to music, play games, and check in on your email and social media accounts. Amazon Prime members can access free media with the Fire HD 8 to enjoy online or download for unconnected entertainment with virtually millions of movies, TV episodes, songs, books, apps, and games. Hands-free Alexa support is built-in, but when you put the Fire HD 8 in the Show Mode Charging Dock, the tablet automatically converts to an Echo smart display.