For years now, Sony has more or less had complete exclusivity when it comes high quality baseball games. While Xbox gamers have been able to play thearcade-styleRBI Baseballgames, they have missed out on the much bigger-budget simulation MLB series,MLB The Show. However, there is a chance that the upcomingMLB The Show 21will be making its way to Xbox as well, which should prove to be a good thing for both Xbox and PlayStation fans.
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Here is whyMLB The Show 21coming to Xbox would ultimately be a good thing for fans of the franchise on PlayStation.
Crossplay
One big benefit toMLB The Show 21coming to Xbox is potentialcrossplay support, and the impact it could have on the game’s online community. Presumably, ifMLB The Show 21is coming to Xbox, it will be launching for both Xbox One and Xbox Series X. This would significantly increase the game’s potential playerbase by millions, which would in turn result in a far more active online community forMLB The Show 21.
A more active online community meansMLB The Show 21would likely receive updates and fixes at a faster rate, as there would be many more people to upset if things go haywire. It also means that the game’s online should remain active for an even longer period of time than previousMLB The Showgames. And unlike first-person shooter games, where those playing on PC sometimes have an advantage (though sometimes aim assist actually gives console players the advantage instead), it’s hard to see howMLB The Show 21’s possible crossplay could give players on one console any significant advantage over those playing on a different console.
More Sales
Byopening upMLB The Show 21to an Xbox audience(and potentially a Nintendo Switch audience as well), the game stands to sell significantly more copies and therefore make significantly more money. IfMLB The Show 21is a much bigger financial success than previous games in the series, which it should be and by a significant margin, then that would theoretically mean bigger budgets for future games in the series.
A bigger development budget for futureMLB The Showgames could see each entry in the franchise get more meaningful improvements from one year to the next. Not to mention, it should also mean better graphics, better performance, and a better all-around product.
Possible Drawbacks
There are some possible drawbacks to bringingMLB The Showto other platforms, however. Some fans worried thatMLB The Showcoming to more platforms could possibly dilute the product as the developers have to focus on optimizing the game for more than one system at a time. And that is a legitimate concern. However, that is more of a concern if the developers are bringingMLB The Show 21to theNintendo Switchas well as Xbox. The Xbox consoles can more than hold their own against PlayStation power-wise, and so there’s no reason to think that Xbox ports would hold the games back.
Some may be concerned that this meansMLB The Show 21on PlayStation 5 won’t take full advantage of the system’s unique capabilities. However, other multiplatform games have featuredDualSense controller support, taking full advantage of the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback, so there’s no reason to thinkMLB The Show 21will be skipping out. After all, the game was most likely coming to both PS4 and PS5 anyway, and PS4 does not have DualSense compatibility either.
And it should also be mentioned that there is a distinct possibility thatMLB The Show 21will not be coming to Xbox. When the announcement was made that futureMLB The Showgames would potentially be coming to other platforms, it didn’t provide a specific date as towhenthat would happen. Fans knew thatMLB The Show 20would not be coming to other consoles as it was already too far along in development, but the jury is still out forMLB The Show 21.
Unfortunately, there is some evidence to suggest thatMLB The Show 21will be skipping Xbox as well. A ratings board recently leakedMLB The Show 21for PS4 and PS5, with no mention of an Xbox version at all. While this may not mean anything, it could mean thatMLB The Show 21will once again be PlayStation exclusive, and Xbox fans may have to wait for 2022 to get their hands on anMLB The Showvideo game.
There are still some unanswered questions when it comes toMLB The Show 21, but luckily, fans shouldn’t have to wait too much longer to get their answers. It’s been confirmed thatMLB The Show 21will be revealed in February, so fans should know a lot more about the plans for the new game in just a matter of weeks.
MLB The Show 21is in development for unspecified platforms.
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