We are so back
Konami promised big announcements for the 30th anniversary of Pawapuro and 20th anniversary of Pro Yakyuu Spirits (Prospi for short). The announcement and teaser trailer hit on Monday morning Japan time, and generated huge excitement (and lots of views for old Pro Yakyuu Spirits gameplay videos on my YouTube channel, for what it’s worth).
As I touched on in the Friday Starter last week, The Show is the only game in town for realistic-style baseball gaming. And yet, in its fourth game to release on PlayStation 5, it’s still visually very similar to the PS4 games in the series.
Well, going by the teaser trailer and promo screenshots Konami released, Pro Yakyuu Spirits is about to drop a nuclear graphics bomb on their heads:
The new game, titled Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2024-2025, will release only on PlayStation 5 and Steam. Finally a baseball game has been bold enough to leave the last generation behind. This is the first PC game in the series, and the first PC baseball game Konami has made since Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Online-ban back in 2003.
As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, the difference in stadium verisimilitude is gargantuan between The Show and Konami’s games. The Show‘s park models themselves look great, but the fake signage everywhere spoils it. I’m sure there is a legal difference between Japan and the United States that leads to this. But it is such a huge benefit looking at real Kirin and Daihatsu ads instead of signs that say Cola Cola and MLB Network.
And if the teaser is close to what the final game looks like, the player models look at least a generation newer than what’s currently in The Show. We don’t have a direct comparison we can make yet, but on game release the first thing I’ll do is compare the Ohtanis and Yamamotos against each other.
The teaser website gives details on a few more features: Some snippets of crowd and stadium announcer sounds in two different parks, separate fireworks displays modeled to match each real NPB park, and a redesigned ball physics system.
As a reminder, the Tokyo-based developer also announced Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2024-2025 just last month, with allegedly-non-gambler Shohei Ohtani heavily featured. There’s still no release date or major additional details announced for the game.
The Athletic talks The Show
The article is behind a paywall, but The Athletic did a story about MLB The Show‘s maybe-surprising influence inside MLB clubhouses.
It is a puff piece admittedly, but there are a few interesting things to learn from the story:
- It’s well known that The Show identifies real MLB/MiLB players and creates a “Real 99” card for them. This is an upgraded version of themselves to use online, both a silly perk for the player and a way to let their opponents know they’re up against one of the real athletes. An aspect of this I hadn’t considered was the embarrassment factor: “Oh yeah,” Harrison laughed. “It’s embarrassing if you get hit around because everyone knows who it is. But I play with teammates mostly, Diamond Dynasty, and we all have our 99 cards.”
- The pitching and hitting animations are made by mo-capping actors who imitate the real motions. The pitching motions are maybe the highest-quality part of The Show for me, so I’m a little surprised but thrilled there are Batting Stance Guy equivalents behind the scenes.
- Triston McKenzie relays a story about throwing Byron Buxton a front-door slider because it worked in The Show. Hedges, rightly, told him never to do that again. I would also not recommend bringing pitches that work against the CPU in The Show into a real game.
YouTube viewing guide
- The Pro Yakyuu 2003 ~2003 Pennant Race~ (PS2) CPU vs. CPU Gameplay – A true baseball kusoge, part of D3Publisher’s humongous Simple Series. Offense seems to be completely impossible for the computer. I think this the result of this game is the first of its kind on my channel.
- MLB The Show 24 (PS5) CPU vs. CPU Gameplay – A ’90s-’00s style simulated game in the new The Show between the Yankees and Mariners, who are both blessed with an unusual number of throwback players in-game.