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MLB The Show's Graphics are Worse Than I Expected...
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- Published on Mar 16, 2026
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I didn't know pro baseball spirits was on a 2 year cycle. MLB The Show should do this with updates but they want that yearly money.
They need to create a college baseball game based off the current platform and then go work on the show for the 2 years to make it up to par for next gen.
The thing is MLB The Show doesnt have anything to "alternate", Spirits rotates with Pawapuro
They’re contractually obligated by MLB to release the game annually.
@jameslin99Is that true? Is it part of the exclusive agreement?
People need to stop saying this for sports game. There is 0 possibility of this happening. We all know this is what they should do. They aren’t going to give up their yearly diamond dynasty/ ultimate team money every year. They literally make more on that than actual game sales. Sports games are in the position bc of those morons who play that.
6:04 the catcher grabbing his cup mocap is killing me😂
i think its a tippiing point because EVERYTHING has been enshittified and people are fed up. food, games, hobbies, movies, shows, EVERYTHING is just shittier, and the few products we actually get something worth our money (like this game previously) its also gone to shit. so i think everyone is speaking up because its just so exhausting how shit it all is now
ROI, return on investment, all publicly owned companies must provide infinite growth in order to provide shareholder value. SDS is owned by publicly owned companies...
enshittfied is awesome word usage
@pgoodythis might work for now but eventually they will begin to fade. Look at Cod the number of players drops every year and yeah they still make money off the people who play but if you’re product is continuously shit you aren’t gonna consistently make more money each year.
The pandemic and the fucking lockdowns that resulted from it, ruined everything!
This exactly. Literally everything.
@7:30 never really realized how much better it looks when the camera stays on the players and moves to the next pitch instead of instant cut scenes. Makes the flow of the game look so much better
This. Didn't realize either until I made that connection lol
I own both games ( PBS 25-26 ) I ordered from Japan. Yes PBS rain games are realistically insane than the crap the show
We went from high heat, triple play, 2k, and mvp baseball to just the stale show and MLB’s horrible ootp baseball
I think Pro baseball Spirit raised the graphics bar compare to TheShow 26
PS6 will still have the ps3-4 engine graphics
💀
And have a whopping 1 console exclusive!
Everything is just more smooth on pbs. 😢 that rosin detail is insane lol i love little details like that
It looks like you have the fast play setting on the show gameplay.
Batter walk up is a setting you must have it turned off
i don’t understand why the graphics still look the same especially after sds stopped supporting ps4 it makes no sense i’m not sure if it’s a budget or engine thing but it’s sad to see that at one point the show was the s tier sports game now it just seems like another copy and paste game
2025 was the first year it was only on the ps5/xbox series.
Do you have the setting for no batter walkup so it cuts it?
Shrinkflation and the enshittification of everything
I’ve been playing since 2006… honestly, doesn’t matter what you add.. it still feels old, outdated and stale. It’s one thing to go a few years on a game engine, but 10 years? Insane. I played 2017 a few nights ago and I truly forgot I was even playing it and not 25. New features are great, but when the game looks and feels the same as it did since 2017, that’s the issue. As someone who has played every single The Show ever released, I feel like I’ve been playing the same exact game for a decade now with a few new “features” and a roster update. I purchased PBS via PSN store and have played it so much more than The Show 25. PBS is way more detailed in everything, especially game modes. One thing it is not as good as The Show is gameplay. Not bad, but not as crisp. Still way more fun because it's fresh. Also, just as with anytime, it takes a few times to learn the menus, but after playing for a little you literally know where everything is and do not even have to worry about reading the menus. Well worth the time. Game is fun as hell. People who say it's not fun are saying it because it is SO MUCH HARDER than the Show on higher difficulties.
I gotta disagree with you on this. I recently rebooted Show 23 (PS4 Pro version) to see if there was any noticeable difference. The difference was kind of jarring. The graphics are much smoother on 25 in comparison so I know for sure going 6 more years back there's not gonna be similarities to the most recent version. Does the game feel the same? A little. But again, the differences are noticeable. I DO agree that SDS has to find a way to thread the needle of updating the graphics without losing the quality of gameplay.
@ervinghenderson4780 listen, I respect your opinion, but I honestly do not see that at all. I guess I've just played for so long that none of it seems different anymore. Same animations, same gameplay, same everything.
One of San Diego's biggest travesty is when a few years back they decided to delete the animation when the catcher throws the ball back to the pitcher after a pitch.. Little things like that just kill the immersion in this game and every yr they cut here and there to make the actual gameplay shorter. Anew graphics engine is overdue, they need to overhaul the whole thing.
Agree - nothing should be skipped on broadcast mode. I want to see all of the throws back to the pitcher, all the walk-ups etc. That's the whole point of broadcast mode.
I know that the video is about graphics, but, Prospi star player mode is so cool, that if you play good enough, you will get into a fantasy WBC tournament (representing your country) and you can even go to the Olympics in '28... Prospi is just superior in every aspect except gameplay. Every mode has depth, has a meaning. Prospi is fun to play, each mode is just fun.
I’m telling you right now, I’ve been playing this game since the Mauer cover days. These guys have been scared to leave a past generation behind, to their detriment. This is the same group that was scared to leave the PSP, PS3, and the PS4. We need to move forward, we have to push the envelope on graphics. Go play a game like last of us, death stranding, or god of war and then give me a good reason they can’t make a better looking game.
How i would explain it is that not only does it look bttr graphically, but animation wise ( especially hitting) and presentation, it just looks and feels like a real baseball game. But also the catcher especially. He looks like its a real player catching. This gane just knows how to capture that feeling way bttr.
They don’t even have hand guards in mlb the show
I think one thing that makes the Konami players look off is they have giant shoulders, similar to the older Fifa games. their torsos also look kind too big to me?
Otherwise, it looks great. I'd definitely play it if it was translated.
i just want realistic outfield wall layouts as default. you know how hard it is to do bowl shaped japanese dimensions?
Japanese studios know how to make sport games.
2 year cycle makes sense - especially for sport games
THANK GOD SOMEONE DID THIS!!!!
I'd like to see an improvement for the grass and infield mix textures for the Show. When not zoomed in, the textures do look very waxy/mushy and it's starting to bother me the more I play the game and take notice to it. Not sure if getting a PS5 Pro and a better 4K OLED TV/Monitor would improve this to a degree but probably not significantly enough to justify purchasing those. I still have a Sony Bravia 55" 4K HDR TV I got from the Exchange when I was in the Air Force in 2017 that I've been using that's still decent but probably need to upgrade it to some LG or Samsumg OLED at some point. Really more of an issue with using cheaper textures as evidenced with how the game has looked damn near the same since like 2013.
This was a great video. I fully expected a big complaint fest with little actual specifics like you'd get with some other youtubers, but I think this really highlights the differences between the two games without saying it's all good one one side and all bad on the others. Like you said there are things that The Show does better, like the fielding animations and the player body models, but the overall look just comes off a lot less dynamic than what you see in PBS24. I think you hit the nail on the head that the biggest problem with MLB The Show's visuals is the lighting and how it interacts with all the materials.
I'm of the belief that if they only overhauled the lighting system and left everything else exactly the same, this game would look 1000 x better. Because when you zoom in on The Show and look at the faces and details in the uniforms, equipment, and stadiums, it's all pretty good when you get up close. The problem is just that the lighting does it no favors and kind of smooths everything out and looks plasticky or waxy at any reasonable distance. New lighting would get them like 85% of the way there, and then once they have that they can get into the more granular things like the smoother pitching and swing animations, and the presentation stuff.
Anyway I just thought this was a really well done video that adds a lot to the conversation with out just being "MLBTS BAD, PBS GOOD"
Great video Scann. I hope they see this and take note.
once they added the game to many systems it has slowed production so much i feel or are they keeping the graphics low because of the switch?
That's part of it. Wish they moved to Switch 2. But the graphics have been stagnate for 15 years now soooo...the engine they use is beyond outdated.
IF they change the flow of camera cuts and presentation in CPU games it might be that easy
Pro Baseball Spirits have catchers properly animated.
Man, really great video Scann. This breakdown really shows how bad we have been ripped off
The reason why the camera might skip it’s because of the online gambling card players that have ruined all sports games they don’t care about realism just sweating all day gambling on digital cards 😂😂 games were meant to be played offline and online an extra mode but it’s unfortunate things have changed in gaming in general
BINGO!!!! They removed the option to play online with broadcast style.. longer cutscenes etc. this is when i knew the end had came. Oh yea and the removal of online franchise. The devs know that keeping that would take money away from MUT.
3:15 ...my god man could you be more obvious...lol how much did you get
I agree with you. Graphics isn't everything but, my goodness, we've been getting the same shhh for years LOL. Same slides, same hand on the helmet gesture. Stealing 2nd base, helmet pops off and land perfectly on the ground LOL. I would love to see a player call "time out" so he could get the helmet. Something realistic
All the players in mlb the have the same look on there face. I feel like they should have the players smile more or look more stressed. It makes no sense they get a called strikeout and the batter just shakes there head. I want to see them snap the bat with there knee then have option to get in umps face.
I also don’t understand why we cant see how many fans we have. Put the jersey sales or something. We have the all star vote but i feel like we dont really care about the all star game because it dont count. My jersey sale should influence the next team willing to give me a contract. Like Juan Soto
Question: how many different consoles is pro baseball spirits on vs the show?
Pro Baseball Spirits is only on PS5 I believe, The Show is on the Xbox Series consoles, PS5, and Switch. So, the range of consoles is something that SDS has to consider with the graphics of their games.
I play mostly online and I think most, if not all, of the graphics talk is because we realize that gameplay just isn't getting adjusted. There's no new hitting or pitching engine , which in my opinion is desperately needed, and so the realization that SDS is content with sticking with gameplay forces focus on other areas that need overhauls, mainly the graphics.
Yes they are these graphics of MLB the show 26 look like PS4 gaming era even PS3 and that's why I am not buying this year's MLB game or any other until I see major improvements and would rather play 24 which is a great game compared to 26! Plus once again this year all of the MLB players have fake faces on the player portraits in game it's very ugly and unrealistic San Diego studios is very lazy and a horrible gaming company!
I agree with you, but I want you to know that a few years ago, the community (overall) wanted the studio to make the player faces like that. I thought that is THE stupidest thing ever. People wanted that so that hats could change to represent whatever the uniform is if the team so that weirdness started with franchise players but moved to DD fans.
I've been playing MLB 15 The Show these past few years and it's actually more fun and I think more realistic than the newer titles. All of the PS3 MLB games are really good as well.
I believe MLB The show 2011 had it where it wouldn’t skip, this would add so much more immersion to the game. But for some reason it was removed one season later.
The game play for PYS hasn't changed since 2013, but that doesn't fit the narrative.
It has but it doesn’t need to significantly because it’s so good and I’ve payed every edition
Its not about the PS5/PS6, they are using an old game engine. Just like every sports game, NHL is literally on a frostbite engine from 2011. Until they do a overhaul of the framework, everything will stay the same.
I think for me it’s cuz I hit a point where it’s like “ok guys this is enough of the same graphics. The ps5 has been out for 5 years!!!! And this looks not much better than PS4 days”
its the animations and lighting that makes it look way better
thank you for talking bout the bodies, god damn the player models are horrible
It’s been the same for 10 years!!! It looks the exact same. $70????
I think the biggest for me is the hats, like depending on the head the hat can look to big or too small. I don't see that in pro spirits. Stadium backgrounds, pitch action for sure is more realistic. Then finally the in stadium sounds, crowd sounds. It feels real in Pro Spirits . MLB the Show the crowd chants sound pre recorded not live
If you do research, SDS is using the same game engine from 2006. They refuse to update to a game engine that can run the game on consoles effectively today.
I hate that The Show stopped doing real photos of the players in the in game graphics, now it’s just the 3d models of the players.
I shared a video of my indie Baseball game with experimental motion capture and smartphone sensor tech to play actual swings like Wii. Since it's minimal and runs in the browser, the graphics are stick figures. Somebody still commented that it had better graphics than MLB the Show.
LOL, that's actually hilarious
delete all cutscenes in DD
The Show used to have full walk up presentations, but then they got rid of it because only a small fraction of players ever sat through the whole animation. Most people hit x to skip the walk ups.
I love spirits baseball, it's different than da show in every way. Genuinely have fun playing spirits. Love show but it lacks not just in the graphics department but in gameplay control especially fielding.
Ive watch this a few times already looking for comparisons and I just realized something. When Ohtani is pitching on field warming up, the finish of the pitching animation is different every time. Hes got like a few different animations, and that really makes it look a lot more real
we thought that when The Show went cross platform, that would bring a bunch more income into the SDS team to finally spend and upgrade to a "next gen" title. We thought wrong. They have for years talked about how they are a small development studio, didn't have the resources of other sports games. I guess when they have to pay licensing rights to the hundreds of legend/past players for DD, that takes most of their budget. I guess SDS isn't alone in this. Pour all the resources into online modes that can make them more money.
ALL sports games or even other games with a roster should be on a 2-3 year cycle where they update the rosters for free and give the option to buy additional content for $20-30 every year.
The problem is bozos keep forking $70+ on a yearly basis for copy/paste products. At the very least wait a couple of months and buy the games at a steep discount. Like, I play WWE games, but since 2K19 I've always waited until I can get a physical copy for $40 and buy the season pass for $30. That way I have all the features, but I paid roughly $70 for what would easily be $90 for a "deluxe edition".
have you tried perfect inning 25-26? I think that game to me feels snappy, graphics maybe not, but still fun.
Isnt pro spirits on the unreal 5 engine? I think SDS has been lagging on creating a new engine hence the small improvements yoy. Like when madden and EA came out with frostbite thts when you saw the changes move ahead.
PBS needs to step up with their MLB license
Enjoyed watching, thank you.
Thank you for this video !
Just look at the dirt in the batters box i know its just a dirt but i looks way way better and it immerses you.
Pro baseball has better graphics but shallow gameplay. The two games' pros and cons perfectly balance each other out lol
Wasgoody scann
Good (Scann alt)
I remember last year they said what is holding us back graphically is the Nintendo Switch. Which I call shenanigans. They essentially have created two entirely different games, so the Switch basically gets its own game.
I don't know why SDS has not joined the 21st century like Madden and all the EA games, but it is long past time for them to take advantage of the technology and give us the game we know they can make.
Okay here's my 2 cents, the pitching and hitting aspects besides some minor tweaking in MLB the Show are as good as it gets and obviously that's the most important aspect of a baseball game, I personally have some issues with how fielding works, you said they do a good job of getting it in with urgency, I actually think it's a little too urgent, the throwing meter for double plays drives me insane, they need to make all infield throwing meters a lot shorter. Other than that the gameplay is very solid, and that's why attention has turned to the graphics. You pointed out how the swings in spirits look a little strange, that's because that's how most Japanese guys hit in general. Graphical improvements could really be used on small things too not just like better body types and new skin textures, they could add more texture to the ball and make it so that seam patterns exist when you're hitting, something all sports games struggle with is creating stick figure models for their motion engines and then having horrible entity interaction with hands and feet, newer graphics engines have improved to where you can actually give the feet outlines to interact accurately with the bag or have plays where a guy can slide off of a bag when sliding into second, things that we see all the time in reality
I own Pro Yakyuu - the player models/face scans are much better than MLB The Show. In particular the Japanese/Asian players. Alot of foreign players they didn't face scan as good (or at all) & they look a bit off, but not too bad.
Aside from pre-rendered home run & situational cutscenes (which you will notice are extremely repetitive) the animations are very PS3 era "video gamey" movements. The way fielders chase the ball, the way they throw, it looks extremely outdated. Most gloves looks mad weird, almost comically huge in some cases, 1st baseman's especially.
The gameplay is also not as intuitive & (as of the last time I played yesterday) there is a glitch when you try to turn a 6-3 double-play where the game won't register the out at 2nd base.
They need new graphics, new announcers, have a few different announcers to make games feel different. New fans, new atmosphere. When it’s playoff games make it feel like a playoff had. Like give the stadium more vibrant lighting when it’s playoffs to make you feel like you’re in it.
after playing pro yakyuu games , there is no possible way to get back into the show games,,,its night and day difference
Ppl fail to realize that The Show is cross platform they can only go so far probably because of the switch
It's lighting 💯. The Show's lighting makes everything look flat. An extreme example would be to look at Minecraft with and without ray tracing. It's transformative. They're probably using a heavily modified version of a really old custom game engine but the amount of time it would take to move over to a new engine and still keep parody with their current baseball simulation features is probably way to costly for them. I wonder if they're building something new concurrently, it's just taking forever with the majority of their efforts going into their annual releases.
That's my thoughts.
But which one has the better game play?
PBS
If this was to come out with the MLB license, everyone would be complaining about things wrong with this game
The Show graphics are just outdated in general not just compared to other sports games. What's also disappointing is that this is a Sony owned studio. Can't they use the Decima or Naughty Dog's Engine?
This game is awesome ppl don’t like it cuz u really gotta be point to hit there’s big inner and outer pci
The graphics settings look to be set to low.
I want The Show to get better graphics; however, as Oh Chev has said constantly, they run on a spaghetti code engine. This engine is not ready for a graphical update since they still have issues that have been in the game for years. Fix one thing and then break 4 other things
I mean dude San Diego Studios only makes billions on the same game with zero work needed year after year. You cant expect them to compete with a no-name tiny studio oversees. --- absolutely ridiculous. Im so done with the show until they get their act together. exclusives have killed sports games
This dead ass looks like MLB 2k26
Look even the bottom has NBA scores!!😮
Kyle doesn’t think its good because you cant hit homerun every pitch
I don't want that comment to be a shot at him at all or anything. We all enjoy games for different reasons, so I can't fault him for not enjoying something the same way I do, for example!
so true
The only thing I don’t like about pro baseball spirits is the shadows. Especially during night/evening time games. But overall it is better than the show.
Bro you know it looks better
Just add some of the show’s engine, gameplay, mechanics, etc. to spirits & it’s arguably one of the best baseball games ever
Also, I’ve seen videos of the Japanese game and even though I didn’t play it, I’ve seen other RUclipsrs play it. The graphics looks slightly better and the players show more emotion no matter what happens.
I’d rather a game that plays well vs looks pretty..
I wish 2K would make baseball games again to give the Show something to compete with, bc they’re the only mainstream American game, they really don’t have a strong incentive to improve
Lmao, 2K wasn't even really competition back when they made games.
Good video but this breakdown tells all you need to know about how lame the “graphics” complaint is. We should be more concerned about gameplay, servers, online lag, ball physics, player movement, in game player speed, throwing animations, etc. idc about the players hair or face details.
PBS does look much better visually but everytime I see people playing it the action looks kind of slow and janky. I wish I could get it on my digital console and try it for myself.
I guess man are gay for abs and muscles because According to a 2019 Planet Fitness survey, nearly 70% of women find the "dad bod" more attractive than a six-pack, with 78% viewing it as a sign of confidence. This body type-defined as a mix of muscle and a little extra weight-is often seen as more approachable, comfortable, and nurturing compared to a highly chiseled physique.
What does this have to do with baseball
mlb 더쇼 26 27 28 그냥 표지만 다를뿐 바뀔 엔진은 없다 오타니 만들어논 꼬라지보고 확신함 최고스타 모션 페이스를 봐도
I dont understand how people buy this game every year and DON'T want to see better graphics? Evolution is the reason why people get excited for sports games every year, but some idiots just want to keep everything the status quo and let their bank account auto-withdrawal on the date a new MLB the Show comes out, without a thought. It's mindblowing how people can be such lemmings and marks.
the graphics look the same since 2018
Look How Sony brought it over to the U.S but only on mobile They didn’t want this on U.S consoles cuz it would take away from the Show
Are you able to play Spirits online vs another player? I’ve always heard that the reason SDS hasn’t done a full graphics overhaul is because it would affect online performance. Similar to the dreads and pro stadiums with a ton of fans, the more the CPU has to strain on graphics, the higher the frame drops and lag. If Spirits has the better graphics AND doesn’t get effected during on,one, then SDS loses their argument. Although, I will say I’m not a fan of Spirits gameplay overall.
The terrible running, the absolutely terrible running animations in MLB take me out everytime, I can't do it anymore so I'll just watch people play it this year. That's not the only thing but yea.
Night and day, what a refreshing game. San Diego Studios should seriously be ashamed of themselves.
Ever since MLB the show got new commentary crew I’ve always shut that feature off. I have nothing against the new crew. The big issue I have with the new crew is that some of the stuff they say doesn’t make sense or their stories about their “ glory days” is annoying.
Like at almost every game you play with the new commentary on you hear the same stories over and over no matter what team you’re versing. It’s really damn annoying and get stale quickly. That’s I’ve turned it off every time.
I’m not sure about anyone else but for me I really liked the old crew better. They sounded more hyped about what’s going on in the game and enthusiastic. I’d rather listen to Matt vasgersian talking about east and west, along with north and south of the strike zone deeper in the game, then listening about eating soup at diner constantly when you’re versing the Yankees.
Also, another thing, why the hell did they get rid of the sideline reporter? To be honest that really was a big improvement. Every few innings, you would hear a report from her on how the game is going. She would talk about what the team is doing to succeed along with talking the team, that is struggling bad and what they need to do to get back in the game. If I’m not mistaken, she was featured in MLB 19 and 20. I’m not sure about anyone else, but I really liked that feature. It really added more to the broadcast.
The new commentary crew with Jon scambi and Chris Singleton is not the same as Matt vasgersian, Mark Derrida and Dan Plesac. The new crew doesn’t seem like they give a damn about the game and it couldn’t care less. The old grew was really hyped about ex play all the time.
Graphics matter alot. For me personally when the graphics are better I’m more immersed. The show has had the same graphics since fuckin forever. It’s kind of pathetic considering how much money they make. They need competition. Sine they’re the only baseball game they will continue to do the bare minimum.
if they don't want to improve the graphics then just release an PC version and let the modders to their magic
YES