Fan Stop Central

They say it’s the “Most Realistic Baseball Game Ever.” We’ll from the promos, it sure looks like it. I’d like to get my hands on a copy for myself, but in the meantime, it sure looks like they’re right.

Road to the Show 3.0
Now includes interactive training, new settings, a new steal/ lead-off system, presentations and coach interactions. Interactive training will consist of a set of mini-games designed to improve a player’s ability and performance in various areas of baseball.

Franchise Mode 2.0
Improvements include the long awaited 40-man roster! The latest Franchise Mode improvements will also offer Salary Arbitration, Waiver Transactions and September call-ups.

Online Season Leagues
Along with improvements to the traditional Online Leagues, MLB 09 will offer major additions to Online Season Leagues! New Online Season Leagues will allow you to hold a fully functional draft and utilize a Flex Schedule, allowing players to play games ahead in the schedule.

Roster Vault (upload/download/rate)
This gives users the ability to create their perfect roster offline by adjusting player attributes, appearance, accessories, etc… Users can then save this Roster to their Memory Card. Once online users can upload them from where they are stored to allow others users online to download, use and rate their Roster. The new Roster Vault feature lets the The Show community share and judge any Roster.

Never Miss A Single Play Again With In-Game Saves
Ever needed to save your progress in the middle of the game or an inning? This season, instead of losing your progress, you’ll be able to save their Career, Franchise or Season at any point in the middle of the game. If the pressure is getting to you, walk away in the bottom of the 9th and pick it up later to see how clutch you really are.

Catcher Called Games
Ever heard that good pitching beats good hitting? The Show pushes the envelope for realism by incorporating catchers calling pitches. You’ll really know what it feels like to stand on the mound and nod or shake a pitch from the catcher. It’s up to you – just don’t make a mistake pitch. The catcher’s setup also acts as a guide to your decisions on where to locate a pitch. Are you a Cy Young or a Robin Roberts?

Make Educated Decisions With The Improved In-Game Pitcher and Batter Analysis
Stats and match-up analysis are a baseball fan’s dream! The Pitch Analysis is a breakdown of all the pitches thrown during the current game being played. You’ll be able sort by pitcher, LHB or RHB, pitch type and result. This is also available for Batters. The batter analysis allows for a breakdown of how each batter has performed based on LHP or RHP, pitch type and the result. The pitcher and batter analysis is available for both in-game and post-game. The analysis will appear in the batter / pitcher status screen and the post game pause menu. This information is available for every game played, as well as your Road to the Show career.

Track Batters Throughout The Season With New Progressive Batting Performance
Superior performance will earn you rewards and slumps, but will require a little extra effort. Specific to each batter, you’ll be rewarded with slight contact bonuses for each batter who performs beyond his statistical ability under your control. Conversely, if your performance takes a dip, you’ll see slight decreases in contact for each batter that performs below that statistical ability. Performances will be based roughly on each batter’s last 20-30 ABs (w/ recent ABs weighted heavier).

SportsConnect Online User Tracking (SCOUT) Makes Online Matchups Easy
If you’ve ever had a difficult time finding someone online with the same gameplay setting as yours, the SCOUT system is for you. SCOUT allows you to set your game preferences, store them on the server and look for a Quick Match with an opponent that fits your criteria.

Adaptive Pitching Intelligence
API really puts you on the bump. MLB 09 The Show is the only baseball game to ever give you the choice to trust your catcher or shake him off. With API, catchers will call the game for you based on the strengths and weakness of each pitcher. And beyond that, catchers will also analyze tendencies of the batters to know if a batter is susceptible to chasing a high heater out of the zone or off-speed low and away.

Pitch Command System
PCS delivers unsurpassed authenticity and strategy to pitch selection in a baseball videogame. A pitcher’s “pitch comfort” will be predetermined based on a best pitch to worst pitch scenario. Now it’s up to you to decide if you should try to “work on a pitch” or just go with what is working. The more you work on one pitch, the better it becomes. Conversely the more you neglect a pitch; the more challenging it becomes to work the zone.

Online League Play
Providing you with the ability to set up leagues with up to 30 teams offering full stat tracking, point benefits and rewards. Customize as you see fit; choose your players, teams, length, rules and much more. Whether it’s you and a couple buddies or 29 of your closest friends, bragging rights are on the line.

Umpire Personalities
This year umpires will have unique tendencies and animations. But most importantly, each umpire will have his own definition of the strike zone. It’s up to you to figure out if they’re calling the zone high, low or giving you the corners. The quicker you figure it out, the more successful you’ll be.

Multi-Branch Fielding takes Branch Point Technology to a new level. Now you can take full control of fielders and break out of any animation in the process. Change your fielding decision and branch out of any animation after the first branch point. With Branch Point Technology you’ll pull off unbelievably smooth, fluid transitions for seamless double plays and relays.

3-Man Booth with Rex Hudler bringing additional energy to tell it like it is. Hudler joins Matt Vasgersian and Dave Campbell for the most comprehensive commentary you’ve heard in any baseball game. MLB 09 The Show sets the bar high with progressive commentary that changes you progress through the game, adapting to current actions and situations.

User Controlled Slides let you control base runners down to the last detail. Split-second decisions are the difference between a win and a loss so as you round the bases, you decide when it’s time to get dirty.

Rivalry Mode allows you to set up and maintain multi-game rivalries between multiple gamers or versus the CPU. Follow everything from wins to Ks and see who has the winning edge every time you challenge your rival. Whether you play offline or online, you’ll be able to keep track of all your rivalry stats and bragging rights.

Game Time Decisions bring more depth to Franchise and Season Modes. Only MLB 09 The Show provides the ability to take full control of your team when you’re forced to make the tough decisions. An injured player on the roster or a pitcher who needs more rest – the decision to play them is yours. If you ever thought you could be a big league manager this is the year to test your skills.

Progressive Broadcast adapts and utilizes game-specific presentations tailored to your career spotlight player as the season progresses.

SportsConnect Headline News lets you stay on top of all the news around the league. Receive all the current happenings in sports today. Information will be updated a few times each hour with news, trades and events from 31 different feeds, each containing 25 unique items. You can also select General MLB headlines for updates from all 30 teams in the league so no important news is missed while online with MLB 09 The Show.

Enhanced Career Mode incorporates a New Career Spotlight underscoring all of the accomplishments and failures during your career and showcases them in the limelight. You still call the shots but now the ramifications of your actions are documented. It’s up to you to determine whether your reel consists of highlights or miscues.

Enhanced Franchise Mode gives the critics more to rave about extending the functionality where performance and player morale are tracked on virtually every level – salary, playing time, batting slot, team performance, you name it – you control it.

Unique Stadium Ambiance for every MLB team specific to their stadium with coordinated crowds, team colors and audio that catering to each team and specific players.

Release Point Pitching takes video game pitching to a whole new level utilizing a timing mechanism you must learn realize pitching pace and release point which varies from pitcher to pitcher.

The Pitching Confidence Meter plays a key role your ability to hit spots. Your frequency of mistake pitches will impact the confidence level of your hurler making it more difficult to hit your spots and paint the corners. Guess Pitch tests your ability to master “the sweet science”. Check out the pitch history and sit on what you think the pitcher will throw next. If you sit on the right pitch your power attribute is increased. For the ultimate reward sit on pitch and location and leave the yard in a hurry.

PlayMaker Fielding at its core is based on fielding attributes but it’s ultimately up to you play to your team’s strengths and weaknesses. Excellent fielders will track them down for you while sub-par fielders will require some concentration from you.

Unassisted Fielding Control allows fielding freedom with the ball in hand. Take advantage of more realistic barehanded flips and the ability to dive with the ball in the fielder’s bare hand for the putout.

Hundreds Of Personalized Animations shows you recognizable, personalized player animations for everything from walk-ups, rituals, stances, swings – even emotions. All told more than any other baseball game on any platform. Guaranteed!

Unrivaled Player Creator provides infinitely possible options for creating players including everything right down to your own face with EyeToy® (exclusive to the PS2). But it doesn’t stop there. You can also adjust your personal rituals, swings – even emotions as you create Mini-You.

Unprecedented Online Options featuring head-to-head gameplay, 30-team leagues, King of the Diamond, live sports tickers, message boards, buddy lists, headset functionality, downloadable rosters, chat, and more.

Authenticity, Subtleties & Nuances like drag bunts, wild pitches, broken bats, check swings, off-line throws and much more.

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