MLB: The Show is a series that has found increased success after being ported to Xbox, and the series could continue to grow with a PC release.
For many years, Sony has had a monopoly on Major League Baseball video games, and MLB: The Show titles could only be found on PlayStation consoles. However, in 2019, Sony made the surprising announcement that MLB: The Show would be heading to other platforms. This came into effect with MLB: The Show 21 which was released on both Xbox and PlayStation consoles. With the upcoming release of MLB: The Show 22, the franchise will expand its reach once more by releasing on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo.
While it is good that plenty more gamers will get to enjoy the critically acclaimed MLB: The Show series, it seems that PC gamers have conspicuously been neglected. This is unfortunate because a PC release of MLB: The Show 22 would bolster Sony's efforts to infiltrate the PC gaming market while giving a great game even more ways to shine.
Much of PlayStation's history has been spent convincing gamers to purchase its consoles by offering enticing gaming experiences that can only be found on the platform. Consequently, Sony has built up an impressive stable of first-party studios that have delivered award-winning exclusive titles that can only be played on PlayStation consoles.
Sucker Punch has brought gamers franchises like Infamous and Sly Cooper, while Naughty Dog created the iconic The Last of Us series, which takes gamers on a dystopian zombie adventure. Although this strategy has served Sony well in the past, it may not be viable indefinitely into the future and, as a result, recent years have seen the company begin to expand the ways games can access PlayStation's gaming catalog.
Sony offers PlayStation Now, a video game streaming service available in a limited number of regions. With PlayStation Now, gamers can play a curated catalog of PS2, PS3, and PS4 on either PlayStation consoles or PC. PlayStation Now represents Sony's first few steps away from its console home base and illustrates the company's slow but steady embrace of the PC gaming market.
Many once-exclusive PlayStation titles have found their way onto PC in recent years. This includes Days Gone, Horizon Zero Dawn, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, God of War, and Death Stranding. While this may have been unthinkable once, it has become routine for PlayStation to make PC releases. This is all part of the grand plan, as explained by Jim Ryan, who is Sony Interactive Entertainment's president and CEO. Ryan states that while a successful PlayStation game, currently, reaches twenty million people, he wishes to raise that target to "hundreds of millions of people". Penetrating the PC market is one of the ways Sony can do this.
Recent studio acquisitions by Sony demonstrate the company's commitment to PC gaming. In 2021, Sony acquired Nixxes Software, a studio that specializes in making PC ports. Past PC ports made by the studio include Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. With Nixxes Software under Sony's umbrella, the company will be better equipped to deliver more PlayStation games to PC.
Sony also recently announced that it would be acquiring Bungie, the studio responsible for the popular online FPS series Destiny. The studio has experience with PC gaming thanks to Destiny 2 which has found great success in the PC gaming market. As head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst explains, Sony hopes to gain from Bungie's skills and expertise.
The MLB: The Show series has received a warm reception from both gamers and critics thanks to its impressive graphics, refined gameplay, and its inclusion of real-world baseball players and brands. The success of the series has only been increasing, and this has been boosted by its recent multiplatform releases. MLB: The Show 21 was the first game to go multiplatform in the series, and it is the fastest-selling entry in the franchise's history, having managed to sell over 2 million copies across all platforms.
A PC release of MLB: The Show would further expand the reach of the growing franchise. It could also provide an opportunity for the series to take advantage of PC Game Pass. When MLB: The Show 21 was released on Xbox consoles, it was available on Xbox Game Pass, which allows a greater number of gamers to play the game. Continuing the trend, MLB: The Show 22, when it releases, will also be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one. With a PC release, the game could also take advantage of PC Game Pass which would result in more gamers being exposed to the MLB: The Show franchise.
As of 2022, it is reported that Microsoft has over 25 million Game Pass subscribers, making games released on the subscription services instantly available to a huge audience of gamers. Game Pass' subscription numbers surpass those of Sony's subscription service PlayStation Now which has a little over 3 million subscribers. If Sony's main aim is to maximize the reach of its games, then not releasing future MLB: The Show games on PC and making them available on Game Pass is a fool's move.
It seems that although Sony is recognizing the potential the PC gaming market has to expand PlayStation's reach, its embrace of the platform has been a long, gradual process. While many games that have been cornerstones of PlayStation's brand have made the jump to PC, there are still a few titles that, inexplicably, have yet to be ported. MLB: The Show 22, which appeals to a wide range of gamers and baseball fans, could have been an opportunity for Sony to increase its presence in the PC gaming market. The success of MLB: The Show 21 on Xbox demonstrates that gamers on non-PlayStation platforms are hungry for quality baseball games. Hopefully, with future MLB: The Show releases, the PC gaming platform will get a little more attention.
MLB: The Show 22 releases on the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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