Sony "Walks Off" as a Winner during the MLB All Star Weekend
MLB 2011: The Show, continues to fly off gaming shelves after its impressive showing during the MLB All Star festivities in Phoenix, Arizona. The critically acclaimed baseball simulator was on full display during the MLB Fan Fest, which gave many patrons, both young and old, an opportunity to swing for the fences like some of their MLB All Stars. Sony again continued its gaming dominance with MLB by featuring a "Virtual Home Run Derby" in between innings during the actual Home Run Derby that took place at Chase Field. The Home Run Derby over the last decade has been the marquee event that everyone attends, more popular than the actual All Star Game itself which is played the day after. While All-Stars Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees and Adrian Gonzalez of the Boston Red Sox dazzled everyone with one of the most classic Home Run Derby match-ups in Baseball history, Sony captivated the 40+ thousand in attendance with a Home Run Derby of their own giving many a taste of what the buzz is about in regards to playing MLB 2011: The Show.
Gamecore had an opportunity to speak with one of baseball's rising stars Atlanta Braves Pitcher Jair Jurrjens and 2011 #1 draft pick for the Washington Nationals Bryce Harper, on life as an All Star Athlete and being apart of one of the hottest gaming products out.
One of the special features added to this year's version of MLB: The Show, was Challenge of the Week. Challenge of the Week, an equal to the MLB 2K Perfect Game Challenge, gives online gamers an opportunity to show off their skill sets in weekly challenges that tests their hitting, fielding, and base stealing capabilities on the game. Each week online gamers received points upon completion of those challenges with the highest cumulative point total winning the ultimate prize, a trip to the All Star Festivities in Phoenix this year. David Bousquet of San Jose, CA racked up a crazy amount of points during this challenge and was flown out to Phoenix to be apart of the fan-fare event. We had a chance to talk with him during Fan Fest, and get a take on his the game, and the overall experience of being apart of this All Star Weekend.
While this year's display from Sony was not as grandiose as previous years at a major sporting venue like the All Star Weekend, the focus was more catered to the interactive play and 3D gaming experience. MLB: The Show's ability in using the PlayStation Move to simulate their own home run derby experiences as well as experiencing it in 3D captivated many who stopped by the prospective booths that stood next to each other. Clearly Sony is taking a different direction through Major League Baseball to truly involve the gamer in the experience providing a slew of different contests and even visually adding a touch of pizzazz by setting up their display like the PlayStation Move as series of batting cages which really won over the young kids who came by to try out the game.
Could this be the direction Sony takes with all of its sports gaming products going into 2012? We'll soon find out as NFL, NBA and College Football seasons quickly come upon us in the coming months.