When the feature set for MLB The Show 20 was announced, one of the first things fans noticed was that, for the first time in the series’ history, players can relocate and rebrand teams within Franchise Mode.
The announcement was vague and details were scarce at first, but now we know exactly how it’ll all work within this year’s game. There’s a lot of features, but also some confusion for some on the feature itself. So, we’re here to clear things up with everyone about the Relocation and Team Branding.
When Can You Do It?
Team branding can happen at two different phases of Franchise Mode.
The first time you can change teams around is at the start of your Franchise. At this time, you can choose to replace any one of the 30 MLB teams. Whether you want to replace one, two, or all 30, this is your only chance to truly customize the league and its teams. One thing to note is that there is no expansion or contraction of the league, so you will have 30 teams no matter what.
The other option for players is during the first phase of the offseason. At this point, you will have the ability to completely customize your team from both a brand and location standpoint.
Relocation…or is it?
With relocation, rather than how games like Madden, NHL, and NBA 2K handle the ability, MLB The Show 20’s relocation is more bare-bones.
You don’t go through the process of picking a city, getting approval, or even building a ballpark. Instead, you just choose your city name from a pre-determined list, and that’s it. You’re “relocated”. If you want your team to represent Mobile, Alabama you just select the city. You won’t really feel like your in the city you chose, but we’ll get more into that later.
There’s no story; no fan reactions. There’s just not much of anything.
And based on the information released, it doesn’t look like teams will relocate at various times throughout your franchise. Only you can move a team, so all CPU teams will remain exactly where they’re at for the duration of your game.
Design Your Hearts Out
Where the feature really stands out is within the actual creation suite. The creator is brought over from Diamond Dynasty with all of the same bells and whistles. So, if you’re used to using it there, you’ll quickly grasp the various tools and options here, too.
For team logos, players will be able to fully design their own with the in-game editor, or download one of the hundreds of available community logos from the vault. Sadly, unlike NBA 2K, there’s no option to upload logos to a server and download them to the game. This will certainly leave those without the artistic ability (or patience) waiting for the right logos to come along in the vault for their team(s).
That said, the options to customize everything from your hats to undershirts to stirrups in order to make the best collection of uniforms possible is a great feature to have. It’s what makes MLB The Show 20’s team creation suite stand out more than any other sports game.
Feature Shortcomings
Because this is the first time the feature is in Franchise, it’s a pretty skeleton offering in MLB The Show 20.
While the customization itself is deep, the relocation aspect of it is not. That’s especially true when it comes to the game’s stadium offerings. When creating or relocating your team, you have to pick one of the 60 stadiums available in the game. While that sounds like a lot, you have to remember that the 60 stadiums include the 30 MLB ballparks along with the various classic stadiums, spring training facilities, and minor league stadiums.
There’s no stadium builder — which we really didn’t expect to see this year — nor is there a list of generic big-league ballparks to pick from. That’s where it gets disappointing. It doesn’t give off the feeling that you’ll be able to make your stadium actually feel like your own ballpark as there was no mention that your new team branding will carry over to, say, Citi Field if you decide to make the Mets home your new stadium.
On top of the stadiums, there has been no mention of realignment if you decide to change a team’s location to a different region. That means if you take Oakland and move to Montreal, the new Expos are likely to still share a division with the LA, Seattle, Houston, and Texas.
What do you think of relocation and team branding in MLB The Show 20? Let us know in the comment section below, and stick with Sports Gamers Online for the latest from Sony San Diego’s newest baseball title.
