MLB The Show 16 New Features and Gameplay

San Diego Studios showed off more gameplay from MLB The Show 16 today as part of their streaming schedule, and this time the emphasis was on new features. What’s coming in the latest iteration of the game this Spring? Quite a bit! We’ve already discussed the new ShowTime mechanic, but that’s not the only improvement we’ll be seeing this year.

As you can see from the image above taken from the twitch stream which was broadcast earlier today, a lot of effort is going into improving the animations and player personalities in order to make the game feel more real. They’ve talked about their focus on this in the past, but this is the deepest we’ve been on the subject so far.

According to the chart, there are couple of new animation types, some of which will only show up on the PS4 version of the game. New pitcher animations will only be “partial PS3,” whatever that means. I’d guess that it means only some of them will make an appearance on the console.

Next up are four new swings. There are now 7 swings, with swings now being assigned to players based on the type of hitter they are. A new set of animations for athleticism will also make an appearance, though only in the PS4 version. You can tell that they’re really trying to improve the animations this time around, although it seems like there will be some disparity between versions.

They also included a list of new features and improvements for MLB The Show 16, which you can see below.

There will be new, more realistic routes for the ball, new animations for out of position players, and new animations for cut offs and relays. Along with that comes a revamped tag system, revamped umpire personalities, new home umpire animations, and new bunt logic. Basically, the game is getting a bit more realistic, and that’s a big deal when it comes to sports simulation.

The rest of the stuff is pretty much technical, but you can see that the list is extensive. While a lot of these changes might occur behind the scenes, the end result should hopefully be a game that’s more true to the sport. Of course, until we get our hands on the game, we won’t know for sure. But, it has been great seeing the game leading up to the release in March.

UPDATE: The MLBTheShow twitter has offered up some nice infographics detailing the features shown off during this stream. You can check them out below.