Why Super Mega Baseball Is a Better Series Than MLB The Show

If you’re a baseball fan, you really have a pretty good array of options in the gaming world. MLB The Show is a yearly release, and if you’re willing to go back a few years, you can always try RBI Baseball for a much more arcade-style baseball experience with real MLB players and teams. Backyard Baseball ’97 and Backyard Baseball ’01 have also recently returned. There are plenty of options, though MLB The Show tends to reign supreme. This is emblematic of a larger problem within the sports game genre, but there’s actually a really great alternative already: Super Mega Baseball. There have been four entries in this franchise, with the latest coming in 2023. It, or any of the prior entries, is a much better option than any MLB The Show game, and here’s why

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Super Mega Baseball Should Be the Go-To Baseball Franchise

MLB The Show dominates baseball gaming. It is more prominent, more popular, and more mainstream than any other series, including Super Mega Baseball. That shouldn’t be the case, because the arcade-style series does almost everything better than MLB The Show.

The gameplay is better because it’s more outrageous. You can hit a line drive into the pitcher and knock him to the ground, totally unconscious. That would be terrible with real people and realistic graphics, but it’s hilarious in Super Mega Baseball. It’s more satisfying to do well in the game. A home run is so much more fun with interesting, unique stadium backgrounds. The gameplay is so smooth, too.

From a cost perspective, Super Mega Baseball is so much better, too. You can spend $70 every single year on an MLB The Show launch, or you can spend $60 at launch (in 2023) for Super Mega Baseball 4 and not have to spend another dime.

There are no microtransactions, either. There’s also no microtransaction-heavy mode (Diamond Dynasty); just good old-fashioned ballplaying. The game is very customizable, too, so you can vary up your experience in a lot of ways. That’s not true of MLB The Show, even if it has more game modes.

The one thing that Super Mega Baseball does not have that MLB The Show offers is realism. There is something admittedly so fun about being able to play with your favorite MLB players and teams. If your team is run poorly in the real world, this is your chance to fix it. Even if they’re not, it’s a chance to turn them into a dynasty. That just can’t be replicated elsewhere.

However, there is a small workaround that adds to the charm of Super Mega Baseball games. You can change the names of the players, which is what I did in Super Mega Baseball 2. I changed the names and attributes to make the cartoon, arcade version of the New York Yankees, and had a blast being able to play with the players. And instead of having to buy the next game for a roster update, you could just edit again. They don’t look the same, but it’s one way to alleviate the single advantage MLB The Show does have. Later editions of the series have MLB players, too.

The other downside is the lack of a career mode for a player, but is that worth the extra money and the downgrade everywhere else? If that’s the case, then you can go back and get a much cheaper one. On that note, both Super Mega Baseball 3 and 4 are available on Xbox Game Pass, which only adds to the money saved.

Arcade-Style Sports Games Just Do It Better

In general, arcade-style sports games are better. Rematch is better than EA Sports FC, and Super Mega Baseball outshines MLB The Show. Video games don’t need to be mired in realism or microtransactions, which are the two defining features of the sports genre. The advantage baseball fans have is that there’s a great series that’s relevant and has frequent releases that allow you to avoid those problems.

Madden has virtually no competitors. NBA 2K is in the same boat, and the games and their players suffer for it. MLB The Show has some of those problems since it’s still the most popular, but the popularity of Super Mega Baseball might mean that one day, Sony actually devotes time and money to making the best possible baseball game they can.

Why You Should Pivot Away from MLB The Show

Video games that come out yearly, feature microtransactions, and have seasons/battle passes are not good for the gaming industry. They end up promoting lazy development cycles and morph into cash grabs. Modern sports games are the perfect (or imperfect) example. Pivoting away from them is the only way to convince studios to change things up for the better.

Unfortunately, plenty of sports games don’t have any alternatives. What’s a football fan supposed to do besides spend $70 (or more) on a poorly done game with slightly better graphics and an updated roster? Basketball fans suffer there, too. Baseball fans don’t have to, though. Super Mega Baseball is right there, and it’s the one that deserves so much more attention than it’s currently getting.

What do you think? Should more people play Super Mega Baseball, or is MLB The Show doing just fine? Let us know!