MLB 07 The Show steps into PSP batter box

Sony Computer Entertainment America today announced MLB 07 The Show will be available on separate platforms including the PlayStation Portable in spring 2007. Presented below is a fact sheet on the PSP version as well as several screenshots courtesy of Games Press:

NEW FEATURES:
- New Road to The Show – Along with Classic Career Mode, MLB 07 The Show introduces an innovative new option. Road to The Show enables gamers to play offense and defense from the created player’s perspective for the plays in which they are involved. The game will automatically fast forward to the next user-integrated sequence with some events occasionally triggering situational goals from coaches or managers.
- New Adaptive Pitching Intelligence (API) – Catchers will call the game based on individual strengths and weaknesses of each pitcher and analyze tendencies of batters. Gamers will have the ability to trust the pitches called by the catcher or shake them off. (The catcher’s recommendations are based off of thousands of actual MLB® stats.)
- New Pitch Command System (PCS) – Delivering unsurpassed authenticity and strategy to pitch selection, a pitcher’s “pitch comfort” will be predetermined based on a best to worst pitch scenario. It’s up the gamer to decide if they should try to “work on a pitch” or just go with what’s working. The more a player works on a pitch, the better it becomes, and the more a gamer neglects a pitch, the harder it becomes to work the strike zone.
- New Online League Play – MLB 07 The Show provides today’s sports fanatics with the ability to set up leagues with anywhere from 6-30 teams with full stat tracking, point benefits and rewards. Gamers can customize the league including choosing players, teams, length of schedule and much more. (Note: There are no cross-platform leagues available.)
- New Umpire Personalities – Providing even more realism to the diamond, MLB 07 The Show features umpires with unique tendencies and animations. Each umpire will have his own definition of the strike zone, and it’s up to the gamer to figure out if the umpire is calling the zone high, low, or giving the corners.
- My Sliders (Up/Downloadable) – The My Sliders option gives users the ability to create their perfect game settings offline by adjusting game sliders. Gamers can then save these adjustments to memory and, when online, upload them to the MLB 07 The Show server for other users to try and let the online community be the judge on finding the perfect game for offline users.

CORE / RETURING FEATURES:
- King of the Diamond – A classic playground duel from childhood where a pitcher and batter from opposing teams will square off head-to-head. This innovative mini-game showcases the challenging intensity of the batter versus pitcher duel, while an inning clock increases the pressure in this Over-The-Line style challenge.
- Home Run Derby – Lets gamers pick the lineup and set the rules for the traditional homerun contest of Major League All-Stars. Complete with its own animation database for the most realistic aspects of the event.
- Career Mode – Allows gamers create a player, assign him to their favorite team, and take their career on the road.
- Season Mode – MLB 07 The Show tests the true baseball fan’s commitment and allows them to make a run for consecutive rings with multiple seasons.
- Exhibition Mode/Quick Game – Gamers can select their favorite team and compete against the AI for a quick game on the go.
- Historical Greats – For true nostalgic fans of America’s Pastime, MLB 07 The Show offers the all-new Historical Greats, giving them the opportunity to go against the legends of the past.
- Online Mode – Gamers can compete against friends or other baseball fans in head-to-head play via wireless multiplayer connectivity.
o Ad Hoc Mode – Allows two or more PSP systems to communicate directly with each other via Wi-Fi connectivity for regional/local multiplayer gameplay.
o Infrastructure Mode – Allows gamers to link to a network via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point or “hot spot” for multiplayer gameplay across the nation.
- Online News Service / MLB.com Headline News – Sports fanatics can receive all the current happenings in sports today. Information will be updated a few times each hour with news, trades and events from 31 different feeds, each containing 25 unique items. Users can select general MLB® headlines or updates from all 30 teams instantly, or save them to the Memory Stick Duo™ in order to review them offline at their convenience. New for 07, MLB 07 The Show offers an enhanced Live MLB Ticker, which shows live status of all MLB games going on around the league – with updates several times a minute. This new view will be complete with who is on base, pitching, batting, on-deck and full inning-by-inning box scores.
- 3-Man Booth & Progressive Commentary – MLB 07 The Show combines a Progressive Broadcast, which adapts to current situations as gamers progress through the game, along with a 3-Man Booth. Rex Hudler, Matt Vasgersian and Dave Campbell provide the most comprehensive, game-specific commentary heard in any baseball videogame.
- Release Point Pitching with Confidence Meter – The ultimate pitcher/batter interface returns. While easy to pick up and play, yet difficult to master, Pitcher Confidence plays a role in a gamer’s ability to hit release spots in the all-new pitch meter, while frequency of mistakes will impact the confidence level of a gamer’s hurler, making it more difficult to paint the corners of the strike zone.
- Playmaker Fielding– The fielding interface brings the player attributes together with the user’s skill level. With the Fielding Zone Marker, the fielder’s fielding attribute rating will determine the size of the zone that surrounds the ball and its eventual landing location. With highly ranked fielders, the ball marker will be displayed sooner and smaller making it easier to judge fly balls.
- Multi-Branch Fielding – Branch Point Technology goes to a new level as gamers can now take full control of fielders and break out of any animation in the process. Change a fielding decision and branch out of any animation after the first branch point. With Branch Point Technology MLB 07 The Show provides unbelievably smooth, fluid transitions for seamless double plays and relays.
- User Controlled Slides – Players can now control base runners in attempts to advance and/or score.
- 40-Man Roster – Provides the ability to take full control of a team’s roster and manage all 40 players for each and every game.
- MLB Authenticity – MLB 07 The Show presents fans with finer details and nuances that make the game America’s pastime. Gamers can drag bunts along with wild pitches, broken bats, check swings and more.