We know anticipation is high, especially given we’re making our next-gen debut this season, and this week we were able to share a glimpse of what we’ve been working on for the past 10 months. Here’s a look at some of the things we’ve got planned for MLB 14 The Show.

I’ve been asked what our goals are this year, and the answer is simple. Everyone on our team takes great pride in chasing our goal of producing the perfect sports game. It’s what has made The Show the highest rated sports franchise over the last 8 years.

We’ve already covered some of what’s new this year in our previous post here on the PlayStation.Blog. To recap: there are more than 50 new features and improvements that will enhance, deepen, streamline, and better your overall experience. Quick Counts will cut game completion times in half. A new UI, built from the ground up for PS4 (but carried over across all versions) has been optimized for maximum efficiency and responsiveness.

Here’s Mike Napoli on PS4 (top) vs. PS3 (bottom). Note the revamped lighting engine,
meticulously rendered facial hair, and rich stadium detail.

Year-to-year saves will solve one of sports gaming’s biggest dilemmas, making it easy for hours of time invested in MLB 14 to be carried over into next year’s game and beyond. This is further complemented by the return of cross-platform saves across all three SKUs.

Road to the Show will continue its evolution, something we’ll speak to in greater detail a bit later.

Community Challenges put the power of creation in the hands of gamers. Baseball scenarios — be they moments from history, situations snatched from the present, or something altogether new — can be easily generated, customized, and shared online.

An expanded, smarter Universal Profile now tracks player tendency. Train your Profile and sub it into Diamond Dynasty games to give your human opponent a better matchup than just the CPU.

Online Franchise expands upon Online Leagues of seasons past, introducing multi-season play with Scouting, the Amateur Draft, Free Agency, and CPU Trades.

We’re simplifying add-on purchases from seasons past, rolling everything into a Universal Currency we’re calling Stubs. We want to be very clear with this, however, since it’s a frequent question and concern among the community: not one cent needs to be spent on Stubs for users to enjoy a full experience in any of our modes.

What’s more, Stubs are earned through general gameplay (just like XP) and tied to your Universal Profile. Most importantly, the rate at which Stubs are earned is intentionally generous. We are not designing the system to pressure players into spending money. It will be the same system it’s been in years prior, just all rolled together with a new name.

Last but certainly not least, this year brings the debut of MLB 14 The Show on PS4. The PS4 is the most powerful gaming console ever made. There’s so much horsepower for us to take advantage of to make the most realistic, best-playing, most authentic baseball video game ever.

The above is FAR from all of the improvements in this year’s game. Look for us to release a comprehensive list later this month detailing all the new features and enhancements in MLB 14 The Show.

This past week we showed a handful of journalists how this year’s game looks in motion, both the new content that’s available across platforms and also the highly anticipated visuals on PS4. We’re going to be sharing more and more in the weeks to come — particularly on PS4.

Whether it’s the suspense of a full count, or the thrill of a home run. From the meticulously crafted stadiums and players, to details as fine as a single blade of grass. There are new ways to play and new ways to interact and share with the greater community — we have so much to show you. And not just in terms of how we’ve expanded and improved the game, but also the ways in which we’re leveraging new technologies.

But we can’t show you everything at once, and there are some things we won’t show ’till they’re just right. To kick things off, here’s a first look at our PS3 version of MLB 14 The Show:

MLB 14 The Show will be launching on April 1st for PS3 and PS Vita, and shortly thereafter in May for PS4. More to come!

For our Canadian fans, you’ll be glad to know Toronto Blue Jays third baseman and Canada’s own Brett Lawrie will be on the Canadian cover for MLB 14. Go check out the PlayStation Canada Facebook page for more details.