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It's official! With this past week's contract agreement between the Philadelphia Phillies and Bryce Harper, Sony's MLB The Show 19 released its official cover for this season's game.
Donning his new Phillie red pinstripes, Harper is set to bring his talents to both the City of Brotherly Love and your television screen. But the newly revealed cover isn't the only cool feature of the latest installment of the The Show, its lifelike Player graphics continue to set the bar for sporting video game graphics.
With Spring Training already underway and the March 26th release of The Show 19 rapidly approaching, it was only right that the Players Inc. Clubhouse team headed to Florida and Arizona to go behind the scenes of the process that will continue to make The Show’s graphics so realistic in the 2020 edition of the game, the Player head scans.
What truly separates The Show from other video games is its life-like imagery, facial expressions and the movements of the Players. Each year, Sony strives to make improvements and investments in technology to help make the game as life-like as possible. To achieve this, Sony annually visits each Major League Baseball team’s Spring Training complex to capture hi-res images of the Players and several of their facial expressions, by using 360 degrees, 46 camera set up. These images – called digital head scans –help Sony’s game technicians bring the players and game to life.
Players Inc.’s Manager of Digital & Interactive Gaming Mike Dunn, who was on the Arizona leg of the tour, got a chance to witness the nonstop rebuild/breakdown of the entire set up along with the Players’ reaction.
“It was definitely an endurance race,” Dunn said. “All of it just pushes the envelope on how real this game can get, and to see the Players react to what the Sony crew can do with their photos is awesome.”
For many Players getting their scans for the first time it was a surreal moment, especially for those who have spent time playing The Show like Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz.
“I grew up playing The Show…I still love the game,” Foltynewicz said. “I never thought I would actually get a chance to be in the game.”
Check out highlights of this years behind the scenes tour!