Press Row Podcast

With spring training right around the corner baseball is about to be back on the minds of many. It's also the time of year when the changes that the upcoming MLB The Show game will be sold on start to be revealed. The first wave of information just hit with hints at some big new features and improvements for MLB The Show 17. News on everything from gameplay, presentation, and graphics to the big three modes are discussed in this episode of the Press Row Podcast.

On the show this week:

Bryan Wiedey, Pastapadre/Hit The Pass/Sporting News (@pastapadre)
T.J. Lauerman, ThatSportsGamer (@thatsportsgamer)
Chris, MillenniumOS (@millenniumOS)

Direct download: Press_Row_Podcast_Episode_205.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:05am EDT

Now into its 8th year, the Pastapadre Community Awards have set out to recognize all the efforts made in sports gaming which go well beyond just that of naming the "Sports Game of the Year." For 2016 the awards expanded to 12 categories and collected over 33,000 votes in the process. Sports video games are complex and rich in content, and no one game excels in every area that make them up. The Community Awards are an opportunity to help identify the standouts from specific aspects of the games and over time the annual process has been shown to identify trends for the individual franchises as well as the industry.

Bryan Wiedey and Rich Grisham reveal the results of the 2016 Pastapadre Community Awards and provide analysis of what the numbers say about the games in the latest episode of the Press Row Podcast. Find out the winners of the 2016 Sports Game of the Year, Best New/Non-Yearly Sports Game, Best Racing Game, Best Mobile Game, Best Gameplay, Best New Feature, Best Post-Release Support, Best Franchise Mode, Best Career/Story Mode, Best Team-Building Mode, Best Presentation, and Best Online Play!

On the show this week:

Bryan Wiedey, Pastapadre/Hit The Pass/Sporting News (@pastapadre)
Rich Grisham, Out of the Park Developments/Hit The Pass (@richgrisham)

Direct download: Press_Row_Podcast_Episode_204.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:27pm EDT

The highly anticipated home/handheld hybrid Nintendo Switch will release on March 3rd for $300, eventually require a paid subscription for online play, and expanding storage will a be a practical necessity by adding on a separately purchased SDXC memory card. Switch has a dismal launch lineup outside of the new Zelda, while sports games look to be a ways off with FIFA and NBA 2K18 both officially in development but not releasing until later in the year.

Rich Grisham and T.J. Lauerman join host Bryan Wiedey on a new Press Row Podcast in reacting to Nintendo's reveal event. In terms of pricing where does the Switch stand compared to Xbox One and PS4? Should sports games on Switch be unique experiences or offer what are essentially ports from those other systems? Can sports games survive on a Nintendo platform when they rely so heavily on post-release digital revenue?

There's a lot to be intrigued by out of the Nintendo Switch but still many more questions to be answered about its viability particularly as it relates the sports gaming genre.

On the show this week:

Bryan Wiedey, Pastapadre/Hit The Pass/Sporting News (@pastapadre)
Rich Grisham, Out of the Park Developments/Hit The Pass (@richgrisham)
T.J. Lauerman, ThatSportsGamer (@thatsportsgamer)

Direct download: Press_Row_Podcast_Episode_203.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:23pm EDT

Every year it’s important to look back on developments within the sports gaming genre, not just as a reminder of what has happened, but as insight into the direction individual franchises are going and the trends within the industry that will impact them all. Bryan Wiedey and Rich Grisham discuss some of the most important stories of 2016 in the new year's first episode.

Reference Link: The biggest sports video games stories of 2016 (Sporting News)

On the show this week:

Bryan Wiedey, Pastapadre/Hit The Pass/Sporting News (@pastapadre)
Rich Grisham, Out of the Park Developments/Hit The Pass (@richgrisham)

Direct download: Press_Row_Podcast_Episode_202.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:19am EDT

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