MLB The Show 22 will feature superstar Shohei Ohtani on the cover, and his groundbreaking play has pushed developers to their limits.
We've got details on why Sony San Diego had to work so hard to make Shohei Ohtani work like the Angels use him in MLB The Show 22.
MLB The Show 22 code had to be rewritten for Shohei Ohtani
MLB The Show 22 was confirmed just days ago, and with the announcement came the reveal of Shohei Ohtani as this year's cover athlete.
It's a no-brainer of a choice after the year Ohtani had, as he was the unanimous American League MVP in 2021 as well as winner of the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award.
It's been years since that scarcely given award went to a player that hadn't already retired, and it shows just how rare Ohtani's year was dominating both at the plate and on the mound.
In a recent interview with the Flippin' Bats Podcast, Ramone Russell with developer Sony San Diego spoke about why Ohtani was so difficult to build into the game.
As Russell explained, the MLB The Show franchise tends to operate by identifying players solely as a fielder or a pitcher, not as both.
That flies directly in the face of the way the Angels used Shohei Ohtani, so they had to do extra work rewriting code so that Ohtani can actually be used that way in MLB The Show 22.
Road to the Show may stick to old two-way player style
While we now have confirmation that specifically Shohei Ohtani will work as a true two-way player in MLB The Show 22, it wasn't made clear whether that's something which will extend to any other players.
The biggest area where it could have an impact is Road to the Show, as last year they introduced the option to be a two-way player with some restrictions.
While Road to the Show in MLB The Show 21 did allow players to play both as a pitcher and a fielder, it was a choice that had to be made and stuck with for each individual game.
Your Ballplayer would work towards improving both specialties and be placed in one role or the other for a given game, but never as both in the same game.
If MLB The Show 22 changes this for Road to the Show, it would be huge, and the ability to use your Ballplayer in Diamond Dynasty could make Ohtani and your Ballplayer two of the strongest possible players available.