MLB The Show 21 has gotten some of its first ever Xbox advertisements in the form of signs behind home plate at Rodgers Center, the home of the Toronto Blue Jays. Set to be the first ever entry in the MLB The Show franchise to be released on Xbox consoles, this major ad placement comes just a handful of days before the game's scheduled release on April 20th.
MLB The Show 21 will be the 16th entry in the franchise and displays the youngest ever player to be featured on its cover, San Diego Padres shortstop, Fernando Tatis Jr. This Xbox advertisement is in one of the more prominent advertisement places in all of baseball, behind home plate.
The ad reads, "Own The Show on Xbox, pre-order now," and this is the first time that players can actually do so in the long-running series. The Show franchise debuted back in 2006 on PlayStation 2 and has had a new release every year since then. This year's collector's edition will have the late-baseball legend Jackie Robinson on its cover. It is important to note that for Xbox players their version of the game will be available free for Xbox Game Pass subscribers the same day the game is released.
The Show series has consistently produced favorably reviewed games for PlayStation players and this advertisement will likely excite baseball fans who have been unable to play it before. This title expands the capabilities of MLB The Show 20 by adding a ballpark creator feature in which players can alter ballpark dimensions and share and download other players' designs. For those who want to play the game across generations of consoles, there is a cross-generation game save capability but it will not import career or Road to the Show progress from prior versions of the game.
The advertisement comes at the perfect time to get players excited about the latest installment of a generally great baseball simulation series. The baseball season is picking up and the release date is right around the corner. It seems like a win-win having MLB The Show 21 come to Xbox consoles, as the baseball offerings on this console (namely the RBI baseball franchise) haven't been great.
As with other sports sims, The Show doesn't hold much for players not interested in the sport. Despite this, it is unlikely that the stakes are too high for this game. Being the first The Show to land on Xbox will likely lead to success and its long history of success on PlayStation should have players excited.
MLB The Show 21 is releasing on April 20th for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.