Upgrades are all around in MLB The Show 23. One of them talked about a lot is the new throw accuracy metre or button accuracy metre, as the developers refer to it at San Diego Studios. Long gone are the days when you just tapped one of the buttons, and it threw to the base dedicated to that button, and you would randomly just make an error.
Remember, the objective is to make the gameplay as authentic as possible, and if we were to continue down the road of just tapping X/A for home and O/B for first base, etc., it would have been the same old boring outs. They’ve now made finding the sweet spot for bang-bang plays in the in-field and long throws from the outfield even more challenging.
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Finding the Sweet Spot in MLB The Show 23
Finding the sweet spot in The Show 23 will be all about timing and the fielder’s throwing ability. When timing that metre and getting it in the green, you know that throw will be on the money. A little to the left or right in the yellow, and you’ll test the ability of the receiving player.
The metre will also move around depending on where you are on the field, infield or outfield, and how complex the throw is or how deep the fielder is, making the throw. This, in return, forces players to pre-empt the next play — or, in baseball terms — know what’s the second play after making the first out.
Infield Throws
An example of the throw complexity moving the button accuracy metre: if your shortstop picks up the ball on a backhand play and is either throwing with a jump or off the wrong foot, moving away from first base, then the sweet spot will move to the end of the metre.
Outfield Throws
The further the hit, the more the sweet spot will shift for the outfielder waiting for the fly ball to drop. While the ball is falling, players must already be prepping for the accuracy metre for the perfect throw for the next play — if there is one.
Gameplay Producer and Assistant Producer Kyle Saul and Connor Ryan disclosed that fielding in the game is much more difficult with this update to the throwing accuracy metre.
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What is the Accuracy Dependence On?
The accuracy is primarily dependent on the attributes of the player. The better their throwing accuracy and arm strength, the easier it is to hit the sweet spot. A player’s clutch ability is another attribute that plays a major role in big moments.
San Diego Studio made a big deal of this in their gameplay reveal when talking about battings in clutch moments, and the same goes for fielders making game-ending plays in a 1-run lead ball game.
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Is This an Improvement in MLB the Show 23?
For me, It is, yes. If you play baseball, you’ll know errors can come from anywhere in the diamond or the outfield, especially from throwing errors. It helps get SDS closer to that more immersive energy they’re trying to install with MLB The Show 23.
It will make it more realistic, no doubt. And it will give hitters a better chance on any hit, even if it’s a hard-hit bouncer hit straight to an opposition fielder. I am incredibly excited to see this newly worked-out throwing tech.
For more from Prima Games, read: What’s All Included in MLB the Show 23 Deluxe & Captain Edition?
