MLB The Show 20: Franchise Mode Rebranding, a Predictable But Nice Touch

For anyone who has been tracking the “rebrand your franchise” bullet point, today’s news should not come as too much of a surprise. Our own Chris Huber outlined his predictions earlier this week, and today’s reveal by San Diego Studio puts most of the MLB The Show franchise mode rebrand in perspective (at least we think).

NEW to Franchise in MLB The Show 20: Customization Suite
Pre-Order Today: https://t.co/KaCN6ap9nY
•Create Your Own Logo
•Edit Your Team's Name
•Design Your Team's Uniforms#MLBTheShow #MLBTheShow20 #TheShow20 #TheShow #Baseball #MLB #BaseballFans #Sports #BaseballLife pic.twitter.com/afu9XitpjQ

— MLB The Show (@MLBTheShow) February 12, 2020

I will start off by saying things could still change or be expanded upon based on tomorrow’s livestreams from San Diego Studio — this is just a short marketing video — but I think they’re probably putting their best foot forward here with this feature’s bullet points. This means the bullet points below are probably the high points:

• Create your own logo
• Edit your team’s name
• Design your team’s uniforms

If that’s the case, then fair enough. It’s a positive step because it’s something most of us have felt should be in the mode for some time now. Diamond Dynasty has had access to a very impressive customization suite for jersey creation, and being able to have that in franchise mode is just logical and smart. However, if this is all there is, and it’s limited in such a way where it only applies to one “new” team, obviously some people are still going to be disappointed. You’re not going to get a chance to create a full-on fictionalized league, and you’re also not going to get quite enough depth to really say this is a full-on expansion concept.

I say that because there is no mention of a stadium editor or creator. Now, most of us didn’t think there would be a full-on stadium creator during the sunset of this console generation, but we were holding out hope for some added generic stadiums. This could still happen (there are some subtle hints it may be in there based on this video), but if it does not, it does put a damper of sorts on the concept of a full rebrand for your team. At that point, it’s hard to even say you’re “relocating” a team — not that they ever said anything about relocation — if you don’t get some choices for a new stadium.

On top of that, there is no mention of being able to import a logo like in NBA 2K. This, again, was not expected but would have been a nice surprise. The creation suite makes it so you still can find a lot of what you want — or create your own if you put in the time — but an import feature would have made the process simpler for many.

All that being said, I do think this feature will be much more appreciated by the hardcore franchise crowd if The Show team also mentions tomorrow some quality under-the-hood improvements to franchise mode. This would apply to things like roster logic, trade logic, rotating interleague schedules, player progression tweaks, bullpen management improvements, expanded rosters, and more diverse equipment and brands for that equipment (we’ve already seen some new Nike shoes, which is nice). I obviously have my doubts that will occur based on the recent past, but it would be the easiest way to sort of bring the entirety of the community together.

Regardless of what happens, getting a full minors with some actual face scans on day one is a big deal, and I don’t want the negativity to totally drown out whatever does or does not get revealed tomorrow for franchise mode. After all, not everything is about what we want. Not everyone could get the OSFM rosters or was aware they existed because not everyone was as online as us. Many people will also just be happy being able to create their high school or college team and put that in the franchise mode.

As a final point, it’s interesting to consider where people’s expectations would be right now if they were just surprised by all of this rather than putting the pieces together ahead of time. While it’s nice that the developers have outlined their preview plan and dropped enough hints for people like us to figure out a lot of what they’ll talk about, it also makes some people feel underwhelmed when they get what they were already expecting. We’ve been talking about getting real minor leaguers for weeks. We’ve been talking about getting the Diamond Dynasty creation suite in franchise mode for weeks as well. To finally get confirmation of these things ends up being a “well, duh” more than “oh, sweet!” for some due to this fact.

Either way, there is no question Sony is fighting an uphill battle with the hardcore franchise mode crowd based on their own priorities they have set in recent years, so it’s not like they should get a free pass. However, this year is already an improvement over last even if it still doesn’t end up where some people want (or expect) it to be.