Sony’s MLB: The Show series has been trouncing the competition for the last few years. In MLB 10: The Show, the developers aim to bring back the excellent gameplay and add several layers of realism. The video above illustrates some of the game’s new features. Designer Greg Batalucco noted:
Beginning with last year’s version of The Show, we wanted to make the game even more accurate. In MLB 10: The Show, we have taken it further and added more to your gaming experience. New for this year’s edition are real-time players in the dugouts and bullpens, fireworks, rally towels, thundersticks, working digital and analog clocks, and much more. All these realistic enhancements to the game make MLB 10: The Show feel and sound like you are actually at the ballpark.
With MLB spring training kicking off, I’m itching for some baseball excitement. Are any of you guys and dolls looking for to MLB 10: The Show?
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Jaime Kennedy missing Jennifer Love Hewitt’s birthday, how the WrestleMania card is shaping up, or the Taylor Swift backlash, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
As some of you know, WWE NXT debuts tonight. The show pairs eight WWE “rookies” with eight seasoned mentors. It’s a fun concept that should lead to some cool storylines, but I’m super excited for NXT for one reason: Bryan Danielson (now Daniel Bryan). Here are three reasons Danielson will make NXT worth watching.
1) You might be watching a legend in the making. Danielson has been one of my favorite indie wrestlers for years. Whether it was with Ring of Honor or Pro-Wrestling Guerilla, his matches almost always delivered. His technical skills are amazing — as good or better than 90 percent of the current WWE roster — and he can fly a bit too. When it comes to pure skills, he’s already one of the best in the business and hopefully he makes the most out of his WWE opportunity.
2) He might be the second coming of Chris Benoit. Remember Benoit in his prime? He had the perfect blend of mat wrestling and charismatic aggression. Fans didn’t care that his mic skills were below average and that he wasn’t the biggest guy on the roster. He connected with fans through outstanding skills that were utilized in an appealing fashion. Danielson has similar qualities, though he’s slightly better on the mic. I’d love for the WWE to push a guy with excellent mat skills, similar to how it pushed Benoit and Eddie Guerrero.
3) Danielson and The Miz are the perfect team. The pairing is genius. Anyone that knows wrestling understands that Danielson can wrestle circles around The Miz. They also know that The Miz’s mic work is extraordinary and Danielson can learn a lot from it. It will be fun watching The Miz try to teach Danielson how to be a “star”. It’s a nice clash of styles and personalities that should lead to some great television.
I’m not saying NXT is going to be the best WWE show starting today. I’m saying that it will be worth watching because it will be a chance to watch a star-in-the-making from his first day in WWE. It’s a loose analogy, but it kind of reminds me of watching Derek Jeter in the minor leagues and following his entire career to this day. With a bit of luck, Danielson will go from The Miz’s sidekick to WWE world heavyweight champion. He’s certainly talented enough.
Are any of you planning to watch WWE NXT?
Edit: Here’s a bonus clip of Bryan Danielson vs. Jack Evans. Danielson puts Jack over and does some cool comedic spots at a PWG show.
Catching up with EEDAR director of analyst services Jesse Divnich was completely cool. Naturally, I asked him about how the console wars will shake out in 2010, as well as Project Natal vs. PlayStation Arc/Gem and traditional handheld gaming vs. iPhone/iPod/iPad.
Things got really fun when I asked Divnich about his background and how he became a gaming analyst. It’s a tale of a “hick from French-Canada” moving to America by himself, living in a trailer park, studying hard, and working his ass off to become one of the top analysts in the business. Divnich also revealed why he’s better than his competitors and spoke about his relationship with Michael Pachter. (If I had it my way it would be The Divnich Debrief vs. Pach Attack.)
Oh yeah, you’ll also learn why Canadians would make the best terrorists. How can you pass that up?!?
Last week, Tiger Woods issued a highly…polished statement regarding his adultery. At DICE 2010, Activision’s Bobby Kotick delivered a somewhat apologetic and explanatory speech that some people say was similarly manufactured. Who do you think makes a better sympathetic figure?
WWE Superstar Shad Gaspard (the big guy in Cryme Tyme) is one of the finalists for the role of Ukafa in the upcoming Conan movie. According to WorstPreviews:
Gaspard has now updated his blog again, this time stating that he has passed the first part of casting and that the role is now down to him and only a few other actors. If he ends up getting hired he will star in the movie opposite Jason Momoa (“Stargate: Atlantis”), who has already been cast as Conan.
Gaspard is a huge man, but he’s also a huge nerd. When I met him at WWE SummerSlam 2009, he told me that he enjoyed comics as a kid, but the comic-book club wouldn’t let him join because he was a jock. He totally nerded out at San Diego Comic-Con 2009 too! On behalf of WWE fans and nerds around the world, I hope Shad gets the role.
Yesterday I was still recovering from DICE and having visitors over the weekend, which made me completely forget about the WWE Elimination Chamer pay-per-view. Thankfully, N8R reminded me about it. Let’s take a look at the booking and talk about it.
WWE Championship — John Cena Wins: I hate saying this because John Cena is a really nice guy and he works extremely hard, but I hate watching him wrestle. He is my second-least favorite “top guy” in WWE. I was extremely annoyed that he was booked to win the WWE strap at this PPV. I couldn’t think of anything worse until….
Batista Beats Cena for the WWE Championship: Mr. McMahon made Cena defend the belt right after the first elimination chamber match ended. Batista beat him for it. Ugh. Batista is awful. I want to like him because he’s half Filipino and his book was a 9.5 on the unintentional comedy scale, but he just sucks. He can’t wrestle. He gasses on the way to the ring because he suffers from asthma and his second wind lasts about 90 seconds. Unlike Cena, “Big Dave” doesn’t work hard and is, by most accounts, a dick. I was hoping it would be Batista/McMahon vs. Cena/Hart at WrestleMania, with no championships on the line, but it doesn’t look that way.
Chris Jericho Wins the World Championship: This was great booking. The world championship match came down to Jericho and The Undertaker. ‘Taker was about to win when Shawn Michaels appeared and gave him “sweet chin music”. This sets up Jericho vs. Edge and HBK vs. ‘Taker at WrestleMania. The mic work leading up to Jericho/Edge will be fantastic, while HBK and Taker will probably steal the show again.
And the Rest: That was a Gilligan’s Island reference. It worked (really). The rest of the PPV looked crappy on paper. The one highlight was The Miz talking about mentoring Bryan Danielson (now Daniel Bryan in WWE) on NXT. The Miz said something like, “Bryan may be an Internet legend, but when I look at him I see the first guy in line at a Star Wars convention.” Danielson is a damn genius in the ring, but he definitely needs help on the mic. The Miz should help him get over in a big way.
Let’s see, on the the multiplatform front there’s Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing for PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. Risen is hitting Xbox 360.The real question is:
Are you buying Heavy Rain for PlayStation 3 this week?
Yes, I used Adam Sessler’s name in the title to try to pick up some cheap SEO traffic. Sorry (but not). Ha! Anyway, here are some photos of other game writers, some journalists that moved to the business side of gaming, and two sexy girl gamers.
Wired’s Chris Kohler and Electric Playground’s Enzo Zanatta Are Handsome Men
Journos Turned Biz People: Ignition’s Shane Bettenhausen and High Road’s Darren Gladstone
GirlGamer Founder & CEO Mike Prasad and IGN’s Fran Mirabella III
New EGM Brady Fiechter and Former EGM Shane Bettenhausen
I Look Terrible (Drunk) in This Photo, But GirlGamer’s Rachel Horton Looks Lovely
Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo and Rogers & Cowan’s Marina Beck Before the Awards Show
The Excellent People at 1UP: David Ellis and Mr. (Sam) Kennedy…Kennedy
Alex Pham From the L.A. Times Looking Lovely as Always
Adam Sessler and I Have No Idea Why We Aren’t Male Models
Here are some photos I snapped during DICE 2010. You’ll see some of gaming’s top talent, a sexy Italian cameraman, a tap gaming analyst, and a great comedian in this set. Enjoy!
Mark Cerny Was Inducted Into the AIAS Hall of Fame Because He’s Awesome
EAT Sleep Play’s David Jaffe Says “Egg”, I Say “Chicken”
Electric Playground’s Enzo Zanatta and the Legendary Designer/Producer Don Daglow
EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich Was Great to Chat with — I Hope Bsukenyan Enjoys the Interview!
I Want This Flower Art!!!
Epic’s Dr. Mike Capps Didn’t Drunkenly Renew My Unreal Engine License This Year
Jay Mohr Rocked It (Again) As the Host of the Interactive Achievement Awards
Here’s a Shot of Jay From the Screen
Here’s What the Awards Show Looked Like From the Last (Troublemaker) Table
Attack of the Giant Interactive Achievement Award!!!
, EA has made a deal with WWE to 
for PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. 
is hitting Xbox 360. The real question is:
for PlayStation 3 this week?
