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MLB hopes to ease blackouts on streaming local games
With MLB.tv, Major League Baseball's subscription-based streaming option, your local team's home games are blacked out due to TV and/or cable deals. That could change as early as next season though, as Bob Bowman, the league's head of Advanced Media, expects a revised online viewing agreement soon with broadcasters and teams. Networks pay millions for the rights to beam the action into living rooms, so we'd surmise there's quite a sum of money to discuss. When the restrictions are lifted, you'll likely need a cable plan to access those games -- just like FOX required for the All-Star Game this summer and ESPN does for its streaming option. [Photo credit: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images]
Zepp takes a swing at baseball with its tiny data analyzer
As someone who doesn't play baseball often, if ever, I need all the help I can get. But since America's Pastime isn't my first sport of choice to practice, I'm okay admitting how extremely terrible I am at it. For others, however, things might be a little different. Whether it's kids who are just starting to play the game or those who would like to make a career out of it, Zepp Labs, creator of the GolfSense, believes it has made something that can help them along the way. Enter the Zepp baseball swing analyzer, an itty-bitty sensor that attaches to a baseball bat and can be utilized to record a ton of useful information, with the ultimate goal being to use this data to help improve your skills. Zepp also does the same for other sports -- that same sensor works with golf or tennis sessions; you just need a different mounting kit for each.
Nike's new baseball glove construction doesn't take months to break in
If you've ever had to break in a new baseball glove, you know that the process takes time -- usually a few months at best. It can take all of Spring Training for pro players to get the leather worked out, but even then, fielders are left with hauling the weight of that material. The folks at Nike have a knack for sporting goods innovation, and working alongside Colorado Rockies' all-star left fielder Carlos Gonzalez, it crafted the Vapor 360 Fielding Glove.
National League wins MLB 14: The Show All-Star Game simulation
Tomorrow night plays host to the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and just like EA's annual attempts to predict the results of the Superbowl via its latest Madden entry, Sony has simulated the game within MLB 14: The Show. According to this not-at-all-scientific prognostication, the National League will eventually win the All-Star Game, 5 - 3 over their American League counterparts in extra innings. The Cincinnati Reds' Todd Frazier and the LA Dodgers' Yasiel Puig lead the NL to victory, with both players each contributing a homerun and two RBIs. For those who prefer their ballplayers a bit less polygonal, the real MLB All-Star Game is scheduled for 8PM ET on July 15. Don't expect the results to mirror Sony's MLB 14: The Show, however. Unlike actual humans, those virtual players don't realize that the All-Star Game is totally inconsequential spectacle. [Image: Sony]
'R.B.I. Baseball 14' hits Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on June 24th
We knew MLB would eventually bring R.B.I Baseball 14 to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but now there's an official date. Today, the league announced that the classic title is coming to Microsoft and Sony's new consoles early next week, on June 24th. Now don't expect R.B.I Baseball 14 to match the looks of, say, MLB 14: The Show -- the fully remastered game is more about being easy for anybody to quickly pick up, while still maintaining a fun edge to it overall. Just as it is priced on Xbox 360 and PS3, R.B.I. Baseball 14 will also be $20 on Xbox One and PS4 when it arrives in a few days time.
RBI Baseball 14 slides to Xbox One and PS4 next week, updates this summer
We're over two months into the MLB's 2014 season and MLB Advanced Media is now re-re-introducing the RBI Baseball series next week on Xbox One and PS4. RBI Baseball 14 launched digitally on April 9 for Xbox 360, PS3, iOS and Android, and now it'll arrive on the next-gen platforms on Tuesday, June 24. MLBAM also announced plans to update the game "later this summer." The update will bring a new competitive multiplayer mode and a "special alumni pack" for all console versions of the game. The pack will add "60 former Major League stars from the earliest days of the RBI Baseball brand" to RBI 14. First announced in early January, RBI 14 is an arcade-style baseball game with unlockable retro jerseys and a simple two-button control scheme. Along with iOS and Android, the next-gen versions of the game will receive updated rosters to reflect roster changes this year, such as Emilio Bonifacio (Chicaco Cubs), Brandon Hicks (San Francisco Giants), Masahiro Tanaka (New York Yankees) and Jose Abreu (Chicago White Sox). It will cost $19.99 on Xbox One and PS4. [Image: MLBAM]
You can now tour baseball's hallowed halls through Google Street View
So far, you've had to swing by Cooperstown to pay homage at the National Baseball Hall of Fame -- not very practical if you're a West coast fan. Thankfully, you can honor those sports legends from home now that the Hall of Fame and its museum have landed in Google's Cultural Institute. The addition lets you browse through the museum's classic jerseys and other memorabilia in Street View. If you'd rather not do the virtual legwork, there are two photo galleries that show how baseball has evolved over the decades. It's doubtful that a virtual trip will evoke as much nostalgia as the real thing, but it's certainly easier than booking a flight.
Europe gets boxed Wii Sports Club in July, baseball and boxing this month
Wii Sports Club will add its baseball and boxing events to the Wii U eShop on June 27 in Europe, Nintendo announced today. The publisher added the two sports to the game in Japan a few weeks ago, though it hasn't offered a release date for North American players. Those looking to pick up the full retail version of the game in Europe will have that option come July 11. The sporty HD remake landed on the Wii U eShop in November, debuting with trial versions of its tennis and bowling games. It offered per-sport and per-day pricing models, which carry through this month's launch of baseball and boxing. Wii U owners that download Wii Sports Club will get a 48-hour free trial to check out the game's five sports. Following the trial, they'll have the option to pick up 24-hour passes on the eShop for £1.79, or can permanently unlock both the boxing and baseball games for £8.99. Nintendo noted that the trial is open to all players, including those that have used up Wii Sports Club trials in the past. [Image: Nintendo]
Cleveland Indians want to put ads where fans can see them
Advertisers and sponsors are extremely valuable to all professional sports teams, and thus it is very important to keep them engaged with the fans. In an effort to make this happen, the Cleveland Indians recently partnered with Tobii, a maker of eye-tracking glasses, to conduct a study that could determine what exactly folks look at throughout their time at Progressive Field. The MLB team says it gave 47 fans a pair of Tobii Glasses to use during the span of three days, which were worn as they watched games from various seating areas at its ballpark. Essentially, using the Tobii Insight research program as the basis, the goal was to see how much time participants spent looking at the main scoreboard and other dynamic signage. In theory, this would detect just how valuable certain locations are inside the stadium -- so, the easier it is for you spot it, the more it could potentially cost for a company to put an ad there.
MLB 14: The Show misses first pitch on PSN for PS4 [Update: Resolved]
MLB 14: The Show was expected to be available on PSN as a day-one digital download for PS4 this morning at 12:01 a.m. Eastern. Those that pre-ordered the game have not been able to download it at all however, as indicated by a 70-page PlayStation Forums support thread. Sony San Diego acknowledged the issue via Twitter, noting it is "aware that some users are unable to download the PS4 game from the PS Store. We're working with the PS Store team to resolve asap." This is the series' first crack at the next-gen console following MLB 14's launch on PS3 and Vita at the beginning of April. "Thanks for your patience, we won't rest until you guys are playing," the developer added in another tweet. We've reached out to Sony for more information on the issue and a timetable for its resolution, and will update as we learn more. [Thanks to everyone that sent this in!] Update: Sony added a note to its launch announcement post on the PlayStation Blog, which reads: "Due to unforeseen technical issues, MLB 14 The Show for PS4 is not currently available for download via the PlayStation Store. All parties are working as quickly as possible to remedy the issue. We'll update this post as soon as a resolution is reached. Thank you for your continued patience." Update #2: In another update, Sony says the "PlayStation Store download issue regarding MLB 14 The Show on PS4 has been resolved. We apologize for any frustration this caused, and thank the community for its patience and understanding." [Image: Sony]
Batter up: Chromecast now live streams every pitch with MLB.tv
Google's little $35 dongle is like a fine wine: it just keeps getting better with age. Today, the Chromecast is adding support for MLB.tv, letting you push out live out-of-market games right to your TV from a smartphone or tablet. The only caveat is that you'll need an MLB.tv Premium subscription to do so, but chances are most of you hardcore fans of America's pastime already have one of those. If you do, the only thing left to do is grab the MLB At Bat app from Google Play or the App Store -- an update that brings Chromecast support to these apps should be rolling out as we speak. And while you're at it, perhaps you may want to download R.B.I. Baseball 14, so you can have an all-baseball day to yourself.
MLB 14 The Show: The Joystiq Review
The term "simulation" is appropriate for MLB 14: The Show, but not just because of its beautiful presentation, a defining trait of the series that's become a benchmark for other sports video games. Rather, MLB 14: The Show earns its simulation stripes by continuing the series' tradition of challenging players with mechanics and statistics that mirror the real sport. While MLB's gameplay has changed little this year, no matter what option players select for pitching, fielding and hitting (we'll get to that later), they will fail or succeed as regularly as athletes do in the big leagues. Yet much like the faithfully-recreated and wildly differing batting stances of hitters in the game, MLB 14: The Show truly makes its mark in the baseball sim series by being one thing: dynamic. Click here for more
With R.B.I. Baseball 14, MLB takes a shot at making its own games
Major League Baseball is bringing back a classic. But while resuscitating an old title could sometimes create a double-edged-sword effect of sorts, that's not stopping MLB from taking the chance to reboot the R.B.I. Baseball series. Most importantly, R.B.I. Baseball 14 was developed in-house by MLB's Advanced Media branch, also known as MLBAM, a team that's behind applications like At Bat and whose tech powers the WWE Network streaming service. Up until now, sport games have been all about licensing, so this shift also lets us know how Major League Baseball views that industry. Sure, the experience in R.B.I. Baseball 14 might not be as full-fledged as with, say, Sony's MLB 14 The Show, but it's still interesting to see a professional league leveraging its work as a technology company too.
MLB 14: The Show makes the old ball game look new on PlayStation 4
If this MLB 14: The Show trailer looked any more realistic, we'd expect Jose Canseco to author a tell-all book explaining exactly how and when developer SCE San Diego injected steroids into Mark McGwire's butt. [Image: Sony]
White House has had legal talks with Samsung about that presidential selfie
It isn't quite the selfie-retweeted-'round-the-world, but that hasn't stopped the White House from answering questions about David Ortiz's impromptu snapshot with the president. Obama's senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer made an appearance on Face the Nation to talk about serious matters like the state of the Affordable Healthcare Act, but didn't shy away from host Bob Schieffer's questions about the above picture (those start around the 5:47 mark). Pfeiffer said that the president didn't know anything about Samsung's connection with Big Papi, and that whenever someone is using the president to promote a product, that's concern for the White House's counsel. On the topic of legal action, Pfeiffer said that the while the White House has spoken with Samsung, he'd rather leave the outcome of that conversation between the lawyers. "Maybe this will be the end of all selfies," he said. We can only hope. [Image credit: David Ortiz, Twitter]
White House miffed after Samsung uses an Obama selfie as an ad
Did you catch the selfie that the Red Sox's David Ortiz took with President Barack Obama? That was a great instance of cultural zeitgeist, wasn't it? However, Samsung also has a deal with Ortiz that let it use the shot (taken with a Galaxy Note 3) in a Twitter ad -- and the White House isn't very happy. The administration tells CBS that it didn't realize the baseball star's photo could be used as an Oscars-style marketing ploy. Officials aren't asking anyone to take pictures down after the fact, but they hint that they might not have approved the photo if they'd known about the possible financial incentives. For his part, Ortiz insists that it was a sincere, spur-of-the-moment shot -- while Samsung pays him, he couldn't exactly promise an Obama photo op. We're inclined to believe Big Papi, but something tells us that the President may be a little more camera shy in the future. [Image credit: David Ortiz, Twitter]
How to watch Major League Baseball games on your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV
The 2014 Major League Baseball season kicked off this week, which means it is time to outfit all your devices with the right tools to catch every morale-crushing strikeout or game-winning homerun. To get the most complete coverage, you'll want to turn to Major League Baseball and its suite of apps and subscription services for your baseball-watching needs. iPad, iPhone and iPod touch Hands-down the best way to follow the action this season is with Major League Baseball's At Bat app for iOS. The app was updated to iOS 7 in the offseason and now includes several new and improved features like inline video, expanded instant replay and a league-wide scoreboard. Free users get just the basics, but you will want to pay for a subscription to get access to every out-of-market regular season game (blackout restrictions apply). Subscription options include $2.99 for a monthly plan or a one-time annual fee of $19.99 for the entire 2014 season from Spring Training all the way through the World Series. Mac Mac owners can watch the games on their desktop through MLB.TV. The desktop version of MLB.TV uses Flash to provide the UI for the linescores and video streams. User can choose between individual, picture-in-picture or split-screen options that support watching up to four games at the same time. Depending on your desktop hardware, the video stream may be of a high quality, but playback may not be as smooth as the compressed video sent to an iPad or iPhone. The MLB.TV subscription service is available as a $109/year standard plan for web-only access or a $129/year premium version. The Premium plan costs more, but it lets you watch almost every game on a wide variety of devices, including media set-top boxes like the Apple TV. The Premium subscription also bundles At Bat 2014, allowing you to download the iOS app and unlock all the features of the mobile app using your MLB.TV login. Apple TV Apple TV owners can dial in the MLB channel on their set-top box and either sign up for an MLB.TV Premium subscription through the device or key in the details from an existing plan. Premium subscription options are available for $129 per year or $24.99 per month.
First MLB 14: The Show roster update misses opening day, set for April 8
Those looking to play along with the baseball season using up-to-date rosters this week on PS3 and Vita should take note: The first live roster update for MLB 14: The Show will arrive on April 8, Sony's San Diego Studio noted yesterday on the game's forums. The first roster update for the game traditionally arrives in time for opening day, the first day of Major League Baseball's regular season (which was yesterday). "Please understand that if we could have offered the live roster on April 1st, without jeopardizing other critical responsibilities we would have," the developer wrote. The game launched today on PS3 and Vita, and will arrive on PS4 on May 6. [Image: Sony]
San Francisco Giants (and most of MLB) adopt Apple's iBeacon for an enhanced ballpark experience
"It's kind of a no-brainer." That's what the San Francisco Giants' Chief Information Officer, Bill Schlough, said when asked why the team is implementing Apple's iBeacon technology this season.
MLB.tv and Epix streaming apps are coming to Xbox One
Xbox One owners already have their fair share of video services to choose from in the US, but they're about to get a pair of welcome additions. Major League Baseball now says that MLB.tv Premium should be available to stream live games on the console in time for opening day. Meanwhile, Epix has revealed plans to bring its primarily movie-focused service to the Xbox One in the near future. And don't worry about being left out if you're still hanging on to your Xbox 360 -- Starz has just launched Encore Play and Movieplex Play apps for the earlier system, while Major League Gaming released its e-sports app yesterday. All told, it looks like you'll have plenty of viewing options this spring.
