November 9, 2011

Adrian Gonzalez Announced as Cover Athlete for MLB 12 The Show

Today it’s my pleasure to announce that Boston Red Sox All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez will be the cover athlete for MLB 12 The Show, which will hit store shelves on March 6, 2012 for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, just in time for Spring Training. A candidate for this year’s America League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, Gonzalez is a four-time All-Star (2008-2011), three-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner (2008, 2009, 2011), and 2011 Silver Slugger Award winner. The Show has been and continues to be the market leading and highest ranked officially licensed baseball title of this console generation and the number-one rated sports video game over the past four years, so we’re psyched to have one the best all-around players in baseball representing MLB 12!

The first overall pick by the Florida Marlins in the 2000 MLB Draft, Gonzalez has really come in his own, both on the field and at the plate. A little history on him…in 2010 while playing for the San Diego Padres, he was named team MVP for the third consecutive year and fourth time overall. Then after the blockbuster trade that sent him to the Boston Red Sox last offseason, he enjoyed one of his best professional seasons to date, which included his 1,000 career hit, fourth consecutive All-Star selection, third Gold Glove, first Silver Slugger Award, and a top five finish in batting average (.338) and RBI (117) in all of baseball—not too bad!

I also want to stress that MLB 12 The Show will be coming to PlayStation Vita and will utilize all of the core gameplay features found in the PS3 version. So, players will be able to take the same big league baseball experience on the road with them, anytime, anywhere. We’ll have more info to share soon, but trust me when I tell you that MLB 12 will have a ton of new features (PS3 & Vita) that we’ll be detailing over the course of the campaign so keep an eye on the PlayStation.Blog, TheShowNation, and our MLB The Show Facebook page for more info as we get closer to launch.

Welcome to The Show!

Comments are closed.

59 Comments

3 Author Replies

ebineesey
November 9, 2011 at 3:51 pm PST

Man, I just got last year’s model.
spectyre
November 9, 2011 at 3:53 pm PST

I can’t wait to see what this beauty will look and play like on the Vita.
NEJI64
November 9, 2011 at 3:53 pm PST

Roberson Cano should have been on the front cover.. And hes better then Adrian Gonzalez.

Yankees All Day Baby………..
amco_pirate
November 9, 2011 at 3:57 pm PST

Should have put Jose Bautista on the cover.
JTLB925
November 9, 2011 at 4:00 pm PST

I know the game is a few months away, but is there any word on whether or not it will have move support?
- Eric Levine
  November 10, 2011 at 7:34 am PST
  
  Yup, MLB 12 will most definitely have Move support.
JimmyHandsome
November 9, 2011 at 4:01 pm PST

awful choice, Redsox suck
Ftwrthtx
November 9, 2011 at 4:03 pm PST

Will we be able to use the same game save for both the PS3 and the PS Vita? I’d really love to be able to use the same character on both.
- Eric Levine
  November 10, 2011 at 7:36 am PST
  
  We’ll have details to share about game features very soon, stay tuned!
Suicide_Surfer
November 9, 2011 at 4:04 pm PST

@3 if you were even a little bit of a yankee fan you would know its ROBINSON CANO.
i think david freese should be on the cover though. along with a few others he is the reason the cards won the world series
jeff0519tw
November 9, 2011 at 4:05 pm PST

sorry sony but this game is not gonna be #1 rated for the fifth year becuz its adrian gonzalez
JimmyHandsome
November 9, 2011 at 4:06 pm PST

@ 9 agreed. couldn’t have put a bigger joke of an athlete on the cover of a sports videogame. Dude blamed the schedule, injuries and God as to why their joke of a team had the biggest collapse in the history of the sport. Why promote such a pu$$y?
dragonmagician
November 9, 2011 at 4:18 pm PST

Would have bought it if it was Jose Bautista on the cover…maybe next year…
ajwilson55
November 9, 2011 at 4:20 pm PST

Haven’t picked up ’10 or ’11, but might pick this up, especially if I’m fortunate to get a Vita. There is a level of detail here that I wish EA would put into NHL12, from rosters to player models to arena models. This is one of (if not the) best sports franchise out there.
KwietStorm
November 9, 2011 at 4:20 pm PST

After that collapse at the end of last season? #deadsoxnation
eaglefan129
November 9, 2011 at 4:24 pm PST

That’s interesting I think MLB 11 was on the Playstation 2 was it not? I’m curious what this game is going to be like on the Vita.
- Eric Levine
  November 10, 2011 at 7:35 am PST
  
  That’s correct, MLB 11 was on PS2, however, MLB 12 will only be on PS3 and Vita.
eaglefan129
November 9, 2011 at 4:24 pm PST

Other thing will there be some kind off cross platform with this title?
scoobydoggie4
November 9, 2011 at 5:13 pm PST

Adrian Gonzalez is a great and underrated player! And besides the cover athlete shouldn’t decide if you buy the game or not!
scoobydoggie4
November 9, 2011 at 5:24 pm PST

@NEJI64 BTW you’re complete moron if you actually think Cano is better then Gonzo last year he hit .302 28hr’s 118RBI’s compared to Agon’s .338 27hr’s 117rbi’s, here’s the thing Cano plays in a hitters ballpark. Also Gonzo had like 25 more hits than Cano last year. Both players are talented but Gonzo is better and I’m not a fan of either team.
B1GG1N
November 9, 2011 at 5:40 pm PST

Now you are going to have to add a choking hazard warning to the cover.
EazyMackaDocious
November 9, 2011 at 5:49 pm PST

Matt Kemp!!!
Sparx88
November 9, 2011 at 6:12 pm PST

Booooooo!!!

That is all…
twistedfloyd
November 9, 2011 at 6:32 pm PST

I think you guys need to implement full Move controls here that completely integrates into every facet of the game. Not just home run derby, but every mode. Utilize the move to track your swing, the way you throw to first base in the infield, or home plate from the outfield, and pitching.

I think if done right, it would be the most immersive baseball experience ever.
x_Arch-Angel_x
November 9, 2011 at 6:59 pm PST

wait, i thought he was in san diego still lol
JaY_Ci_415
November 9, 2011 at 7:03 pm PST

Ok I’d really like to know just how you guys choose the cover athlete every year. If you chose Gonzalez after the year he just had with not even making it to the playoffs or won the mvp award then tell me why you wouldn’t choose Buster Posey for last year’s cover after his team had just won the freaking World Series and eventually became Rookie Of The Year? Instead you chose to have Jose Mauer for the 2nd year in a row? Pls explain this one to me because this is something that your fans often wonder…
supasike
November 9, 2011 at 7:49 pm PST

this year you have to put in co op mode in season play last year you did not put that feature in, great playing online together no doubt but play together in a season would be fantastic dont let us down sony
supasike
November 9, 2011 at 7:50 pm PST

also make servers more solid and make the people who are winning when it disconnects give us the WIN!!
joeyc138
November 9, 2011 at 8:16 pm PST

Never played these games for the cover athlete, but I’m sooo over the AL guys hogging the cover. Matt Kemp dominated the NL and was a huge 40-40 and triple crown threat and you’d figure that the guys at Sony San Diego would have that figured out with the amount of times the Dodgers have beaten on the Padres. Figures they’d get an ex-Padre to be the cover athlete for the next game though……
LilRican
November 9, 2011 at 8:21 pm PST

man i hate the red sox. hey yankees fans anyone can do a yankee cover instead?
LilRican
November 9, 2011 at 8:22 pm PST

why is a 3rd rate team is on the cover of next year game????????
Mcmickeyd
November 9, 2011 at 8:23 pm PST

When can I preorder MLB12?
SalvoStorm
November 9, 2011 at 8:24 pm PST

“Hey folks! We got the case covers back from the Printshop. As soon as our interns are finished updating the rosters we’ll press the blu-rays and take your pre-orders. BTW, are you ready to join our elite Diamond Club? For an annual membership fee of just $24.99, we’ll give you an exclusive theme, a complete set of team avatars. (actual number of MLB teams to be represented is TBD), and only Diamond Club members will get our exclusive grounds-crew DLC! You must have this DLC to get the complete MLB experience of watching the grounds-crew groom the infield during the 7th inning stretch! Diamond Club memberships will be available for a limited time only, so pre-order your pre-order pack today!”
BrodiMAN
November 9, 2011 at 8:55 pm PST

Wait, wait, wait….how are you guys putting a Red Sox player on the cover? Didn’t you see that hideous brain-cramp of a collapse this season?

Really Sony? Really?
Vabor
November 9, 2011 at 9:01 pm PST

Another Red Sox? Come on. Red Sox, Twins, Twins, Red Sox. Boo. 2K landed a better cover spokesman this year.
RodMack
November 9, 2011 at 9:24 pm PST

Would be nice to see Joey Bats (Jose Bautista) the cover athlete one day, hopefully in a Blue Jays uniform.
kenkraly2010
November 9, 2011 at 9:29 pm PST

Great choice for cover athlete for MLB 12 The Show A-Gone is one of my favorite MLB players and I’m glad he is on the cover of MLB 12 The Show.
ssjmichael
November 9, 2011 at 9:58 pm PST

Some of you people here really need to STFU and have some common sense. The Show’s cover athlete has always been someone picked based on individual merit. It’s also always been (to my recollection) a hitter and not a pitcher. If anyone knows baseball they would see that A-Gon is an obvious choice for the cover, and that’s coming from a YANKEES fans.

He had an amazing season on both sides of the field this year. Just because the red sox choked does not mean that his individual efforts should be disregarded. The only other person who clearly should be a consideration would be Matt Kemp who nearly had a 40-40 season. BUT, Matt Kemp really isn’t as big a star as A-gon and thus wouldn’t sell as many copies.

Anyone saying they’re not going to buy the game based on the cover is pretty much an idiot. Enjoy MLB 2K losers.
Vortuminius
November 9, 2011 at 10:06 pm PST

I respect the man… but not the uniform :P
I-BreadtrucK-I
November 9, 2011 at 10:48 pm PST

Pick a Milwaukee Brewer (Ryan Braun)
SalMoriarty
November 9, 2011 at 11:49 pm PST

Pick a Chicago Cub: Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder?

Seriously, will my team completely collapse in the last month of the season and force me to miss the playoffs?
jrowand
November 10, 2011 at 5:37 am PST

Should have been Jason Hayward he is an awesome baseball player.
Psydswipe
November 10, 2011 at 6:44 am PST

I’ve got an idea as to why they picked Adrian Gonzalez. He made a name for himself in San Diego and probably still has more than his fair share of fans there. Who develops MLB: The Show? That would be Sony’s San Diego studio. I’d guess that maybe they didn’t want to use him before because the Padres don’t get a whole lot of coverage, though that’s sort of negated by them using Mauer for two years. In any case, Gonzalez will be better known now that he is on the Red Sox and there has to be more than a few Gonzalez fans on the development team.
BananaFish
November 10, 2011 at 7:03 am PST

@30SalvoStorm:

That’s good stuff! The pre-order nonsense that this industry worships needs to be stopped. There is NO VALUE to pre-ordering. So what you get your dang thing on the day it’s released? Whoopee F’n doo. You paid for it MONTHS in advance and you, almost always, get NOTHING in return for your early investment. SONY: offer a a few DLC classic historic teams for MLB should you pre-order before such and such date and we’re talking…offer us nothing and not only will we not pre-order but we’ll prolly never buy this title in the first place because you picked us such a loser player from a loser team to be the coverboy.
PhillyManOfSteel
November 10, 2011 at 7:37 am PST

These comments below said by Eric Levine // SCEA PR Manager just added even more excite for me!!!

“but trust me when I tell you that MLB 12 will have a ton of new features”

For me really the only thing that gets boring about MLB 11 The Show is the “Presentation” It just feels too last gen for me!

Here’s hoping we get a brand New Modern TV Network Style Presentation in MLB 12 The Show!

I want a lot more flashy Stat Overlays!!
LilRican
November 10, 2011 at 7:54 am PST

3rd rate team!!!!
TallCrowe
November 10, 2011 at 8:40 am PST

I’m not sure about the cover model. I think you guys wanted Verlander, but the competition got him first. Why have a great player from a team that collapsed and probably won’t get its footing for a while. I’m excited about the Vita version.
badnewsliar
November 10, 2011 at 8:40 am PST

i’m happy about the cover since i am a sox fan, but cano deserves it just as much, if not more than gonzo. when i think about this season (besides the collapse) three things that stand out are cano, verlander and the cardinals. my only request to the developers, or whoever is in charge of packaging, is to start putting pictures of the stadiums back on the cover art.
Dante989
November 10, 2011 at 9:39 am PST

If their was any game i could pick out there that would say to me “Sony is moving away from the PS2 now”. it’s this game. Sony put this game out for the PS2 for the people who haven’t bought a PS3 yet, but now Sony is pretty much saying, “if you wanna play, get a PS3 or a Vita when it launches.”
I was wondering how long they’d be putting this game out for the PS2. Now that it’s PS3 and Vita only, this game will have a few extra employees to work on this instead of them focusing on the PS2 build.
BTW, can you please bring back regular swinging mechanics like you had in 10. I hate having to choose the part of the strike zone the ball will land in after i guess the pitch. I love playing the games but, I’m just not a big enough fan of baseball games to wanna delve into the game play so much.
thebgj
November 10, 2011 at 10:30 am PST

i like how people obsess over the player on the cover. and the people who ask if it is Move Compatible. Its on the picture……
ez_____ez_____ez
November 10, 2011 at 10:31 am PST

Any word on the MLB avatars that were never released?
MarinoBrea
November 10, 2011 at 1:14 pm PST

SCEA are evidently Red Sox fans.
Kid_Fleetfoot
November 10, 2011 at 9:18 pm PST

Miggy
but Adrian is OK.
Sports arguments are sometimes interesting.