Last season, the 2010 number one overall pick of the MLB draft, Bryce Harper had an amazing rookie campaign that saw the then 19-year-old make the All-Star game, hit 22 home runs, hit for .270 batting average and help the Washington Nationals make their first post season appearance since relocating from Montreal.
Now the young left fielder will have an opportunity to live out another of his childhood dreams. Harper is the first candidate in Sony's contest to appear on the cover of MLB 13: The Show.
"When you're younger, you always dream of being in a video game, or being on the cover," Harper said in a telephone interview with Kotaku."Winning a World Series would be the top-notch goal, but off the field, this is something very cool."
MLB 13: The Show will feature a new beginner mode and instructional enhancements that will make the game easier to pick up and play. But according to Sony San Diego's community manager for MLB The Show, Ramone Russell, the new mode will not be an easier difficulty setting, but will focus on the baseball experience.
He told Kotaku that the new mode would act as a tutorial meant to prepare newcomers for the game's standard difficulty setting. Beginners Mode will teach newbies the ins and outs of the game including differentiating between pitches as a batter and utilizing location and deliveries as a pitcher.
According to the article the Road to the Show mode will be undergoing a significant changes. The mode will now act as more of a first-person experience and the booth commentary of Matt Vasgersian, Eric Karros and Steve Lyons will be removed during the mode.
"We're trying to refocus things back to on you and your player," Russell said, "hearing the on field chatter, the base coaches telling you to get back, the crowd boing you or chanting your name, being a first-person baseball experience."
Russell also said that Sony has improved The Show's contact physics and that gamers will be very surprised by the new hitting mechanics in the latest game.
"You're going to see more offense like you do in real life," he said. "If you square up on a fastball, it's going to be hit harder than it was before," Russell added. "People are going to be very surprised."
MLB 13 The Show will release in March 5, 2013 with the Cover Campaign beginning in early January. Sony will continue to announce candidates for the game's cover over the next few weeks.