While EA Sports uses cover competitions for their NHL and Madden NFL franchises, Sony takes a different approach. Sony keeps its cover athlete for MLB The Show secret until the fall and sometimes until the winter. Sony chose to use the 2016 World Series as a backdrop to announce the cover athlete for MLB The Show 17 and it is none other than 2016 Hall of Fame inductee Ken Griffey Jr.
Griffey Jr., the number one pick of the 1987 MLB Draft, last appeared in a baseball video game almost twenty years ago and even had his own baseball game for Super Nintendo called Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball. A 22-year veteran, “The Natural” finished his career with 630 home runs, which places him sixth all-time in Major League Baseball.
Griffey Jr. started his career with the Seattle Mariners alongside his father Ken Griffey Sr., becoming the first father/son to play on the same team at the same time. A 13-time All-Star and All-Star Game MVP in 1992, Griffey Jr. retired from the sport 2010. After waiting the required five years, Griffey was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot with the highest percentage of induction (99.32) in Hall of Fame history.
“A legend both on and off the field, ‘The Kid’ inspired a generation of baseball fans with electric play, a contagious smile, enviable flair, and a swing that’s been imitated but never duplicated for almost three decades.”
In addition to announcing Ken Griffey Jr. as the MLB 17 The Show cover athlete, Sony also announced its pre-order offers for the game. This year features three different editions of the game that players can choose to purchase and the extras they are giving out for each edition is ridiculous. The first offer is the one that many will be grabbing.
MLB The Show 17 Hall of Fame Edition
Let’s start with something shiny and new, shall we? With Ken Griffey Jr. gracing the cover this year, we wanted to create a collector’s edition worthy of The Kid. To do so, we partnered with New Era to create a limited Hall of Fame Edition 9FIFTY snap-back to commemorate Jr.’s return to gaming in The Show 17. Pre-order today because quantities are extremely limited! The Hall of Fame Edition is $99.99 USD/$119.99 CAD (MSRP) and it includes over $205 USD in value, making it a must-have for the most dedicated fans of the Show and The Kid. The Full Contents:
- New Era Hall of Fame Edition 9FIFTY Hat
- Limited Edition MVP Steel Book
- Digital Diamond Dynasty New Era Hall of Fame Edition 9FIFTY Hat for use in game
- Diamond Season Starter Pack (Includes Mission Starter for Diamond item)
- Gold Season Starter Pack (Includes Mission Starter for Gold item)
- 11,000 Stubs
- 1 Sponsor Pack
- 10 Standard Packs
- 31 MLB PS4 Themes
MLB The Show 17 Digital Deluxe Edition
For our top tier Diamond Dynasty and Road To The Show fans, we are bringing back The Digital Deluxe Edition for ’17 exclusive to PlayStation Store. The Digital Deluxe Edition has over $200 USD value in digital goods for only $99.99 USD/$119.99 CAD (MSRP). For those of you that need packs on packs on packs, you know which edition is for you.
- Gold Season Starter Pack (Includes Mission Starter for Gold item)
- Diamond Season Starter Pack (Includes Mission Starter for Diamond item)
- Digital Deluxe Pack
- 11,000 Stubs
- 1 Sponsor Pack
- 20 Standard Packs
- 31 PS4 MLB Themed Avatars
MLB The Show 17 MVP Edition
The gamer favorite MVP Edition is back for another year! With over $130 USD in content – this 69.99 USD/89.99 CAD (MSRP) edition not only includes a ton of digital goods but also the limited edition MVP Steel Book (physical version only). It’s available for pre-order starting today at retailers and at PlayStation Store.
- Limited Edition MVP Steel Book
- Gold Season Starter Pack (Includes Mission Starter for Gold item)
- 5,000 Stubs
- 1 Sponsor Pack
- 10 Standard Packs
- 31 MLB PS4 Themes
While Griffey Jr. will be on the cover in the U.S. version of the game, Sony will announce in the coming weeks who will appear on the Canadian version of the game at a later date. MLB 17 The Show is set to be released on March 28, 2017. What are thoughts on Ken Griffey Jr. being on the cover of the game? Are you excited about the upcoming baseball release? Let us know in our comments section.
