Special edition covers for sports games have become more and more intricate over the years in an attempt to make the special box art an appealing option to go along with its digital bonuses.MLB The Show 22is diving into that philosophy with its special artwork that not only appeals to fans that appreciate collecting special covers to display but also appeals to Shohei Ohtani’s Japanese heritage.
MLB The Show 22’sMVP Editioncover art featuresthis year’s cover athlete Shohei Ohtaniin an anime art style rendering of the MLB’s biggest dual-threat. The reigning American League MVP is originally from Japan and could go down as one of the greatest Japanese players ever to play in theMLB. This phenomenal cover emblazons Ohtani in flames akin to the heaters he tends to throw when playing the Pitcher on the days he’s not blasting home run bombs into the outfield as the Los Angeles Angels' Designated Hitter.
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The artwork for theMLB The Show 22: MVP Editioncover was done by famed manga artist Takashi Okazaki, whose previous work includesAfro SamuraiandBatman Ninja. The art shows off Ohtani’s prowess with a baseball in one hand and a bat in the other, both enveloped in flames. In the dualPlayStation and Xbox announcements, it was revealed that this collaboration was inspired by Ohtani’s long-standing fandom of anime and manga. Okazaki is also a fan of Shohei Ohtani, so this collaboration seems like the perfect machination of dual admiration.
MLB The Show 22: MVP Editionwill come in physical and digital editions and will give players four days of early access to the game starting on April 1, cross-gen upgrades for bothXbox and PlayStation consoles, and double Daily Log-In rewards for the lifecycle ofMLB The Show 22. The physical edition includes a steelbook, 1 Diamond Choice Pack, 2 Gold Choice Packs, 1 Ballplayer Pack, 10 The Show Packs, 10,000 Stubs,andShohei Ohtani Bat Skin for $84.99. The digital version will have 1 Diamond Choice Packs, 1 Cover Athlete Diamond Choice Pack, 5 Gold Choice Packs, 1, Ballplayer Pack, 20 The Show Packs, 25,000 Stubs, and Shohei Ohtani Bat Skin. There is noMVP Editionfor Nintendo Switch.
The sports world has been dabbling into anime art styles more and more over the years. There have been TV commercials and promotional artwork of sporting events created in the anime/manga styles as the genre reaches new heights in popularity. It’s likely that the people in charge of these social media pages and others are fans that now run some of these departments and offer up these new ideas for promotion to management teams. As part of the promotion for the 2021 MLB Postseason, Bleacher Report recreated theDemon Slayerposter, replacing the main characters from the anime/manga with players from the teams that qualified.
MLB: The Show 22releases on April 5 for PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
