Sneak peek: Pujols, Wilson in video game

"MLB 12 The Show," the latest edition of the Sony Computer Entertainment's top-rated baseball simulation, hits stores on March 6, 2012. Here's a sneak peek of how new Angels slugger Albert Pujols (right) and starting pitcher C.J. Wilson will look in the video game.
The Angels landed All-Star free-agent left-handed starting pitcher C.J. Wilson during baseball's winter meetings. Newport Beach-born Wilson had anchored the Texas Rangers' rotation in 2011, leading the league in starts (34) and posting a 16-7 record and a 2.94 ERA.
Left-handed C.J. Wilson signed a five-year, $77.5 million deal with the Angels in December after helping guide the Texas Rangers to a second consecutive World Series berth in 2011. Wilson, who was born in Newport Beach, played at Loyola Marymount and San Ana Junior College and starred at Fountain Valley High, passed on richer offers to play for his hometown Angels and join a starting rotation that already includes Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and 2011 no-hitter-throwing Ervin Santana.
Free-agent slugging first baseman Albert Pujols signed a 10-year, $246 million (or more) contract with the Angels in December, rocking the baseball world. Pujols had spent his first 11 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. He has been a nine-time All-Star, a three-time NL MVP, a two-time World Series champion (2006, 2011) and a two-time Gold Glove winner. He will play first base for the Angels and wear No. 5.
The Angels finally landed a big bat in free agency when they signed six-time Silver Slugger Albert Pujols. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Dominican enters the 2012 season as a .328 career hitting with 445 home runs, 1,329 RBI, a .420 on-base percentage and a .617 slugging percentage in 11 seasons with St. Louis. He is the only player in MLB history to have hit 30-or-more home runs in each of his first 11 seasons and to have posted 10 consecutive seasons (2001-10) with a .300 batting average, 30 doubles, 30 home runs and 100 RBI.
On Aug. 26, 2010, Albert Pujols became the 47th player to reach 400 career home runs. His home run total stands at 445. His first home run as an Angel can't come too soon.
Albert Pujols has won two Gold Gloves playing first base for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 and 2010. He is expected to take over first base for the Angels, who had rookie Mark Trumbo at the position in 2011 to replace injured Kendrys Morales. Trumbo is expected to make the move to third base. "Yeah, I think a position change is definitely in order (with Pujols coming to the Angels.) No doubt about that," says Trumbo. "I will be studying that guy like a hawk."
In addition to featuring new Angels Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson on their new team, animators of "MLB 12 The Show" had to make other changes in the game's presentation elements. A number of teams, including the San Diego Padres, will unveil new uniforms in 2012, and the game, intent on being the most realistic baseball simulation, made the wardrobe adjustments. This is one of the game's first screenshots released on the PlayStation Blog on Dec. 2, featuring starting pitcher Mat Latos in the new uniform. Latos, in mid-December, was traded to Cincinnati. Before the game hits stores on March 6, the game's production team will change Latos' uniform in an even bigger way.
This screenshot from "MLB 12 The Show" features San Diego infielder Chase Headley in the Padres' new uniforms, which will be unveiled in the 2012 season. You won't have to wait until Opening Day in April to see the new look since "The Show" hits stores on March 6, 2012.
The 2012 edition of "MLB The Show," which hits stores on March 6, 2012, makes every attempt to give gamers the most up-to-date look of the upcoming season. "MLB 12 The Show" features the new Marlins Park and the renamed Miami (nee Florida) Marlins with new logos, new uniforms and new players including shortstop Jose Reyes. Click here to see a video tour Marlins Park in “MLB 12 The Show.”
Voted the top sports game for four consecutive years, "MLB 12 The Show" hits stores on March 6, 2012 during Spring Training. Improvements in gameplay and enhanced presentation makes this the most ambitious and realistic baseball simulation from Sony Computer Entertainment's San Diego Studio since the title made its debut in 2006. Click here to see a trailer for “MLB 12 The Show.”

By Marcia C. Smith | Orange County Register

March 6, 2012 at 10:25 a.m.

SAN DIEGO – The newest edition of the top-rated baseball simulation, “MLB 12 The Show,” is due in stores on March 6, but we have a sneak peek of the video game available on the Sony PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita platforms.

Click on the photo to see screenshots new Angels Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson and more from “MLB 12 The Show.”

Former Long Beach State second baseman and shortstop Chris Gill is the title’s senior producer of gameplay and animation. He has been with Sony since 1998 and part of The Show’s production staff since the title’s 2006 debut.

“We’re very aggressive and tend to be overly aggressive in trying to make a true simulation,” said Gill, who works at Sony Computer Entertainment’s San Diego Studio. “People walk by my offices all the time, see the game and think I’m watching a real baseball game.”

The 2012 edition has been updated to reflect the blockbuster moves of free-agency, with Pujols and Wilson as Angels, Prince Fielder as a Detroit Tiger and Jose Reyes as a Miami Marlins, among others.

As we have come to expect from this baseball simulation franchise devoted to capturing even the smallest visual details of the game, animators depict the latest uniforms of the San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays, who will all unveil new threads in 2012. The former Florida Marlins, who have been renamed the Miami Marlins for 2012, have been overhauled graphically to feature the team’s new logos, uniforms and stunning Marlins Park.

Click through the slide show to take a video tour of the new ballpark.

The improved realism was especially the case a year ago when “MLB 11 The Show” unveiled a new, more refined player model. The other major improvement in 2011 was the addition of analog throwing, pitching and hitting to all game mechanics, plus some use of PlayStation Move in the Home Run Derby.

One of the most notable highlights of the 2012 edition is full Move support. (Cover athlete and Boston Red Sox All-Star Adrian Gonzalez throws and swings with the Move controller in the San Diego studio for the game’s “First Look” trailer now on YouTube.)

But there have also been some more interactive developments in gameplay with the classic hand-held controller, namely “Zone Analog Batting,” which allows gamers to choose the zone in which they want to swing. Also, the new “Pulse Pitching” lets the gamer, depending on his skill and his selected pitcher’s ability and command, create a unique delivery from the mound.

Improved TruBroadcast commentary and camera angles raise the presentation level of the game that looks and plays like The Show.

Contact the writer: masmith@ocregister.com