Signifier: MLB the Show (15)
Signified: It shows that MLB the Show is the baseball video game you want to play. It is dramatically showing the cover boy getting the clutch hit off the premiere pitcher. It shows how dramatic baseball is and it’s got you on the edge of your seat with this ad.
Image: In this image it his him Yasiel Puig the right fielder of the LA Dodgers, pointing at the sky showing he’s #1. All the lights in the stadium are on full blast making him more visible. It is him dramatically coming up to the plate, in super slow-motion, hitting a game winning grand slam. He does his famous bat toss. It is like a beautifully scripted play.
Denotation: This ad is for the only baseball video game out there on the market exclusively by Playstation and Sony. Every year when they come out with the game they have ads from the game itself or with the cover athletes that are usually comedic. Every year they keep adding new features and fix anything that was wrong with it from the year before.
Connotation: MLB the Show has been around since 2006. It came on the scene after EA sports stopped making a baseball game. EA Sports is the premiere company for making sports video games in general but they only make NFL & NHL consistently since they started, thus creating a void to be filled by San Diego Studios who makes MLB the Show along with its competitor 2k. 2k stopped making baseball games two years ago with MLB the Show the only baseball game now out there. So it has 100% of the market for baseball and it still did even when 2K was still making it. 2k was the worst baseball videogame I ever played. They only make a basketball game now which is the best on the market. It is the most realistic baseball videogame ever and has features that the other games didn’t have always. I only bought a Playstation because of this game (MLB the Show) since EA sports stopped and 2K wasn’t very good at it. I have played all kinds of baseball videogames and this one is the best out there and has been since 2006.
Icon: MLB the Show is the most iconic baseball videogame it is known globally as well as nationally. When you want to play a baseball videogame you play the Show. Every baseball player wants to be on the cover of the game.
Synchronic Analysis: With this being currently the only baseball video game maker out there they could charge a lot or make it hard to obtain or slack off in making a good game but they don’t. They still make games like they are fighting it out with other companies. Yes EA sports hasn’t made a baseball game since 2005 but there is time now with 2K no longer making it to get back into the market, plus with the Show you need to own a Playstation to play the game. That’s how Playstation makes lots of money by having a game only for its system like Halo is only for Xbox. The Show is the only baseball game to ever have a career mode where you start a player from drafting to starting in the minor leagues. It is where you work your way up to the big leagues. All the other sport videogames like Madden/NHL/NBA2k copied it. People will remember this game and will consider the Show as the baseball video game to play for awhile.
Structuralism: This is a videogame so it’s all fake even the ad when the Cubs win the World Series because the Cub fan has to eject the game because it’s not real. It is a sports videogame which is different from all the other video games that you shoot/fight or go on adventure. It also is the genre of being a sports fan since it’s another way to connect to the sport we can’t really play we can escape to this fake world.
Ideology: The whole idea behind sports video games was that people needed another way to feel connected to their favorite teams and players. But it was really for the people who could never play the sports for real like in the pros. It plays on your emotions too like a real game when you lose it hurts as much as it makes you happy when you win. You can pretend to be in the game as well with the road to the show feature. They also made sports video games so the non sports fan will play it as well.
Jingoism: It appeals to the sports fan who likes the dramatic walk off hit to end the game. It’s the theatrics of the game how a team wins; it shows the Dodgers walking off with the game winning hit. The music and close up shots show how dramatic it is. It appeals to the sports fan and the winner in you that wants to win at it all and win all video games. It is targeted for sports fan, video game fans, sports video game fans and mostly men ages 10-40, from really the youngest age for kids to play video games to the oldest.