Earlier this week, reports surfaced about two NBA 2K16 studios being sued over the use of protected player tattoos shown in the hit video game on stars such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
Well, MLB the Show 16 took notice.
During Sony San Diego's livestream on Twitch for the impending title Thursday, it was confirmed that there would be no player tattoos added to this year's installment, as reported by Attackofthefanboy.com.
Call it a safe bunt, but it seems that the video game developer doesn't want to take any chances of possibly being sued — considering how Solid Oak Sketches, a company that owns the right to tattoos on NBA players, filed a lawsuit against studios Take-Two Interactive and Visual Concepts over ink with protected rights being shown in NBA 2K16.
While MLB The Show 16 is taking the safer route, it's also saving money from the pricey licensing costs that would accompany going forward with including protected tattoos on players.
Other bits of news revealed as part of Thursday's livestream is that the game's Road to the Show mode will not include a face-scanning feature the way NBA 2K16 and its rival NBA Live 16 have. That means baseball fans will not be able to include themselves as characters — something that should be a big letdown among gamers.
MLB the Show 16 — minus the tattoos and face scan — is slated for a March 29 release on PlayStation 3 and 4.
