MLB to Play Crowd Noise from Video Games on Stadiums

Photo by John Mersits/CSM/REX/Shutterstock (5735641r)

MLB will try to recreate the feeling of packed stadiums for the 2020 MLB season, despite the fact that fans won’t be able to attend games this year.

The league announced on Thursday that each ballpark will play crowd noises during games in order to replicate the in-game experience. The noise will be taken from official game MLB The Show and sound engineers will have 75 different sound bites to chose from.

The crowd audio for MLB The Show has been captured over the years from real-life games.

“There was some reticence when you first talk about crowd noise in an empty ballpark because you don’t want to do something that is distracting,” said MLB’s executive vice president for strategy, technology, and innovation. “It is heard in a way that is natural with the play of the game and on-field. The sounds do match what is happening.”

The league already tested the feature during training camp scrimmage games and will also use it in the upcoming exhibition games ahead of the 2020 season start.

Soccer competitions previously used the same trick in order to provide more authentic feel to games in front of empty stands. England’s Premier League and Spain’s La Liga turned to EA Games for samples and played crowd noise from FIFA video games.

Reportedly, the NBA is planning to do the same during the games in Orlando.

Gunner's favorite movies are Pulp Fiction, Iron Man (just the first one), and every James Bond film ever made. He's learning TV and cinema and hoping to always enjoy movies as he does now.