Games - MVP Baseball series

Home > Listing Index > Games > MVP Baseball series

	Games - MVP Baseball series

MVP Baseball is a baseball game series. In 2003, MVP Baseball became the successor to EA Sports long-running Triple Play Baseball
series, though it bore little more than a graphical similarity to it's predecessor, a series that had become much-maligned in its final years. MVP Baseball 2004 featured a unique addition to any baseball game, allowing users to play as the Minor League affiliations of Major League teams, a feature that was further expanded upon the following year. It featured Randy Johnson, Miguel Tejada, Albert Pujols, and Manny Ramírez on its cover. Of the four professional players to grace the cover, Tejada and Pujols have won MVP awards, and the other two have been named MVPs of a postseason series in their careers.

One of the most inventive aspects MVP Baseball brought to the baseball game upon its release in 2003 was its pitch/throw meter. Until MVP Baseball 2003, virtually all baseball games' pitching schemes required players to simply press the button corresponding to the pitch they wanted to throw, and hold the button down a certain length of time to determine how hard the pitch was thrown. In the MVP Baseball series, though, the player first holds down the pitch button (or throw button) to judge the power; once the desired power level is attained, the player must release the button and attempt to tap the same button within a target area (the closer a player gets to the target area, the more accurate their pitch or throw will be). EA admittedly adapted this feature from golf games, which often feature a meter to determine the power and accuracy of shots (ironically, golf games largely abandoned shot meters around the time that MVP Baseball introduced it to the baseball world).

The game features all players in the MLBPA, and features fictionalized counterparts for those who aren't in the union (see Barry Bonds/Jon Dowd).

As of 2005, in response to EA Sports exclusive license with the NFL and ESPN, Take-Two Interactive has signed an exclusive third-party licensing contract with the MLB, MLBPA, and the MLBAM to produce MLB games. The agreement allows for console manufacturers Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo to produce MLB titles for their respective platforms, but bars third party developers such as EA Sports from continuing or developing their own MLB games. Instead, the MVP Baseball series will now feature college baseball, with MVP 06 NCAA Baseball being released in late January 2006. Take-Two's license will run from Spring 2006 until 2012.

Soundtracks

Like all recent EA Sports games, the soundtrack to each MVP Baseball title contains licensed songs, called EA TRAX. The MVP Baseball series typically featured alternative rock, ranging from mainstream artists like Sum 41 to relatively indie acts like Stellastarr*. The games featured several minor hits before they became popular.

MVP Baseball 2003

"Swing, Swing" by the All-American Rejects
"Everyone" by socialburn
"Don't Ask Me" by OK Go
"Without" by the Exies
"Blackout" by (hed) p.e.
"Sister Surround" by Soundtrack of Our Lives
"Caught in the Rain" by Revis
"Handful of Redemption" by Boy Sets Fire
"Arctic Snow" by Burning Brides
"Bullitproof" by Pacifier
"Fly from The Inside" by Shinedown
"Who Invited You" by the Donnas
"All Messed Up" by Sum 41
"Poem" by Taproot

MVP Baseball 2004

"Get It To Go" by To My Surprise
"C'mon C'mon" by The Von Bondies
"Time and Time Again" by Chronic Future
"Walkie Talkie Man" by Steriogram
"Bittersweet" by Hoodoo Gurus
"Hey Driver" by Lucky Boys Confusion
"Please" by Maxeen
"Take Me as I Am" by Seven Wiser
"Spitting Games" by Snow Patrol
"My Coco" by stellastarr*
"Surfacing" by Trust Company
"Get Steady" by Jonny Lives!
"Robbers" by Home Town Hero

MVP Baseball 2005

"We Got the Noise" by The Donots
"You Owe Me An IOU" by Hot Hot Heat
"The IROC-Z Song" by The High Speed Scene
"Tessie" by Dropkick Murphys
"Finding Out True Love Is Blind" by Louis XIV
"Let It Dive" by …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
"An Honest Mistake" by The Bravery
"Pressure Point" by The Zutons
"Funny Little Feeling" by Rock 'N' Roll Soldiers

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for MVP Baseball series ]

Searches on eBay

mvp baseball series