By Quinton Miles

[i]Editor’s note: It has been confirmed that the deal includes exclusive use of MLB teams, as well as players.[/i]

The Major League Baseball Players Association and Take Two Interactive agreed today, in principle, to a seven year agreement that grants Take Two exclusive third-party rights to make pro baseball games on all current and next-generation platforms. Starting next year, Take Two will be the only third-party publisher to develop and market simulation, arcade, and manager-style games with real players.

“The baseball video game business has been underdeveloped for years,” said John Olshan, the MLBPA’s Category Director for Interactive Games. “The upcoming change in technology makes this the perfect time for us to implement our plan for growing the business, and we have no doubt that Take2’s proven creativity and innovation, combined with their incredible distribution strength and powerful commitment to baseball, will add real excitement and depth to the video game marketplace. Baseball fans will be the big winners.”

Since the deal only applies to third-party publishers, manufacturers of video game systems like Nintendo and Microsoft will still be allowed to develop baseball games. One other thing that remains unclear about this deal is whether the MLB license was thrown in too, a question many people are asking right now. Stay tuned to MyGamer for more info.