NCAA Baseball golden

Electronic Arts today announced that MVP 06 NCAA Baseball has gone gold. The game will ship for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox on January 17. EA Canada, based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, handled the development of the E for Everyone-rated game. Baseball fans will be able to pick up the game for $29.99.

MVP 06 NCAA Baseball is the fourth edition of the MVP franchise, and the first to use the college setting. EA will not be releasing a game featuring pro baseball players this year, as Take-Two Interactive signed an exclusive third-party deal with Major League Baseball in early 2005.

NCAA Baseball brings 128 teams, 19 stadiums, and the College World Series to the plate, along with aluminum bats and a collegiate atmosphere. Though EA was unable to sign a deal with the MLB, it did secure a long-term agreement with sports network ESPN, which will be represented in the game's presentation with radio updates and a real-time ESPN sports ticker.

For a detailed look at the game, check out GameSpot's recent hands-on.