MVP 2005 sliding home early?

Electronic Arts' third-base coach appears to be waving home MVP Baseball 2005 a week early. As listed by online retailers EBgames.com and GameStop.com, MVP's apparent new release date is February 22, up from its previous shipping date of March 1. Representatives from EA were unavailable to confirm the new release date as of press time.

Typically, a simple change in release date would seem rather minor. But given the jabs that EA and rival Take-Two Interactive have been trading, particularly in the sports sector, the new date was likely designed to get a head start on MVP's primary competition, 2K Sports' MLB 2K5, set to be released March 1 on the Xbox and PS2. MVP's new release date also distances the game from the rest of the baseball pack. Sony's MLB 2006 for the PS2 will be released March 1, and Nintendo's GameCube-exclusive Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball will be released April 4.

MVP Baseball 2005 will be available for the PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. The game is rated E for Everyone and will retail for $29.99 on all formats. For more information on MVP Baseball 2005, slide over to GameSpot's previous coverage.

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