The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) and Take-Two Interactive have announced a seven-year deal which gives the gaming developer/publisher exclusive rights to develop and market simulation, arcade and manager-style baseball video games for the current and next-gen platforms. There’s a weird twist though, the agreement also lets video game hardware manufacturers develop and publish baseball simulation titles for their specific systems.

Here’s a quote from the MLBPA (taken from the press release) concerning the exclusive deal with Take-Two Interactive:

“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.”

In related news, CNN Money has published an interesting article that focuses on the deal. According to writer Chris Morris, the deal has loopholes which could pave the way for other third-party developers to create their own MLBPA licensed titles.