Why, then, didn't MVP's disciples just switch over to games like MLB: The Show and MLB 2K, which endured under the new agreement? Because, quite simply, they weren't as good.
Just as MVP '05 was released, Take-Two Interactive signed an exclusive licensing agreement with MLB, effectively ending EA Sports's participation in that market. In fact, MVP '05 was the last of just three MVP games, the successors to EA Sports's late-nineties and early-aughts series, Triple Play.
The reason that nobody plays MVP Baseball 2017 is because no such game exists. Such is the case with MVP Baseball 2005, widely regarded as the greatest baseball video game ever made. When a sports video game spawns a community of gamers who continue to play it 12 years after its release, who manually update its rosters, uniforms, and stadiums, and who disseminate those updates to other community members to keep the game alive, you know you have something special.
When a sports video game keeps users entertained until the next year's edition comes out, you know it's been a success.
