It is probably last.
It probably goes like this:
Fifa
Madden
NBA
NHL
Hockey is just not a popular sport when it comes to video games.
The developers of NHL are on a much tighter budget than the developers of the Fifa or Madden games. That is why those games see improvements every year.
Yes, the developers can still do a better job with NHL even with their budget, but they shouldn't receive the full blame when it comes to the reason why NHL hasn't really improved.
I think NBA is below NHL. I believe they didn’t sell more than 20K copies.
But I’m sure their PGA title sold more than NHL.
What’s crazy is that when the NHL series first came out, it OUTSOLD MADDEN. That tells you how popular it was.
Now? I don’t think they move 1M copies in a year.
And it’s because it’s essentially been the same game every single year.
The gameplay has been the same since 92. It’s a north-south game with no neutral zone pressure and money goals.
The AI is only challenging because as you increase the difficulty, your CPU teammates get dumber and the CPU’s players get boosts. So when you lose, you don’t feel it’s deserved.
I hate to keep comparing it, but NHL2K3 was the best hockey game out there. I never felt cheated when losing that game. And you could see the differences in player types and team styles.
I hated playing the Wild because it was a bee-otch trying to get through the neutral zone. I had to dump and chase a lot.
If I was playing the stacked Avalanche, I had to make sure my best defensive pairings were on the ice when their top two lines hopped the boards.
I recall a time where I had to travel for work and was gone for 3 weeks. When I got back, I fired up my PS2 for some NHL2K3. The next game on my schedule was Colorado.
I lost 11-2 and it was because I was so rusty. Players like Sakic and Forsberg dissected by defensive guffaws like they were surgeons. It wasn’t pretty. And yet, I had a smile on my face the entire time because not one goal was cheap. And not one player on the Avalanche played out of their skin in an unrealistic manor.
Pop in an EA NHL game and watch how your CPU teammates won’t even put a body on an opposing player. I’ll take control of a dman downlow and watch my wingers literally just stand and stare are their defensive mark on the blueline. Sometimes they won’t even throw out a pokecheck. The CPU can do whatever it wants as long as your teammates are controlled by the CPU.
And then you also have to put up with 4th liners making no-look, backhand sauce passes from the corner, that go through 3 sets of legs and sticks and land perfectly on the blade of a teammate for an easy one-timer.
It’s that kind of crap that drives me nuts and has me putting my copy on Ebay within a week or two.
But I got smart and stopped buying the game every single year. At least not at full price.
I’m genuinely excited for NHL17 this year due to some of the Franchise Mode additions they’ve added.
But to circle-back to what my initial comment, the NHL series is lacking because it doesn’t offer nearly as many off-ice options that the other games do.
I look at FIFA’s Career Mode and I drool at the thought of something similar in the NHL series.
EA has all these international teams, Euro Leagues, the AHL, ECHL and CHL and what does it do with them? NOTHING.
IN BAP, sure you can start in the CHL before moving up the ladder to the NHL. But can I get cut and have to reboot my career in Switzerland?
Can my player be selected to play for an international team?
Or what about Franchise Mode? Can I start off being a coach for the Spitfires and have to claw my way to the NHL by going to Europe, the ECHL, KHL, etc?
Can I be fired and have to wait for an offer to coach the Ontario Reign or a Swiss team?
If I’m doing awesome, will Team Canada reach out to me to coach the World Cup team or a World Jr team?
Or how about giving the user the option of shutting off the GM options so I’m only the coach and I have to deal with the GM’s signings and draftings? Perhaps I pull a powerplay and move to get the GM fired so I have more say in player transactions? What if the owner likes the GM more and my attempt at more power fails miserably leaving me unemployed?
There are SO many things EA could be doing with the various leagues they have incorporated into the game. But there are almost no bridges connecting all these leagues to one another.
Why does FIFA only get this treatment?
I feel like the EA team is sitting on a pure goldmine here with all the possibilities. I’m not a basketball or soccer fan and yet I’ve purchased FIFA, NBA2K and PES based solely on all the off-court/field options that are provided.
I’d bet that non-hockey fans would do the same if the EA NHL team produced similar Franchise Mode additions.
As a 40YO, it’s frustrating to see all these other sports games evolve while the NHL brand is stuck spinning it’s wheels.
Thank goodness there are games like NBA2K and PES/FIFA to quench my GM-thirsts. Heck, I still play MLB2K13.
OFFTOPIC: Why is EA still bothering with an NBA title when they could resurrect their MVP series? There is no baseball competition on the XB platform. MVP 2004 sold 2.5M copies. It would sell 1M in a heartbeat again.
And it had a terrific GM mode as well. Lightyears ahead of most games at that time. Certainly 10x better than the current NHL games.
