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Friday, January 30, 2015
12:41 PM - January 30, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Guest Post


It may be the end of January – a typically slow time in the sports game world – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t all sorts of interesting things happening. This week’s episode of the Press Row Podcast is a winter potpourri, featuring a number of special guests talking about their areas of expertise. Up first, PastaPadre’s Bryan Wiedey (a huge Seahawks fan) and MaddenTips’ Stephen Gibbons (a big Pats supporter) join host Rich Grisham to preview the Super Bowl. Next, Operation Sports’ own hockey expert Glenn Wigmore hops on to revisit NHL 15, checking in on its current state and how it has improved since launch. After that, our good friend Greg Sewart from Generation 16 and the Player One Podcast chats about the big shift in the NASCAR game license and what it means to racing fans. Lastly, Out of the Park Baseball’s Brad Cook discusses the huge positive implications for his game now that it has acquired the long-desired MLB license.

Enjoy the show!

Joining us this week:

Bryan Wiedey, PastaPadre (@PastaPadre)
Stephen Gibbons, MaddenTips.com (@Sgibs7)
Glenn Wigmore, OperationSports (@glennwigmore)
Greg Sewart, Generation 16 and Player One Podcast (@sewart)
Brad Cook, Out of the Park Baseball (@ootpbaseball)
And your host, Richard Grisham (@richgrisham)

Send us your feedback! We love to hear from you and can’t wait to read your stuff on the air in a future episode. Do it one of these ways:


Also, the Press Row Podcast is now available on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/...ow/id563624090, Stitcher Radio (http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/oper...ss-row-podcast) , and the Windows Store, so subscribe to it and rate it too!

Enjoy the show!

Run Time:
1:49



Tuesday, January 27, 2015
03:38 PM - January 27, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Guest Post


This is a guest video post from guest contributor Jake Berger. Be sure to check out Jake's YouTube channel and also be sure to subscribe!

Heyo! 2015 has arrived and while last year things didn't seem to go sports gaming's way in a lot of areas, this year we are hoping for a much better year full of surprises, new title announcements, and massive amounts of intrigue.

Each major title should be pretty good, and more importantly, several could be great. Here are four of Jake's 2015 sports gaming predictions.

What do you see happening in 2015?

Friday, January 23, 2015
12:21 PM - January 23, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Guest Post


Longtime Operation Sports community member, basketball video game critic, and current NBA 2K development team member Nino Samuel – aka Da Czar – joins host Rich Grisham on the Press Row Podcast for the first time to talk life and basketball. The two break down NBA 2K15 in much detail, interspersed with stories of how Da Czar came to be and his journey from a game player to a game critic to a game maker. Da Czar’s passion and enthusiasm are infectious, making this an episode fans of any sport or video game will enjoy.

Enjoy the show!

Joining us this week:

Nino Samuel, 2K Sports(@Da_Czar)
And your host, Richard Grisham (@richgrisham)

Send us your feedback! We love to hear from you and can’t wait to read your stuff on the air in a future episode. Do it one of these ways:

Follow the show on Twitter at @PressRowPodcast and send us some Tweets while you’re there
Email the show at [email protected]

Also, the Press Row Podcast is now available on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/...ow/id563624090, Stitcher Radio (http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/oper...ss-row-podcast) , and the Windows Store, so subscribe to it and rate it too!

Enjoy the show!

Run Time: 1:28



Game: NBA 2K15Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: iOS / PC / PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes: 64 - View All
Thursday, January 22, 2015
11:39 AM - January 22, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Guest Post


The video above was provided to us by Jake Berger. You should check Jake's channel out on YouTube, and be sure to subscribe!

Today's episode of Madden NFL 15 Training 101 once again centers around Force Defenders and how they operate in the game of Madden and in real life. Last time we looked at the linebackers and how they act as force defenders and this time we're taking a look at the secondary and how they act as force defenders. There are some tips here to pick up on as a gamer, and some ideas for improvement in future editions of Madden as well.

Be sure to give the video a watch and let us know what you think about the role of force defenders in the game!

Game: Madden NFL 15Reader Score: 6.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes: 42 - View All
Friday, January 16, 2015
11:54 AM - January 16, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Guest Post


The video above was provided to us by Jake Berger. You should check Jake's channel out on YouTube, and be sure to subscribe!

Today's episode of Madden NFL 15 Training 101 centers around Force Defenders and how they operate in the game of Madden and in real life. There are some tips here to pick up on as a gamer, and some ideas for improvement in future editions of Madden as well.

Be sure to give the video a watch and let us know what you think about the role of force defenders in the game!

Game: Madden NFL 15Reader Score: 6.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: Xbox 360 / PS3 / PS4 / Xbox OneVotes: 42 - View All
Friday, January 9, 2015
05:06 PM - January 9, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Guest Post

It’s bitterly cold across much of the USA, so what better time to reflect on some of the best baseball games of past eras? A brand new guest joins the show this episode, as Chris Baker looks back at his long history of playing baseball games ‘back in the day’ and joins host Rich Grisham to compare and contrast their personal old-school baseball games. In addition, the two discuss other interesting and honorable mentions as well as listing a bunch of listener-submitted nominations. Enjoy the show!

Joining us this week:

Make sure you check out Chris’ brand new book, WRONG! Retro Games, You Messed Up Our Comic Book Heroes!: Awesomely Nerdy Nitpicks on Nearly 80 Games which is available right on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/WRONG-Retro-Ga...=operasport-20

Send us your feedback! We love to hear from you and can’t wait to read your stuff on the air in a future episode. Do it one of these ways:

Also, the Press Row Podcast is now available on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/...ow/id563624090, Stitcher Radio (http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/operation-sports/press-row-podcast) , and the Windows Store, so subscribe to it and rate it too!

Enjoy the show!

Run Time: 1:28


Thursday, December 18, 2014
05:16 PM - December 18, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Guest Post

Thanks to BradyBunch88 on the Operation Sports Forums for his great FIFA beginners guide. If you want to cheat ahead in this series, you can see the full document at the link. Throughout the rest of this week, we'll be posting tidbits from the guide to help newer FIFA players along. Today, we're looking at youth players.

First off, there is an extremely awesome scouting guide at FIFAScoutingTips.com.

With that said, your youth staff is actually very easy. Obviously ideally you want a guy who is a five star on both judgement and experience -- but ideally we'd all have an unlimited amount of funds to build our teams with as well. The floor on scouts is probably a 3 star guy, as anything below that results in quickly diminishing returns.

When sending a scout to a new country, make sure you send him to a place with talent. Wasting your time in countries where there is no talent is just that. The best countries for talent seem to be England, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Colombia, and France.

The main thing you want to focus on is player potential. What you want is a player rated in the 70-75 range at least. Anything over 75 is a likely hit, and signing him immediately is a good idea. I have always looked at the number directly in between both the upper and lower end as the true number a player will reach.

When you sign players, keep them in your youth academy until the May update. That time period is huge as your young players get a boost in May. After that, you can simply sign the best onto your main squad with a £500 a week contract.

When a youth player wants out, you either will have to call him up or let him go. Obviously if he's not developing a release is the easiest solution. Giving young players playing time against bad teams is a great way ensure they develop when they are finally on your squad, with many developing up to +3 points a year. While having players get good match ratings used to be a way to ensure they grow, I'm unsure if that's the case in FIFA 15. So obviously, make sure young players play well to ensure they develop to their fullest potential.


How do you go about developing youth players in FIFA 15?

Game: FIFA 15Reader Score: 8.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: Xbox 360 / PS3 / PS4 / Xbox OneVotes: 9 - View All
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
12:06 PM - December 17, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Guest Post

Thanks to BradyBunch88 on the Operation Sports Forums for his great FIFA beginners guide. If you want to cheat ahead in this series, you can see the full document at the link. Throughout the rest of this week, we'll be posting tidbits from the guide to help newer FIFA players along. Today, we're looking at players wages and contracts!

Wages - I have yet to not give the player what he wants. If you squad rotate a lot, you can typically give a player what he wants if he wants to be an important player or a crucial player. The key is making sure you can meet your player's expectations.

Contracts - Again, this is a story of giving the player what they want. If a player does reject, don't give up and offer again the next week.

Canceling Contracts - If/when you do this, make sure you never want that player again because they likely won't re-sign for you ever.

Player Morale - If a player says that he is unhappy, that means he wants to play more. Give the player a couple of games on the field and they'll typically come back saying, "Thanks for putting me back into the team."

If they are unhappy because management is poor, the solution to that is simple: win more games. If they're unhappy because they are underpaid, you can give them a new contract or sell them, whichever makes more financial sense for your club.


How do you manage players wages, contracts, and morale in FIFA 15?

Game: FIFA 15Reader Score: 8.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes: 9 - View All
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
11:45 AM - December 16, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Guest Post

Thanks to BradyBunch88 on the Operation Sports Forums for his great FIFA beginners guide. If you want to cheat ahead in this series, you can see the full document at the link. Throughout the rest of this week, we'll be posting tidbits from the guide to help newer FIFA players along. Today, we're looking at the financial aspects of career mode!

Transfers and Loans - The best way to loan or transfer a player is to put them up for sale before the transfer window is open.

Financial Difficulty - Don't shoot yourself in the foot here. When you set the difficulty higher, it actually just doesn't give you the full amount of money you make from selling a player. You can sell a player for £10 Million, and you only will get £8 Million to use with the club taking £2 Million. It's best to set this to lenient rather than moderate or strict if you want to have the full funds available to you.

Financial Takeover - This is your friend and its one way to improve your club. Think about it, how many small clubs are being taken over by billionaires? This kind of thing happens in the real world quite often, and if you happen to gain promotion into the Premiere League (or you are working with a club at that level), you will need decent players to survive. This option can be found in your EA Sports Catalogue.

Finances - Here you can choose how much transfer money you want in relation to how much in wages you want to pay. It doesn't really matter what you put unless you don't have a lot of money, but you can push this to its absolute limit! If you keep the wage/transfer balance around 50/50 you really can't go wrong. The golden rule is that you need money to offer new contracts, so you need to adjust your settings accordingly.


What are some of the approaches you take to managing your clubs finances in FIFA 15?

Game: FIFA 15Reader Score: 8.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes: 9 - View All
Friday, November 21, 2014
03:52 PM - November 21, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Guest Post

The 110th episode of the Press Row Podcast is a special doubleheader, featuring two one-on-one interviews with key people in the sports game landscape. Up first, host Rich Grisham chats with Operation Sports’ Executive Editor Chris Sanner about his career at OS, its influence on the games we play, and how the industry has evolved since he began. There are some startling revelations. Next, our good friend and NBA 2K designer Scott O’Gallagher drops by for a fascinating conversation about his career evolution from collegiate and professional basketball player to community member to game maker. It’s chock full of interesting stories and insight into basketball video games and the ways they get made.

Enjoy!

Joining us this week:

Send us your feedback! We love to hear from you and can’t wait to read your stuff on the air in a future episode. Do it one of these ways:
  • Follow the show on Twitter at @PressRowPodcast and send us some Tweets while you’re there
  • Email the show at [email protected]

Also, the Press Row Podcast is now available on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/...ow/id563624090, Stitcher Radio (http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/oper...ss-row-podcast) , and the Windows Store, so subscribe to it and rate it too!

Enjoy the show!

Run Time: 2:00


Monday, November 17, 2014
02:24 PM - November 17, 2014. Posted by WTF. Written by Guest Post

If you want to help improve the NBA Live 15 experience, this is a very unique way to possibly help the game improve this year.

WTF is a long-time member of our site and also an EA Sports Game Changer, so he has a voice with the developers and constructive feedback will only help the experience in NBA Live 15 improve. Read his message and leave your own constructive feedback in the comments!

Quote:
"Alright guys, the games been out nearly 2 weeks now, and I know that a lot of you have either picked up the game or have at least tried the demo. For that alone, thank you all.

With that out of the way, I want/need your feedback. I love seeing all of the old timers coming over and finding an enjoyable experience with Live 15, and really seeing the path that the Live team is on. I truly believe in the team, and I know that they have a vision in mind.

I want to know, specifically for THIS YEAR'S RELEASE (Live 15), what would make your experience more enjoyable? Whether it be Sliders, Roster Editing, Online Team Play, etc...

If you have more than 1 item that would make your Live 15 experience better, RANK them in order. I don't want this to turn into a negative feedback thread. If it is, I'll report you and we'll move on.

In order to be your voice with EA, I need to specifically see what's important for our community. This isn't to say that any of it can be implemented this year, but I do want to see where everything ranks for you all.

With all of that out of the way, let's get the feedback flowing. Again, not an impressions thread, or a bash thread. Let me know what's important to you all.

"

Game: NBA Live 15Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS4 / Xbox OneVotes: 13 - View All
Friday, November 14, 2014
03:11 PM - November 14, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Guest Post

The 109th episode of the Press Row Podcast is a special episode, taking a look at how the mainstream and independent media have to change their approaches to covering games in the current market. Polygon’s Owen Good and PastaPadre’s Bryan Wiedey join host Rich Grisham to reflect on the first year of the PS4 and Xbox One launches. It’s startling just how many titles – sports games and otherwise – have suffered crippling problems at launch and beyond. Should “Day 1” reviews exist anymore? Why do sites tolerate embargoes that lift after the retail release of a game? Should sites refuse post-launch embargoes over all? How can a game properly be covered after launch – and is there an audience for that coverage? Do sports games get a fair shake when compared to other AAA titles with much larger teams and longer development times?
Enjoy!

Joining us this week:
  • Bryan Wiedey, PastaPadre (@PastaPadre)
  • Owen Good, Polygon (@OwenGood)
  • And your host, Richard Grisham (@richgrisham)

Send us your feedback! We love to hear from you and can’t wait to read your stuff on the air in a future episode. Do it one of these ways:

Also, the Press Row Podcast is now available on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/...ow/id563624090, Stitcher Radio (http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/oper...ss-row-podcast) , and the Windows Store, so subscribe to it and rate it too!

Enjoy the show!

Run Time: 1:18



Friday, November 7, 2014
12:51 PM - November 7, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Guest Post


The 108th episode of the Press Row Podcast features a full panel of Press Row regulars revisiting Madden NFL 15, 60 days after its release. We discuss what we enjoy and what nags at us, what makes Madden fun for us this season, and where the overall franchise is today and moving forward. Afterwards, some interesting nuggets came out of EA’s latest financial call, a lot of which directly impacts sports games. Lastly, some listener questions are answered.

Enjoy!

Joining us this week:

Chris Sanner, Operation Sports (@ChrisSnr)
Bryan Wiedey, PastaPadre (@PastaPadre)
Owen Good, Polygon (@OwenGood)
Samit Sarkar, Polygon (@SamitSarkar)
Kat Bailey, US Gamer (@The_Katbot)
T.J. Lauerman, ThatSportsGamer (@ThatSportsGamer)
And your host, Richard Grisham (@richgrisham)

Send us your feedback! We love to hear from you and can’t wait to read your stuff on the air in a future episode. Do it one of these ways:

Also, the Press Row Podcast is now available on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/...ow/id563624090), Stitcher Radio (http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/oper...ss-row-podcast) , and the Windows Store, so subscribe to it and rate it too!

Enjoy the show!

Run Time: 1:38



Game: Madden NFL 15Reader Score: 6.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes: 42 - View All
Friday, October 17, 2014
09:16 PM - October 17, 2014. Posted by 22cedric. Written by Guest Post
Editors Note: The following is text prepared by the folks at NLSC and posted in our forums about a new podcast available on their website.

We’re excited to present you with another special episode of the NLSC Podcast this week, featuring our highly anticipated second interview with NBA Live 15 Executive Producer, Sean O’Brien! Our community submitted lots of questions for Sean and we did our best to ask as many of them as possible, as once again he was very open and candid in his responses. Some of the topics we discussed include:
  • The decision to push back NBA Live 15’s release, and the work that’s been done in the additional weeks of development time.
  • The demo/early access dates, and what those trial versions will entail.
  • Key improvements in this year’s game, at both ends of the court.
  • What features are on the cards for next year, and why certain features couldn’t be included this year (such as sliders).
  • Some of the community’s most commonly asked questions about NBA Live 15.
  • And much more!
Listen Now!

Game: NBA Live 15Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS4 / Xbox OneVotes: 13 - View All
Friday, October 3, 2014
03:31 PM - October 3, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Guest Post

The 103rd episode of the Press Row Podcast is a direct result of community feedback! We’ve heard from hundreds of listeners that really enjoy a lot of aspects of FIFA 15 but don’t always understand the best ways to improve their game or enjoy it as much as they can. So, we reached out to a few of our friends to provide some background as well as direct instructions on how to get better – and we think the result is a really interesting show. Up first, host Rich Grisham chats with FIFA 15 producer Santiago Jaramillo, who discusses (among many other things) some of the differences between this year and last year and how players can approach it this season. Up next is a discussion between Rich and 2 FIFA experts - regular Press Row panelist Kat Bailey and GoodGameBro’s Corey Andress – who totally geek out on very specific ways to get better at every aspect of FIFA 15, including scoring, defense, tactics, substitutions, and roster management. Whether you’re a longtime FIFA player, a newcomer to the series, or just someone with a passing interest in the game, there’s something for you in our show today. Enjoy!

Joining us this week:

Santiago Jaramillo, EA Sports (@santiagoj83)
Kat Bailey, US Gamer(@The_KatBot)
Corey Andress, GoodGameBro (@coreySA)
And your host, Richard Grisham (@richgrisham)

Send us your feedback! We love to hear from you and can’t wait to read your stuff on the air in a future episode. Do it one of these ways:
  1. Follow the show on Twitter at @PressRowPodcast and send us some Tweets while you’re there
  2. Email the show at [email protected]
Also, the Press Row Podcast is now available on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/...ow/id563624090), Stitcher Radio (http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/oper...ss-row-podcast) , and the Windows Store, so subscribe to it and rate it too!

Enjoy the show!

Run Time: 1:48


Game: FIFA 15Reader Score: 8.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes: 9 - View All