NHL 15 Leaves Fans Disappointed Again with Overhyped 'New Era' Announcement

Feature Article

Submitted on: 12/09/2014 by Jayson Young

PR isn't my specialty, but here are some sample announcements Electronic Arts could have made yesterday that might have justified their marketers' month-long buildup to the "New Era" of NHL 15, which went live Monday evening:

1) Letting PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players join lobbies and send friend invites in the Online Team Play mode, instead of being forced to rely on randomized matchmaking.

2) Adding support for EA Game Face created players to the new version of Online Team Play.

3) Finally updating NHL 15's player ratings, for the first time this year.

4) Making the many minor leagues and overseas clubs that are already included in NHL 15 part of the Be A Pro experience, plus bringing back the much-needed "sim to next shift" gameplay feature.

5) Introducing a second class of retired legends to NHL 15, bolstering the original group of 13.

6) Creating a legends-only team that could be used in Exhibition and Be A GM modes, instead of restricting these Hall of Famers to Ultimate Team, where they are affordable for only a tiny percentage of the playerbase. Doing so would also allow fans to finally see the full attribute ratings for legends without having to download a hobbyist's PC software just to discover such basic, essential information.

7) Adding offline tournaments and play a friend options to the PlayStation 4/Xbox One editions of Ultimate Team.

Nothing on that list seems like an unreasonable request for a game that's been sitting on store shelves for 13 weeks and hasn't received a content update in the past 7 weeks. Especially considering that most of those features are already present on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of NHL 15, or are currently a part of other EA Sports titles.

Unfortunately -- and perhaps predictably, given NHL 15's performance this year -- none of those good ideas were realized Monday.

The much-speculated "New Era" turned out to be nothing more than a reissue of an existing Ultimate Team card for former All-Star goaltender and current NHL head coach, Patrick Roy. The only difference between this new item and the card that has been available since November 10 is that the former sports a Colorado Avalanche logo, while the latter shows a Montreal Canadiens crest. The cards' ratings -- or at least, the five attributes that are visible in HUT -- are exactly the same.

"Blink and you'll miss it!" teases next week's NHL 15 reveal.

"It," at this point, must be referring to this marketing team's understanding of its audience.

In a week where EA Sports UFC fans are getting Brock Lesnar for free, the few people still playing NHL 15 just received the virtual equivalent of Christmas morning coal.

NHL 15 Videos

Member Comments

# 41 rushinplayallgame @ 12/15/14 04:59 AM

love hockey, my favorite sport, but I'm glad I waited. I probably would have been happy with the game play but the missing features make it a miss, happy to say I saved money on this.. if only I could have been as smart with LBP3...

# 42 milkman2121 @ 12/15/14 09:57 AM

As a loyal BeAGm guy, im dissapointed in the effort...how hard is it to patch in the ability to edit my players during beagm...It cant be that bleeping hard..huge letdown EA...cmon EA, at this point i hope 2k makes a hockey game and they blew at that before.

# 43 Pezell04x @ 12/15/14 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dubeau


	I don't think the team should be blamed. It is most surely a decision of EA management to rush this game, an unfinished product. They should have skip a year, but they prefer to fraud peoples of their money. This isn't surprising from EA, and you should always wait before buying their product, to be sure it isn't another greedy release on their parts

But they skipped a year so they basically had a 2 year cycle to make this game and what customers got was a pretty ****ty product.

# 44 Pezell04x @ 12/15/14 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zer0 C00lness


	According to vgchartz,com, as of 11/22/14 NHL 15 has sold 590,000 copies worldwide on the 4 platforms combined. NHL 14 sold 880,000 copies on 2 platforms. NHL 13 sold 1.2 million copies on 2 platforms. In 2 years, sales have been cut in half. Good for us for telling EA in the most direct way possible that this series has gone to ****. For comparison, Fifa 15 has sold 10.02 million copies, just on the 4 platforms NHL 15 was released on. Clearly, EA will prioritize FIFA over NHL. My question is, with the downward trend in sales, what is the breaking point? At what point does EA say it is not profitable to make this game anymore?

It will have to depend on how many sales are considered a profit. I am happy that sales bottomed out though, hopefully it wake up EA and their development team.

# 45 brandon27 @ 12/15/14 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zer0 C00lness


	According to vgchartz,com, as of 11/22/14 NHL 15 has sold 590,000 copies worldwide on the 4 platforms combined. NHL 14 sold 880,000 copies on 2 platforms. NHL 13 sold 1.2 million copies on 2 platforms. In 2 years, sales have been cut in half. Good for us for telling EA in the most direct way possible that this series has gone to ****. For comparison, Fifa 15 has sold 10.02 million copies, just on the 4 platforms NHL 15 was released on. Clearly, EA will prioritize FIFA over NHL. My question is, with the downward trend in sales, what is the breaking point? At what point does EA say it is not profitable to make this game anymore?

See, to me... the question shoudln't be "At what point does EA say it is not profitable to make this game anymore?" The question needs to be "At what point does EA realize their customers aren't buying the game, because it's not up to par with expectations?"

The demand for the product is still there, just not in it's current state. Improve the product, sales will follow.

That seems to be their problem over there though. They're looking at it as... "Well its bleeding sales, lets cut back the resources we're putting into it in order to maximize what little profit is left", rather than saying, "We're bleeding sales, how do we get them back and make this product better?"

Now maybe they have information that says the demand isn't there for a hockey game whether its good, or bad to warrant spending the necessary resources. If that's the case, then there's not much you can do. As big as hockey is in some of the more populated area's of the world though, I personally find that hard to believe.

I think the demand is still there, but it's just not there for a product that's slipping in quality.

# 46 headzapp @ 12/15/14 07:05 PM

I love the game. The gameplay is the most realistic we've ever had, especially with the right sliders. I stood by the game as with madden's first year on ps3 that was stripped.
I'm not a blind fan though. I was under the impression that by them skipping xone and ps4 in 14 that they were working on the game for two years to make it insane for the first release. Madden 25 came out looking decent with all features. MLB the show 14 came out looking great with all the features. I also stood by them when I heard the team got split up to help with ufc. Which really is unacceptable. Hire some devs from somewhere else. Don't strip a team that's working on another game to put them in jeopardy, but then again what were they doing with the game the year before?
No ahl in beagm is disappointing. ALso with the non stats to see who's worthy on being called up with an injury. I have players on 2 way contracts, and they got put on waivers when I sent them down to make room for Brodeur. I'm pretty sure if you're on a two way contract you can be sent down. Being two months into the season sometimes the goalie stats in the start of the game are all zeros. It's disappointing. They did a great job on presentation though. With the ice getting chopping and how it makes marks when your player falls and the scraped ice in shootouts. There needs to be board play, defensive sticks that replicate real hockey. Do that, and with the other modes that are missing this year the game will be the best next year.

# 47 mercalnd @ 12/17/14 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by headzapp


	I have players on 2 way contracts, and they got put on waivers when I sent them down to make room for Brodeur. I'm pretty sure if you're on a two way contract you can be sent down.

That's not accurate. Two-way contracts have nothing to do with having to go through waivers or not. They just indicate that a player has a different salary based on whether he plays in the NHL or AHL.

As for the goalie stats issue at the start of the game, the issue only occurs when you go into the edit lines screen just before the game. If you make all your changes in the BeaGm edit lines menu rather than the edit lines menu that pops up before the game, the goalie stats will apppear correctly.

# 48 nanman2012 @ 12/20/14 09:08 AM

Its simple guys. Hockey is not as popular as Madden or FIFA. It doesnt make as much $ as those two games. It will never no matter how they improve the game match those two games. Unfortunately they must not see a good investment regarding the NHL. Scary to think of not having a hockey game in a few years.

# 49 13whitebread @ 12/21/14 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nanman2012


	Its simple guys. Hockey is not as popular as Madden or FIFA. It doesnt make as much $ as those two games. It will never no matter how they improve the game match those two games. Unfortunately they must not see a good investment regarding the NHL. Scary to think of not having a hockey game in a few years.

After I pay for a game I will never never pay any extra money for anything. Maybe I am in the minority and that's fine with me. And if they want to not make the game I can't control that so be it. I will miss it but there are other things to do

# 50 JimmyDeicide @ 12/21/14 09:01 PM

Maybe if i could change to a player actually closer to the puck or not fan on a dump in every time or have a pass go where it was intended or play EASHL sales would be at least 1 better.

# 51 bigwill33 @ 12/21/14 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nanman2012


	Its simple guys. Hockey is not as popular as Madden or FIFA. It doesnt make as much $ as those two games. It will never no matter how they improve the game match those two games. Unfortunately they must not see a good investment regarding the NHL. Scary to think of not having a hockey game in a few years.

It never has been as popular as those two games, but there was a good stretch of years there where the NHL series was far better than those games that you mentioned. It has been a sharp and steady downfall since those years, however. It doesn't take much digging to unearth the reasons, and it has little to do with the popularity of the sport or game itself as much as it does with the company and crew making the game.

# 52 actionhank @ 12/22/14 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigwill33


	It never has been as popular as those two games, but there was a good stretch of years there where the NHL series was far better than those games that you mentioned. It has been a sharp and steady downfall since those years, however. It doesn't take much digging to unearth the reasons, and it has little to do with the popularity of the sport or game itself as much as it does with the company and crew making the game.

Not to sound like a bitter person who doesn't play HUT, but i think it's going to kill the game.

EA seems to only care about that, and can't seem to find much room to care for anything else.

# 53 Gosens6 @ 12/22/14 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by actionhank


	Not to sound like a bitter person who doesn't play HUT, but i think it's going to kill the game. EA seems to only care about that, and can't seem to find much room to care for anything else.

I wouldn't be shocked if pretty soon the game was renamed, NHL HUT 20**

I used to love this game, would buy it every single year religiously. For some reason that stopped with NHL 12. They haven't done enough to warrant a purchase from me over the years, and the first release on next gen continues that trend.

I'm too busy, and there are much better games to spend 65$ on and find time to play. These guys really need to step it up or there will be on more EA NHL franchise.

# 54 actionhank @ 12/23/14 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gosens6


	I wouldn't be shocked if pretty soon the game was renamed, NHL HUT 20** I used to love this game, would buy it every single year religiously. For some reason that stopped with NHL 12. They haven't done enough to warrant a purchase from me over the years, and the first release on next gen continues that trend. I'm too busy, and there are much better games to spend 65$ on and find time to play. These guys really need to step it up or there will be on more EA NHL franchise.

That's pretty much my exact story.
I was really thrilled for NHL12. I played the demo and loved it. Got the game, and had fun. There were still issues with the game that had been around for a little while, but they weren't to the point of being a deal breaker, and i still liked the little changed. Then NHL13 came out, and the new skating was more enjoyable, and provided a better experience, but there were still a lot of odd things with it (It seemed to be when things like players taking oddly wide glides into other players, resulting in interference calls because contact=checking animation which flattened the guy every time, or the players kind of spinning in place and not really moving, just unrealistically pivoting and proving impossible to defend) and the goalies had just gotten to the point where nothing seemed to make them really feel real. They added things like the individual limb movement, and the new animations, but the problem was that it was still tied to animations that often would clip together or end up leaving gaps in net coverage, or just not work well (the number of times i had a goalie get hit in the pads, only to have the puck stop, and then have them do that awful animation where they slowly hunch over trying to cover the puck, only to get it roofed past them drove me insane).

Since then EA has shown where their focus seems to lie. It's gradually shifted from the game as a whole, to almost exclusively online content and HUT. Roster updates this year seem to be even slower than usual, which is saying a lot because they were pretty sparse and lacking in accuracy to begin with, but despite that, tons of HUT posts about potential cards to win, and historic players to play with. Things that aren't bad on their own, but when they appear to be at the expense of promised fixes, and accurate rosters featuring current players, it leaves a really sour taste in your mouth.
I'm waiting until NHL16, but short of a miracle turnaround, I'm guessing NHL14 was the last of the NHL series for me. I occasionally turn it on, and get maybe 2 or 3 games into a GM season with the Revamped rosters/ratings added in. The game plays better, but EA's lack of sliders that really change much, and the same goalie issues still leaves me frustrated after a few games, so i shelve it again for a while.

We'll see what NHL16 brings, but as disappointing as it is to say it, I'm not holding my breath.

# 55 capnlarge @ 12/31/14 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TSGuy


	Just hope this series doesn't kill themselves like NBA Live did, it took em years and now there finally starting to get something going.

If only 2k had anticipated EA dropping a stinker. Would've been a good year for 2k hockey

# 56 jyoung @ 12/31/14 02:11 PM

Quote:


	Since then EA has shown where their focus seems to lie. It's gradually shifted from the game as a whole, to almost exclusively online content and HUT. Roster updates this year seem to be even slower than usual, which is saying a lot because they were pretty sparse and lacking in accuracy to begin with, but despite that, tons of HUT posts about potential cards to win, and historic players to play with. Things that aren't bad on their own, but when they appear to be at the expense of promised fixes, and accurate rosters featuring current players, it leaves a really sour taste in your mouth.

The lack of roster updates is pretty disgraceful this year when you consider how few modes are in the game. By my count, only five NHL players have had their ratings touched since the game released, and that meager update only bumped up some rookies from AHL-level ratings to bottom-of-the-barrel NHL-level ratings. Even the guys like Gaudreau and Forsberg who did get a slight ratings bump are still rated way too low based on their talent and current performance.

HUT is the only mode that EA has maintained this year with a steady stream of updates.

Online Team Play still has no lobbies or friend invites, plus it has crazy input lag during gameplay on PS4 that makes is practically unplayable.

Be A Pro is still missing the "sim to next shift" option, which makes that mode basically unplayable.

Quote:


	I wouldn't be shocked if pretty soon the game was renamed, NHL HUT 20**

This is the game everyone thought we would get this year:

This is the game that we actually got this year:

# 57 Cletus @ 12/31/14 02:16 PM

I saw someone mention NBA Live and it's downfall. I wonder if maybe there's one single event that might tie into both series going downhill? I don't think it's a coincidence. EA is going to continue to disappoint in everything until they get some better leadership. It's just sad that there are less sports games than ever before.

# 58 bwiggy33 @ 12/31/14 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brandon27


	See, to me... the question shoudln't be "At what point does EA say it is not profitable to make this game anymore?" The question needs to be "At what point does EA realize their customers aren't buying the game, because it's not up to par with expectations?" The demand for the product is still there, just not in it's current state. Improve the product, sales will follow. That seems to be their problem over there though. They're looking at it as... "Well its bleeding sales, lets cut back the resources we're putting into it in order to maximize what little profit is left", rather than saying, "We're bleeding sales, how do we get them back and make this product better?" Now maybe they have information that says the demand isn't there for a hockey game whether its good, or bad to warrant spending the necessary resources. If that's the case, then there's not much you can do. As big as hockey is in some of the more populated area's of the world though, I personally find that hard to believe. I think the demand is still there, but it's just not there for a product that's slipping in quality.

This to a T. All that needs to be looked at is the past sales numbers. This game was so much fun to play in all game modes back in NHL 09-11. What a coincidence to, HUT didn't even exist at that time and the sales numbers were the best they've ever been. Then the luster of all those game modes and gameplay (controls, graphics, etc) started to go away because it wasn't improved in areas that needed improving. The game was fun, but it still had a ton of issues that needed to be addressed. That fun and solid gameplay (for that time) was good enough to make us not think about the glaring problems. It was honestly like the dev team sat and said, well we have our sales numbers so now we can stop improving the big issues and people will keep buying it. It's killed sales of the actual game. I still think about how good this game really could have been had they actually fixed the really bad areas of this game, when the game was actually good.

At the end of the day though, this game had great sales numbers when HUT didn't even exist. All this game needs is great offline gameplay, BeAGM, Playoff Mode, a continuously improved EASHL, regular online and finally a great roster/player editor and this game would be a hit. People don't need HUT to enjoy this game if the other parts are solid. They can go ahead and leave it in but don't waste time every year trying to enhance it. I'm not sure how much they make off HUT purchases, but I would think they could make as much or more money selling more copies then from the extra sales they receive from HUT. Obviously I don't have the numbers on what people actually spend for HUT, but I would think most people don't spend more than $60, which is the price of a game. I guess I really don't know though since I have no interest in the mode. I think it's ridiculous anyway because when I've tried playing the mode I didn't need "Gold Premium" or whatever vintage Oilers Gretzky to win games. This isn't bragging but more of a shot at NHL, but I could win with junior and NHL scrubs against teams with top players because every player has the same skills except for speed. When you don't have speed you make due by out-thinking the other player.

# 59 jyoung @ 12/31/14 04:06 PM

Quote:


	I'm not sure how much they make off HUT purchases, but I would think they could make as much or more money selling more copies then from the extra sales they receive from HUT. Obviously I don't have the numbers on what people actually spend for HUT, but I would think most people don't spend more than $60, which is the price of a game

New copies of NHL 15 have been priced at $30-$35 since Black Friday.

Buying one of the Ultimate Team promo packs that they put up two to three times per week will typically cost $20-$30.

So it's easy to see why HUT is the only mode that EA has put continued support into this year.

# 60 bwiggy33 @ 12/31/14 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyoung


	New copies of NHL 15 have been priced at $30-$35 since Black Friday. Buying one of the Ultimate Team promo packs that they put up two to three times per week will typically cost $20-$30. So it's easy to see why HUT is the only mode that EA has put continued support into this year.

I know about how the price of the game drops drastically during that time. That happens with every game though as long as it has been out for a couple of months. I was more intending about release price. I just think release prices would be much higher if people knew the game was going to be good.

That's crazy on the HUT cards though. I cannot even imagine paying that amount of money for a pack of cards just to try and have a good record at a video game. To each his own though. We all have stuff we buy that is useless to another person. I could justify most things but paying for HUT is one thing I don't think I could. I'd almost feel like I was cheating at the game.

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