NHL 15's Online Team Play is a Rushed, Incomplete Mess

[RaychelSnr]

My familiar team of five had been waiting since August for this day, when Online Team Play would finally be patched into the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of NHL 15.

Yet last night, none of my longtime EASHL teammates came home with a new copy of NHL 15, after learning that we could not join the same lobby or send each other match invitations in this "next-gen" version of Online Team Play.

Wasn't that the whole point of Online Team Play, to begin with -- you and your boys challenging cliques from around the world? I thought so, but apparently, EA Canada thought otherwise.

Read More - NHL 15's Online Team Play is a Rushed, Incomplete Mess

[bigwill33]

When it is removed completely next year the excuse will be "Well, our data shows that people just didn't use the mode as much as we thought they would have."

[Vermin]

I can't say as I'm terribly surprised, but don't get me wrong. This is not a slam against the developers. Here is a development team who has been constantly beaten for the lack of gameplay modes despite how well the on-ice product plays. (Contrast this to NBA 2K15 which earned much higher scores despite the fact that many of their added modes are unplayable, inaccessible, or unstable - take your pick.)

Looking at the way the OTP screen is set up (with the lock icon on the goaltender), it appears that this is a work-in-progress mode. Something that would have been admittedly rushed in order to get player access to it faster (and providing plenty of beta-like feedback from use) with the expectation that it will be modified, updated, improved, etc. in the coming days/weeks/months. Granted that holds our belief that this will be the case and the developers will be expected to deliver.

Am I saying that this excuses the work-in-progress state of the game? Not necessarily. We are seeing the same type of slow-trickle release from Destiny where the game didn't meet expectations and is slowly improving. The Golf Club has also seen additional updates improving the overall quality of the game and adding features. Is this the new face or the new reality of games? Is this approaching the subscription model that Rich Grisham is often discussing on the Press Row Podcast? Maybe. Just maybe.

[AdamJones113]

... Yet Rammer told us that it was a "last minute decision" whether OTP was going to be in the opening-release version.

OffsidesTimePoor play

[ThreeKing]

How many of you guys are getting that "you post your connection to the game", screen? That's happened 3 times now. I'm wondering if it's my internet.

[speedtrucker]

I'm saddened by this update but I shouldn't have been... oh well hopefully it gets fixed before the game hits EA Access. my buddies and I had already decided we aren't getting back on board with NHL until they prove they have the current gen game back up to the "norm". so we will wait for it to drop on EA Access for OTP and hopefully these issues have been ironed out when that happens.

Quote: Originally Posted by bigwill33

When it is removed completely next year the excuse will be "Well, our data shows that people just didn't use the mode as much as we thought they would have."

sad but true.

[SVCbearcat10]

I find it funny. If they delayed it a month to make it better, then all hell breaks out because they promised it in October. They deliver in October and get ripped because it wasn't ready yet. This franchise is in a no-win situation for the next 2 years; which is a shame because gameplay is outstanding.

[DirtyJerz32]

This is the reason why I wanted nhl 15 for the Xbox One. You just saved me and my friends $63. Thanks!