NHL 15 News Post

Is EASHL in XB1/PS4 Versions of NHL 15?

09:55 PM - August 11, 2014 by RaychelSnr

There are a variety of rumors and a distinct lack of news when it comes to the popular EASHL mode and its status in the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 version of NHL 15. Today, Best Buy Canada added a lot of smoke to the no EASHL in XB1/PS4 NHL 15 fire by posting gameplay specs which tend to indicate the game will only support two-player online play. In comparison, the Xbox 360 version's product page shows 2-12 players are supported online, which fits with EASHL's requirements.

Up to this point, there has been no indication EASHL is in this year's game on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, with a feature list from the American Best Buy website completely omitting EASHL as well. It stands to reason that EASHL might have been a difficult feature to program on newer generation consoles and the NHL team simply ran out of time. However, given the relative popularity of the mode, the possible absence of EASHL is something which will not go unnoticed by the NHL community.

Now granted, this is NOT confirmation from EA that EASHL is not in the game -- and it is entirely possible it is a mistake, so let's not all panic just yet. With a month to go until release, there are obviously many features we haven't heard about, so it's premature to lift this above idle speculation -- but there are some dots beginning to connect on this story. We have reached out to EA for comment on this and we will certainly update this post if/when that comes back to us.

H/T to @grayisthecolor on Twitter for alerting us to the Best Buy page and sending us down this rabbit hole this evening.

Update (Tuesday 1:30pm CST): A user on Reddit is claiming that there will be no EASHL or GM Connected in the game on X1/PS4 and that confirmation will come within a week or two. Of course, this is an unverified user on Reddit, so let's not get too panicky on this one. What the post does do is it continues to add smoke to the fire. We still haven't received any word from EA on the matter, despite putting in a request for comment, which could mean anything. NHL will be shown at GamesCom, so it's likely we'll probably find out the truth one way or another within a day or two.

UPDATE #2: (Wednesday, 11:50am EST) EA Sports Hockey League (EASHL) is clearly indicated on 360/PS3 (via Amazon, Best Buy) but NOTHING for Xbox One/PS4.

Would no EASHL change your buying decision of NHL 15?

Game: NHL 15Reader Score: 6.5/10 - Vote Now
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Member Comments

# 181 kicker @ 08/15/14 08:00 PM

Seriously EA....FREAKING PATHETIC. How do you honestly leave this out of the NEXT GEN game? Worst move ever...btw...NOT buying this new or used.

# 182 ballachick3 @ 08/15/14 10:00 PM

THis will def change my decision, of not only getting the game for ps4, but put of buying ps4..I have been in vghl, which is online hockey league, if you have not heard of it, vghlforumotion.ca, and most feel the same..I will keep my ps3 and buy it on that just for eashl..This is the worst thing EA can do, they will lose lots of money, not just for them but for sony. EA will lose money not just from people buying the game, but all the boosts we buy..I this is true, it will be a sad day..It will be another year o nhl on ps3 for me, which was so hyped for ps4, nhl 15

# 183 Arrowhead21 @ 08/15/14 10:04 PM

EA is not gonna lose massive amounts of money from this decision; as much as I wish they would. You're not considering the EASHL-obsessed players who will just purchase the game on 360 or ps3 to get their fix. EA still gets their money. If anything they probably saved a buck by not going beyond what their capabilities apparently were to include EASHL on current gen.

# 184 Daugherity x 53 @ 08/16/14 03:40 AM

The production team for the nhl games is the biggest joke I've ever seen. To think they would remove eashl and still expect to sell their so called "game." I bought an xbox one just for nhl 15 but now I'm just canceling my pre order and saving an extra 60 bucks at least destiny will be fun it'll be nice playing a game that's company actually cares about their community instead of making an extra buck or 2. As a top Dman in nhl 14 and having about 50 or so other top skaters that are die hard eashl fans on my friends list, I can let you all now that not one of those people will buy a copy of this garbage.

# 185 ManiacMatt1782 @ 08/16/14 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arrowhead21


	Oh alright I bet we won't have the ability to do a fantasy draft LOL

Fantasy drafts have been in in the offline be a gm for a while.

# 186 Arrowhead21 @ 08/16/14 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ManiacMatt1782


	Fantasy drafts have been in in the offline be a gm for a while.

I'm aware of that. It was a comment on EAs tendency to remove things. lol

# 187 SinisterAlex @ 08/16/14 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redskins_Hokies


	Honestly EASHL would be such a better mode if glitches were not in. It is nothing but glitches and spamfest that I end up hating the mode within a month

You have to find a team where every single position is human controlled. EASHL plays at it's best when that happens. CPU A.I can ruin the enjoyment factor of EASHL at times with their horrid play.

# 188 Cletus @ 08/16/14 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SinisterAlex


	You have to find a team where every single position is human controlled. EASHL plays at it's best when that happens. CPU A.I can ruin the enjoyment factor of EASHL at times with their horrid play.

Even then it's a battle of who can trick the physics engine more. In 14 if you had a high passing rating it didn't matter who the defender was or where they were.

# 189 TDKing @ 08/16/14 04:16 PM

I guess they were to busy working on that #1 requested feature by the " community". Layered uniforms so we can see jerseys wiggle in replays. Lol yeah that was at the top of every wish list I saw so they had no time for eashl and gm connected. Nice job!!

# 190 pujolsformvp21 @ 08/16/14 11:09 PM

I see this more as a sales tactic to squeeze out the last possible profits out of last gen. As opposed to it being to hard to implement on current gen or them being "lazy". Seems similar to what 2k has done this year with bringing back crew mode in full (5v5) on last gen only (for those not familiar with nba, crew is similar to eashl and like eashl it had an almost cult following by those who took the mode serious).

This makes the die hard fans buy the last gen version also if they want to get their fix, and these ppl will also likely buy the current gen version if they are a big enough fan of the game to be able to play with the best gfx, etc. Allowing them to double dip on those sales. And even if you skip the next gen version because of this and get the last gen, EA still gets your 60 bucks that you would have spent on the current gen version HAD it included the game mode, so in the end they could careless which version you get.

Pretty smart business move on their part actually, considering the amount of people who currently own "next gen" systems is in the 10s of millions and last gen is in the 100s of millions. X1/PS4 will sell just fine to casual consumers especially around christmas time when jimmys 50 year old grandma buys it for him without even knowing what features it contains, let alone hardly tell what sport it is other than it was on his christmas list. By next year when nhl 16 comes and they inevitably introduce the mode back as a "new" feature with fancy bells and whistles ALOT more consumers will have the current gen systems.

EA 1 You guys 0.

# 191 Daugherity x 53 @ 08/17/14 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redskins_Hokies


	Honestly EASHL would be such a better mode if glitches were not in. It is nothing but glitches and spamfest that I end up hating the mode within a month

Welcome to nhl. You'll find it in every game mode not just eashl

# 192 Gotmilkman24 @ 08/17/14 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daugherity x 53


	Welcome to nhl. You'll find it in every game mode not just eashl

Heres a question about glitches.. Whats not a glitch shot? Really the worse ones in 14 are the glitch shots.. But honestly what about it is a glitch? Shooting top cheese in a high percentage area? I had someone complain the other day about my club doing cross crease passes.. I mean thats just silly.

# 193 Matt_350z @ 08/17/14 11:14 AM

It gets mind numbingly boring because teams try to score the same 3 ways all game. Sometimes it works, sometimes you stop it.

That's basically EASHL in a nutshell. There is such little variety in what people/teams try and do to score goals.

I know people will counter with the ever present-

"Well we only do it if the other team does it"

"It's a viable way to score"

"We don't do it, we play "real" hockey"

Which are all fine, viable, and acceptable answers. However, in my expierience almost 99% of the people we face try the same 3 things, and it's gotten boring.
At this point, if that's how the game is going to play online, so be it. They shouldn't pull it for you guys that like that sort of thing. However, I'll revamp player rating for a week or 2 and enjoy the offline game.

# 194 Gotmilkman24 @ 08/17/14 11:48 AM

Thats true, there are a few shots that teams try to repeat over and over. My club we I play in net or on D and we can usually shut that top cheese goal down if your D plays its position.
BACK TO THE SUBJECT! EASHL! I'm not sure how boring the game will get to me if its not in.
For you guys who do not play eashl how often do you play a week? Like 5 hours a week two nights of that week? Everyday for a few hours?

# 195 netzpretz78 @ 08/17/14 12:28 PM

Image leak of nhl 15 menu. Not sure if legit. Old tv seems fishy, but a decent photoshop if it's not legit.

# 196 netzpretz78 @ 08/17/14 12:30 PM

Sorry, trying to do this from my phone and not working. Check my twitter as the pic is there. Netzpretz78

# 197 Gotmilkman24 @ 08/17/14 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by netzpretz78


	Sorry, trying to do this from my phone and not working. Check my twitter as the pic is there. Netzpretz78

Thats actually fan made, a youtuber made that menu. I only know this because i saw it yesterday :P I'll try to find a link for you though.

here you go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4_o7NhLiGI

# 198 acidraindrops08 @ 08/17/14 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt_350z


	It gets mind numbingly boring because teams try to score the same 3 ways all game. Sometimes it works, sometimes you stop it. That's basically EASHL in a nutshell. There is such little variety in what people/teams try and do to score goals. I know people will counter with the ever present- "Well we only do it if the other team does it" "It's a viable way to score" "We don't do it, we play "real" hockey" Which are all fine, viable, and acceptable answers. However, in my expierience almost 99% of the people we face try the same 3 things, and it's gotten boring. At this point, if that's how the game is going to play online, so be it. They shouldn't pull it for you guys that like that sort of thing. However, I'll revamp player rating for a week or 2 and enjoy the offline game.

They have to get position to do the glitch shots though. Don't them get to that area or just play with a goalie. You can't glitch on a human goalie.

# 199 bigwill33 @ 08/17/14 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acidraindrops08


	They have to get position to do the glitch shots though. Don't them get to that area or just play with a goalie. You can't glitch on a human goalie.

Yeah, but it is very deflating when you spend all of your time working to defend areas of the ice that are not realistic scoring threats in real life. That is what the problem with the game really is.

The AI is so bad that the human element is forced to play a game that is not really hockey because you spend the entire time just trying to stop a play such as a 1 on 2 in transition on the rush and a soft float shot from above the circles. Where as in real life that puck would almost never be a goal, it is nearly automatic in the series, and has been for years.

Meanwhile and conversely, cycling the puck and playing a realistic style down low that results in drawing the human opponent defenseman out of position doesn't really punish their team as the cpu goalie will then make an unrealistic side to side save where they are squared up with the tap-in that was fed far side before the puck even reaches the stick of the attacking player.

There in lies the true problem with the series. When you start defending areas that wouldn't matter in real life and start giving up or taking chances you wouldn't normally take on a real pair of skates because you know the game will react differently than what is realistic, then you are no longer playing a representation of hockey. You are just playing a video game. And that is not the point of playing; there are hundreds of video games we could play, there is no hockey game right now. Just because you slap NHL on the cover and make it look like it is on ice and with sticks and a puck doesn't make it hockey. You need to represent the actual sport of hockey.

This video game often falls far from the goal of making that happen, unfortunately. And it has been quite some time since they have even attempted to adjust it or fix any of these issues. The same money/cheese/glitch goals have been in the series for quite a few years. It is very rehashed and not fun or fresh if you are a long time player. This is our major gripe with the developers in the genre.

# 200 drewst18 @ 08/17/14 04:39 PM

I'll say those complaining of glitch goals aren't playing EASHL properly and that further goes to show why this game will suck with no EASHL.

When you play this mode 6v6 it is a great video game. When you put the broken AI in it gets painfully bad. I play sometimes 3v3/4v4 whatever it is, and I know no matter how hard you try to shut down the slot sometimes it will happen. 6v6 is the only way to play the game to avoid the glitches.

And why do I call them glitches opposed to saying theyre just good plays? When you have a penalty shot and you shoot from the top of the circles because you know you have a better chance to score shooting a snapshot from the slot that is a glitch.

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