OT: Video Game Talk (oh, also the Week before the All-Star Break Pre-Game Talk "archive")
- Thread starter Bill Peckerskull
- Start date
RockLobster
King in the North
Because they had actual competition and a reason to be motivated to attract $ from would-be buyers.
henchman21
Mr. Meeseeks
- Feb 24, 2012
- 67,095
- 53,592
The TAM for a NHL game is too small for any other company to really take a chance making an EA competitor. You're talking about a million games give or take a couple hundred k. Given what it would take to build a competitor, there just isn't enough juice to squeeze.
Take Two was losing money for years on the game before canning it. EA only really makes a profit because of HUT.
Take Two was losing money for years on the game before canning it. EA only really makes a profit because of HUT.
Didn't EA sign the NHL to an exclusivity deal? I thought that's why 2K folded the team just like Madden.
henchman21
Mr. Meeseeks
- Feb 24, 2012
- 67,095
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There is no exclusivity to the NHL rights. Any company that wants NHL/NHLPA right can approach them at any point.
RockLobster
King in the North
To my recollection, no. Here's what I recall being exclusive (and I could well be wrong on this):
-MLB USED to be exclusive to Sony/San Diego Studios. With the last licensing agreement, they (the MLB) wanted the game to be on all platforms, which is why it's now on Xbox/Nintendo
-NFL: Obviously we all know this. EA locked in an exclusivity deal.
I don't believe that the NBA or NHL have had any exclusivity deals since EA locked in the NFL. So, for example, that meant that EA could have continued the NBA Live series. They just chose not to because it sold like shit in comparison to the NBA 2K series. And the flipside is true for Take 2/2K. They could have continued making the NHL 2K series, but it wasn't a money maker for them so they didn't.
expatriatedtexan
Habitual Line Stepper
- Aug 17, 2005
- 18,753
- 15,192
Not necessarily true. Smaller, better companies and products fail to larger companies all the time. 2K games felt fluid and intuitive, while their EA counterparts during the same time period felt like I was skating with concrete blocks on in mud.
The most fun I've ever had playing an NHL game was NHL Hitz Pro; yes, the one with Lidstrom on the cover. It was meant for pure entertainment and basically had rag-doll physics with hilarious commentary. I would love an update to that series. I think it was the only season they made that was actually 5v5. It contained ridiculous stuff too, like arenas in barns, outdoor locations, etc. You could create your own team in any town and take them pro.
The problem I have with all of the sports games in general is that there really isn't much new from year to year save the rosters and any uniform changes, so I'm a little dumbstruck that they get released at full price every year. It simply does not take that much effort to change the laudry and tweak the stats. If any games were made to be subscription based, I'd think it'd be your yearly sports franchises not WoW, but then again, what do I know? Buy the game, own the game, but then download new rosters monthly or yearly. I should bitch too much; it's been long enough since I've bought an EA game that they may actually have updated and downloadable rosters.
UncleRisto
Not Great, Bob!
TruePowerSlave
Registered User
- Jun 27, 2015
- 7,567
- 9,171
EA was always the bigger brand.
2K had more depth and the offline modes were far superior. It was a more sim experience and that wasn't what the masses wanted.
UncleRisto
Not Great, Bob!
The games were way worse, they just had more polish on offline modes and useless bells and whistles. Now EA has had to take over for the useless crap.
Maybe it’s changed now (in which case I would buy it) but you’d think over a decade later that EA could’ve learned from 2K how to have an interactive Cup presentation instead of the same cut scene over and over
TruePowerSlave
Registered User
- Jun 27, 2015
- 7,567
- 9,171
They don't care, it's the only hockey game in town and will sell with minimal effort. The series never recovered from the jump to PS4/Xbox One. Every entry since then has been worse than NHL14.
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I buy EA’s NHL every single year like an idiot. Nothing ever really changes.
Maybe I’m just too familiar with hockey, but Fifa (or whatever the current name is) and MLB the Show are excellent games. I don’t even really like those sports. I know they have practically infinitely more money to spend. But those games have also been great for 20+ years. NHL should make some improvements at least occasionally.
So anyway, anyone else preorder NHL 24 yet?
Maybe I’m just too familiar with hockey, but Fifa (or whatever the current name is) and MLB the Show are excellent games. I don’t even really like those sports. I know they have practically infinitely more money to spend. But those games have also been great for 20+ years. NHL should make some improvements at least occasionally.
So anyway, anyone else preorder NHL 24 yet?
Ceremony
How I choose to feel is how I am
- Jun 8, 2012
- 114,304
- 17,394
For all the complaints about the NHL games in here, you can take that about FIFA and multiply it tenfold. Same shit, much bigger scale.
henchman21
Mr. Meeseeks
- Feb 24, 2012
- 67,095
- 53,592
Remote play sucks... if you don't have a very good wifi connection, it becomes a laggy mess. I think one day a device like this, maybe even a 5G (or whatever that'll be called in the future) will work. As of today, I just don't see the appeal.
UncleRisto
Not Great, Bob!
henchman21
Mr. Meeseeks
- Feb 24, 2012
- 67,095
- 53,592
I used to play a lot of sports games, but they've just lost their appeal to me due to all the issues, lack of improvement, full price yearly costs with a million microtransactions... just hate the whole model at this point. Once the games hit late in the year on EA play, I'll usually give a whirl... beyond that I barely plays sports games any more. Only one I've bought in the last ~5-6 years is the most recent PGA Tour game... and it sucks.
SaltySkywalker
Bushes of Love
Lol, really?? I'm assuming you're talking about the paddle shifters. I removed the upper ones on either side because those definitely felt awkward and I didn't need them, but the bottom ones are very ergonomically designed IMO.
Just like anything, you just gotta get used to them.
Yeah the bottom ones are okay, top ones my fingees don’t like.
Definitely an adjustment.
henchman21
Mr. Meeseeks
- Feb 24, 2012
- 67,095
- 53,592
Mario on acid is looking pretty fun. I probably won't be Day 1 with other games, but I'll certainly be picking it up.
