REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced EA SPORTSTM NHL® 15, the first title in a new generation of hockey videogames that boldly changes everything you know about the award winning franchise. Experience the hard hitting chaos and unpredictability of the sport as real-world physics are extended to all 12 players on the ice, as well as the puck itself. Look, move, play and think like a real hockey player with all new authentic player modelling and an evolved arsenal of tools, including the Superstar Skill Stick and Vision AI that allow for an unprecedented level of control and elevated player intelligence. Take in the emotion of every play as you immerse yourself in authentic arenas across the National Hockey League. You’ll play in front of a full house of fans created with 9,000 dynamic and individual crowd models, the most ever in a sports videogame. Finally, witness the most realistic broadcast package to date, as NHL 15 overhauls the look of the game with the new NBC Sports Game Day Presentation featuring the commentary team of Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick and Eddie Olczy. TSN analyst Ray Ferraro will also provide insights at ice level.
From the ice, to the fans, to the presentation, NHL 15 brings to life the sights, sounds and feel of the fastest team sport on the planet like no other game before.
NHL 15 will hit stores worldwide this fall for Xbox One, PlayStation®4, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.
NHL 15 Features for Xbox One and PlayStation 4:
True Hockey Physics:
12 Player NHL Collision Physics – For the first time, real-world physics affect every player through every on-ice collision with the new 12 Player NHL® Collision Physics. Utilizing the power of the new consoles, and building off the critically-acclaimed NHL Collision Physics system, every player on the ice is governed by physics at all times. Feel the hard-hitting chaos of NHL hockey through true-to-life secondary collisions, net scrambles and player pileups, capturing the desperation of every shift.
Real Puck Physics – The puck is one of the most complex items in the game to authentically replicate and it finally gets its due in NHL 15. Completely rebuilt puck physics result in a more realistic feel to every puck interaction. Everything on the ice, including the ice surface itself, is live which leads to the unpredictable and authentic puck spins, rolls and bounces seen in a real NHL game.
The Next-Generation Hockey Player:
Authentic Player & Equipment Models – The Next Generation Hockey Player has been rebuilt from the ice up. Now player models have three distinct layers - the body, equipment, and jersey. Each layer interacts independently, making every contact with the puck or other players even more realistic. Dynamic Cloth technology adds an extra layer of realism as it reacts to the player’s movement as they explode up the ice, helping bring the speed of the game to life.
Unprecedented Player Likeness – Powered by the same technology that brought the most realistic representation of the athlete to EA SPORTS UFC, NHL 15 delivers groundbreaking player likeness, emotion and animation. From the strides a player takes to get across the ice to the emotion on their face after scoring a game-winning goal, the players are as real as they’ve ever been.
Superstar Skill Stick – Now all the tools of an NHL superstar are in your hands. The revolutionary Skill Stick has evolved to give even more control to the player. Protect the puck, receive passes without breaking stride, and discover an arsenal of new dekes, all with an intuitive right stick control scheme that is easy to use but packed with depth.
Vision AI – An elevated level of player intelligence, Vision AI features evolved awareness with players reading and reacting to potential plays. Scoring area recognition, pass anticipation, and enhanced team breakouts all improve the flow of the game.
NBC Sports Broadcast Package:
A New Commentary Team – New voices for a new generation. NHL 15 welcomes the NBC Sports commentary team of Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick and Eddie Olczyk to the broadcast booth. TSN analyst Ray Ferraro will provide game insights at ice level. Leveraging the same Vision AI foundation that the players have, and just like a live broadcast, Doc, Eddie and Ray will anticipate plays and ramp up their intensity to match the action on the ice with more than 35,000 lines of brand-new commentary.
NBC Sports Game Day Presentation – The most realistic broadcast package in a video game to-date is possible because of a new partnership with NBC Sports. Set the scene with the NHL on NBC crew welcoming you to the city during the game intros and immerse yourself in an experience that matches what you see on television with NHL on NBC graphics and branding.
Real Life Broadcast Integration – When we say Doc and Eddie are in the game, we mean really in the game. Taking commentary integration to the next level, NHL 15 will feature real world pre-game video commentary with Doc and Eddie. Set against NHL 15 in-game visuals, the result is a revolutionary step forward in sports videogames, where the lines between the real world of sport broadcast and the game are blurred.
Unrivalled In-Arena Experience:
Over 9,000 Crowd Models – NHL 15 sets a new standard in videogames with more than 9,000 individual crowd models with 4x the animations of previous generations. Take a look through the glass and you’ll see fans hold up signs with your name on them, costume wearing superfans, or even sections full of team rivals rooting against you.
Living Crowds – The crowd is alive. Feel the crowd behavior change after dropping the gloves, landing a big hit, or scoring a clutch goal. Individual behaviors are mapped to each person in the crowd, as they anticipate the play, taunt players, clap to music from the dynamic Jumbotron or even take a quick break from the action to snap a selfie and immortalize their experience.
Authentic Arenas – There is no feeling like being there, and we are giving you the best seats in the house. The power of the next-gen consoles finally allows the NHL franchise to capture every detail of an NHL arena. Unique arena elements from more than 19,000 seat capacities to lighting and player entrance tunnels are captured with a level of detail not possible on the previous generation. Now those home games will truly feel like home.
Last edited by Joborule; 05-05-2014 at 09:28 AM.
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Can't wait to see how disappointing this will be on the new systems
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Originally Posted by puckluck2
Well, deal with it. I wasn't cheering for Canada either way. Nothing worse than arrogant Canadian fans. They'd be lucky to finish 4th. Quote me on that. They have a bad team and that is why I won't be cheering for them.
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I haven't bought a new NHL since 2K10 so while it'll be nice and sparkly even longer for me, I only hope that there isn't anything stupid like silly trade offers from CPUs whatnot.
I'd love an NHL game with the little things: Announcements for milestone goals. Players grabbing pucks for milestone goals. Players occasionally losing gloves on the ice.
I can't wait for the entitled whining from video game connoisseurs
not that I'll join in the "whining" (I haven't even bought a next gen console yet and am still playing NHL 13 on 360), but what an unfair thing to say if you ask me. There are people that throw 60 bucks towards EA every single year and I don't think it's too much to ask if they want a satisfying product. Looking at the time and dedication other companies tend to put into their games, it's just frustrating that EA seems to think that people should buy the same product every year with very little change.
1. improve the passing, it's so dumb how bad the passing is in NHL 14. Maxed out passing trying to pass to someone five feet away misses way too often
2. make the fighting after clean hits non mandatory
3. fix the pausing, it's insane to allow people to pause an online game
4. fix the lag online, seriously. 10 player online and it's laggy every single game
5. if someone drops out of a HUT game give me credit for a win ffs
6. fix the waiting times and loading screens. You should be allowed to edit eashl players while waiting in loading screens. Call of duty figured this out 4 years ago, get with the program EA.
they'll probably just make it worse though, does anyone know when EA's monopoly on NHL ends? It's so infuriating only getting 1 subpar product from a monopolistic lazy company.
not that I'll join in the "whining" (I haven't even bought a next gen console yet and am still playing NHL 13 on 360), but what an unfair thing to say if you ask me. There are people that throw 60 bucks towards EA every single year and I don't think it's too much to ask if they want a satisfying product. Looking at the time and dedication other companies tend to put into their games, it's just frustrating that EA seems to think that people should buy the same product every year with very little change.
Then stop buying it. EA offers it you buy it. You're not locked into a contract. If you don't like it and want to complain, have at it. Don't tell me you're owed anything though.
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I'm hoping for some love for offline. I know online is what makes the money but the team customization is 4 years without being touched and is in some aspects worse than NHL 06's. Especially in arena customization.
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I am a big fan of NHL 14. It is the first hockey game where the goalies can actually stop a one timer and the new hitting system is a lot of fun. There are still a ton of issues though I really hope they fix in the next version:
-The fighting after a big hit is so stupid. This does realistically happen in hockey though so if they are going to keep it they need to add an instigator. I'm sick of players online starting a fight to take away a scoring chance.
-Goal tending still needs improvement. They took a big step up this version but there are still too many weird fluky goals going in. The goalies also now over commit on odd man rushes and it's easier than it should be to score short side.
-Be a GM mode is filled with inaccuracies. For example they have still not fixed the waiver system and it is possible to claim a player and put him in the minors.
-Be a GM and other career modes are incredibly slow. I should be able to simulate an entire season in under 10 minutes, currently it takes over 10 minutes to simulate a month and the loading times after changing your lines are obscene.
-Online games also take too long. They need to reduce the time before the game, between whistles and between periods. If I'm playing with my buddy I can just say "press x, let's go!" but that doesn't work with some idiots online.
-They also need to add the KHL and NCAA hockey. EA has done a great job adding the European pro leagues, AHL and CHL but they are missing two pretty important leagues needed to be a complete game.
Knowing EA they probably won't fix any of these issues but instead add some new features or game modes I will never use. Hopefully they try to make a good impression on the new console.
I mostly play be a GM. I'd like to be able to pick my own goal song, extend contracts mid season, have players ask for trades or more ice time. Reduce the fights after a big hit, somehow make rivalry games more interesting. Be able to invest in practice facilities, or other areas like scouting, fitness or statisticians.
They simply cannot use the same graphics engine for this game.
The series has looked exactly the same since 08, whereas other EA Sports series have seen huge improvements in graphics.
That is the very least we can be somewhat confident in what they'll be improving since for the new console systems, the different sports departments are now sharing and contributing to the same engine.
gotta love how there seems to always be at one person who proclaims someone a "hater" for simply predicting EA will keep up the status quo. Likely to be featured in this game:
Marginally improved graphics
Terrible glitch goals
Several, if not dozens of features removed only to be added over the next 4 years as "new features"
Expensive purchase only add ons
I could understand if there wasn't such a well documented history of how lazy and sloppy EA has become, but we certainly have that data don't we? Is NHL 14 a good game? Heck ya! Is it worth 60 dollars if you have NHL 13? God no. My beef with EA is they do the same crap every new gen. They jettison a tonne of features so they can piece by piece rebuild the game over 4 years and pretend they're innovating. They sell you a minor update to each game, a patch if you will, and extract 60+ dollars from us every year like a dentist removing a bad tooth.
But no, I'm just a hater.
(Madden is even worse with this though. I remember playing a version of Madden on my brothers PS2 the year it came out, and Madden on the PS2 3 years ago or so when I started having some interest in football again. I was blown away by everything was almost identical... commentary, play calling, feel of the game, graphics, hell even the same old canned animations players did in between plays was identical)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by puckluck2
Well, deal with it. I wasn't cheering for Canada either way. Nothing worse than arrogant Canadian fans. They'd be lucky to finish 4th. Quote me on that. They have a bad team and that is why I won't be cheering for them.
Last edited by Brannigans Law; 05-04-2014 at 09:13 AM.
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I had NFL 2k5 on my Xbox and it was amazing. Better than Madden is now. The monopoly EA has is ruining the sports games. I just have zero faith in EA to actually listen to their customers. You know a company sucks when hoping for better menus is wishful thinking
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NHL 15 Thread
