I'm ashamed of my fellow Canadians. I hate living here. Wonder should be way higher than this and everything else lower.
If you feel shame, there is still the likely opportunity of a redemption arc when it posts well in November… and
maybe December. Nintendo games typically perform really well in the holiday period.
But regardless, I think we can all agree we should have nothing but shame in our hearts for the practically ephemeral value-add of a yearly NHL game posting so high. If any game would benefit from roster update DLC the most, it’d be the NHL games. I get that it’s THE hockey game and it will sell on that basis alone, but still… there’s a reason the MC/OC score from reviewers and users is so low; even if this seems to be the biggest change to the games in 3-4 years, enthusiasm is low. For some Canadian gamers, they buy a new EA NHL with the same excitement as buying a new toothbrush, it’s a purchase of routine.
And I wish I could say it makes the most of being a sports sim, but it kinda doesn’t.
This is all to say that I’d feel much better about 2K taking another crack at a console NHL game. Inertia in favour of EA’s offering may have pushed them out of making NHL games previously, but producing a better product now that would cause fans to abandon EA’s releases may not be that much of a challenge for them anymore.
EDIT: And yes, for the record, expect me to rag on EA NHL games for as long as I'm the OP for the Canadian chart threads, they're the most egregious example of milking an annual $70 for a roster update of any of EA's other sports titles, even FIFA/FC sees more changes to the overall package each year. The only plus side to that is this lack of re-investment in the games means the NHL equivalent to Ultimate Team is so utterly dogshit that I doubt it makes EA much money from recurrent spending. Small victories.
theesa.ca
