Electronic Arts may have stumbled upon something with this cover-voting trend. Sports are a topic people are passionate about just slightly less than religion, and so this method removes them from the contentious topic of choosing who graces the cover. It's rolling out another such democratic process, with the second annual NHL cover vote to determine which ice hockey player makes the front of NHL 14.
The announcement of a new entry in an annual sports franchises is never a surprise so what matters is, what's new? EA today parted its luxurious red velvet curtains to reveal NHL 14, with shiny newness including using tech from the Fight Night boxing games in enforcer scraps.
It's that time of year again, when we shed off the remnants of last year and look ahead towards things to come. Out with the old, in with the new! In the case of EA Sports games, that means the annual culling of servers from older sports titles. If you prefer the 2011 iterations of games like Madden NFL and FIFA Soccer 11, you have just over one precious week to get in your online game time.
Though the female teams of gender-segregated sports may be far less popular unless they wear skimpy outfits, it's a shame that they're so often entirely excluded from sports video games. Huzzah, then, that EA is continuing its ladyfication of ice hockey in NHL 13 with a pair of female Olympic ice hockey medalists.
Read more: A 'more representative experience' for female hockey fans »
EA Sports' Season Ticket program is coming back for another year. And it provides a far greater value than last year's debut offering.
As before, the $25 Season Ticket grants you early access to this season's games. You'll be able to download an early version of Madden, NHL, FIFA, Tiger Woods, and NCAA three days before its retail release via PlayStation Network or Xbox Live. Note that while these games are fully playable for three days with the membership, you'll have to actually buy a copy if you want to play beyond the trial period.
With pre-season hockey officially kicking off last night, all is right in the world again. According to EA Sports, its NHL series had "its biggest launch week in franchise history."
NHL 12 unit sales were up 19 percent across Europe and North America during its first week of release, netting "more than $27 million" at retail worldwide. The hockey sim launched for the Xbox and PS3 on September 9 in Europe and on September 13 in North America.
A handful of new trailers have been released for NHL 12, featuring a few bullet-points that outline some of the newest features in the game: enhancements to the "Be A Pro" mode, dynamic goalies, goalie fights, and more.
According to the videos, developer EA Canada is looking to add a slew of new elements to the game's "Be A Pro" mode. Players kick-start their career in the CHL and play for four seasons before being drafted, make a name for themselves in the AHL, and play through "18 levels" in an effort to become one of the league's most pivotal players.
Comment on this story