In this day and age of sports gaming, it still amazes me that there are no games that optimize the gameplay to suit period/quarter length.
I know that you can't capture all the nuances of a 20 minute hockey game in video game form...but it can't be that hard to create gameplay that will deliver realistic stats and a gameplay flow that is appropriate for the corresponding period length. In NHL 08, for instance:
5 minute periods: Basically, the default sliders. These tend to give very realistic stats for 5 minutes periods (save for the number of penalties called, they would have to make it much more sensitive in order to see the average 8-9 penalties called per game). Perfect for those who want a quick, arcadish style of game.
10 minute periods: Look no further than Catch's sliders. These give extremely realistic numbers and overall gameplay flow for 10 minute periods. Only problem is hits, which tend to be a bit overdone (I usually have an average of about 45 hits/game on these sliders, CPU about the same, it should be more like 25). Simply develop more ways to jar the puck loose and make puck battles a bigger part of the game, and this problem disappears. Also, penalties would have to be more sensitive than they are currently with the slider maxed out.
15 minute periods: Catch's sliders are good for overall game flow on 15. The tweaks would be in the areas that everyone has already discussed, namely: a) no more tape-to-tape passing b) no more insane puck retention by the CPU in the offensive zone, actually make it possible to engage the CPU in puck battles along the boards c) loosen up the overall puck retention by all but the very best stickhandlers.
20 minute periods are still very much a pipe dream, unless you consciously play a sim style on lower difficulty and purposely pass up scoring opportunities.
What frustrates me the most is that game developers obviously have the ability to work these nuances out. For instance, almost all NBA games nowadays, with minor slider tweaks, will deliver realistic FG%, FG attempts, and point scored on 12 minute quarters...why is it that we almost have to reprogram the game to get realistic foul totals and fewer dunks in traffic? Madden '05 delivered extremely realistic gameplay for 15 min quarters, accelerated clock...why did things as simple as a fatigue bug and non-existant PI calls have to mar this?
I realize sports game developers are always trying to pander to non-sport gamers as well as their harcore followers, so it's always a balance...but how many newbie sports gamers will reject a game for reasons like "there's not enough hits", or "there's barely any dunks"?
Anyway, my mini-rant is complete...all I can say is, it's great to be out of the dark days of NHL on the CG consoles