It’s sometimes easy to forget that video games are a business like any other -- run, not by consumers, but by corporations and shareholders.
Like many businesses outside of the video-game industry, many game companies have recently been forced to downsize their range of products to all but the safest, most essential wares.
For many sports gaming companies, the "arcade" department seems to have been the first group to receive its pink slip in these tough economic times. Fans of the genre have recently seen franchises like EA’s Street games or Midway’s classic Blitz and Jam titles either completely abandoned by the parent company or given little more than a low-risk, low-budget sequel.
But despite EA shutting down its Street brand and taking a year off to reassess its approach to the genre, EA’s relaunched arcade sports department still does not seem to have learned from the mistakes it was making earlier this generation with games like NBA Street Homecourt or NFL Tour, i.e., releasing half-baked sequels that fail to match the modes or features of their last-gen counterparts.
EA’s 3 on 3 NHL Arcade, the company’s first shot to recapture some of its past arcade glory (Mutant League Hockey, anyone?), ended up being a fun but shallow experience that wasted a great hockey engine on a game that was completely bereft of modes or features -- to the point that 3 on 3 NHL Arcade felt more like a mini-game that should have been included on the NHL 09 disc instead of a standalone downloadable game.
The nine months since 3 on 3 NHL Arcade was released does not seem to have taught EA any major lessons. I say that because Madden NFL Arcade is another feature-thin game that, at its $15 asking price, does not seem to justify its status as a full, arcade release. In reality, it’s little more than mini-game that has been lifted from the "arcade mode" included in Madden 10 for the Wii.
Read More - Madden NFL Arcade Review
Like many businesses outside of the video-game industry, many game companies have recently been forced to downsize their range of products to all but the safest, most essential wares.
For many sports gaming companies, the "arcade" department seems to have been the first group to receive its pink slip in these tough economic times. Fans of the genre have recently seen franchises like EA’s Street games or Midway’s classic Blitz and Jam titles either completely abandoned by the parent company or given little more than a low-risk, low-budget sequel.
But despite EA shutting down its Street brand and taking a year off to reassess its approach to the genre, EA’s relaunched arcade sports department still does not seem to have learned from the mistakes it was making earlier this generation with games like NBA Street Homecourt or NFL Tour, i.e., releasing half-baked sequels that fail to match the modes or features of their last-gen counterparts.
EA’s 3 on 3 NHL Arcade, the company’s first shot to recapture some of its past arcade glory (Mutant League Hockey, anyone?), ended up being a fun but shallow experience that wasted a great hockey engine on a game that was completely bereft of modes or features -- to the point that 3 on 3 NHL Arcade felt more like a mini-game that should have been included on the NHL 09 disc instead of a standalone downloadable game.
The nine months since 3 on 3 NHL Arcade was released does not seem to have taught EA any major lessons. I say that because Madden NFL Arcade is another feature-thin game that, at its $15 asking price, does not seem to justify its status as a full, arcade release. In reality, it’s little more than mini-game that has been lifted from the "arcade mode" included in Madden 10 for the Wii.
Read More - Madden NFL Arcade Review
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