This happened because you have people who work on an annual/semi-annual game that have a feeling of job security since it's expected that there will always be a next year's game and they live in a bubble. Each year they use phrases like "built from the ground up", "new physics engine", "living worlds" when all they're really doing is making some minor tweaks. It's annoying and it's a culture that EA Sports has created. It's clearly only getting worse. This feels way worse than the NBA Live b.s. that has gone on for years.
They also say things like "we listened to the community"... and decided that... NHL 14: Better fighting and NHL 94 mode. NHL 15: New commentary and 9000 person crowds.
What really pisses me off though is that the modes and features that are actually in NHL 15 haven't been IMPROVED! The UI / UX for HUT is worse than last years and now clunkier. Same with BeAGM.
NO F'N WAY AM I GIVING THEM MY MONEY!