NHL 13 Sales Are Up This Year, Despite NHL Lockout

[Steve_OS]

EA Sports NHL 13 Skates to New Franchise High in First Week

Week One Worldwide Sell Through Up 9% Over 350 Online Games of NHL 13 Played Every Minute

Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ:EA) announced today a record-setting launch for EA SPORTS NHL®13. EA estimates that worldwide sell through for NHL 13 in its first week is up 9 percent* globally over last year’s previous franchise high, and fans are deeply engaged with the game’s new connected experiences.

Headlined by all-new True Performance Skating and EA SPORTS Hockey I.Q., NHL 13 offers an innovative new gameplay experience that definitively captures the speed, creativity and strategy of NHL® hockey. NHL 13 also delivers brand new experiences that connect hockey fans to their friends and the real world of hockey with the all-new GM Connected and NHL Moments Live modes. Game Informer calls NHL 13 “the best playing NHL of this generation,” and it’s now available in retail stores across North America and Europe.

“NHL 13 has incredible new gameplay innovation, and it’s the most connected NHL title we’ve ever created,” said Andrew Wilson, Executive Vice President of EA SPORTS. “We’re proud of this year’s game, and we’re extremely happy to see our fans worldwide embracing it in record numbers.”

How fans are playing NHL 13*:

• Since the launch of NHL 13, fans have created just under 50,000 of their own alternate versions of the NHL through the new GM Connected feature in NHL 13.
• During the first week, the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins were the most popular teams used across all game modes in NHL 13.
• Fans have played over 3.7 million online games, or the equivalent of over 350 games a minute.
• Fans have scored just under 5 million goals in the first week, dwarfing the 244 goals scored during the first week of the real 2011-2012 NHL regular season.

*Based on internal EA estimates

[Cletus]

Good news! This game isn't perfect, but it's the most fun I've had offline in years. EA Canada seems like the only branch doing any risk taking out of EA Sports, and they should get rewarded for it.

[onac22]

Game is good even though NHL is screwing the shelf down.

Forget the lockout scenario everyone wants wher you have to solve the lockout. What I want is lockout rosters.
Would ES be able to swing that?

How good would the AHL be this year?

So lets sim this one make the AHL rosters and see who wins the lockout championship!!!!

CAN YOU DIGG ITTTTTTT!!!!!!!

[jim316]

SUKAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

[FBeaule04]

Game is good, game is more fun than NHL 12, but there's a lot to work on for NHL 14. Only hoping that more sells equal to more money injected in the project so that they have a great product instead of a good product.

The only thing that annoy me a bit is that they are so happy about the online modes that I'm wondering if they care one bit about offline gamers. Online and Offline experience are two separates animals, and should be threaten accordingly.

In all objectivity, the sale raising is deserve, they put a better effort this year.

[Mikey88]

Good for them, they deserve it!

[GlennN]

Quote: Originally Posted by FBeaule04

The only thing that annoy me a bit is that they are so happy about the online modes that I'm wondering if they care one bit about offline gamers. Online and Offline experience are two separates animals, and should be threaten accordingly.

Absolutely agree with this. Here's hoping offline BeAGM gets an upgrade for next year.

[Vikes1]

Glad to see these numbers.

And happy for EA Canada.