EA Sports and NBC Sports Partner Up to Add NBC Game of the Week in NHL 14

[Steve_OS]

EA SPORTS and NBC SPORTS have partnered up with each other and have added the NBC Game of the Week in NHL 14, which you will see featured every Thursday to Sunday and the Wednesday Night Rivalry game from Monday to Wednesday.

You can earn up to 500 EA PUCKS which can be used towards your Hockey Ultimate Team, every time you complete an NBC Matchup.

To play NBC Matchup*:

• Select (NBC MATCHUP) in the FEATURED section on the NHL 14 main menu.

Or

• In the NHL®14 main menu, select (PLAY)
• In the PLAY section, select (QUICK MODES)
• In the QUICK MODES section, select (NBC MATCHUP)

*NOTE: Your console must have an active internet connection to receive the latest NBC Matchup.

Source - EA Sports

[csamuelsvt]

wonder if they'll finally have the NBC presentation in the next gen game? Everyone knows they need the overhaul in the presentation department

[statum71]

Quote: Originally Posted by csamuelsvt

wonder if they'll finally have the NBC presentation in the next gen game? Everyone knows they need the overhaul in the presentation department

My thoughts exactly. I hope this is the start of something. I would love to hear Doc on commentary.

Gary Thorne is legendary and still sounds great. But the audio has really gotten old in NHL.

[Majingir]

Good to see them with a partnership like this. Though wouldn't CBC/Rogers have been best route to go by since I'd assume majority of buyers are from Canada,and EA in Vancouver makes the game?

Either way, hope presentation gets changed big time for NHL15.

[SHAKYR]

I really hope they implement it well and not just as a simple cosmetic tack on.

[bwiggy33]

Quote: Originally Posted by Majingir

Good to see them with a partnership like this. Though wouldn't CBC/Rogers have been best route to go by since I'd assume majority of buyers are from Canada,and EA in Vancouver makes the game? Either way, hope presentation gets changed big time for NHL15.

Well look at it this way, EA isn't trying to make the game appeal to where it sells most. EA wants to promote and attract this game to the casual fans, especially in the US. That's what boosts their sales. Your casual US hockey fans would see CBC/Rogers and say, What is that? That isn't appealing to them. However, if they see the NBC logo they're going to look at it as it being awesome how they've integrated NBC (something they recognize) into the game. That alone can sell copies. I'd be willing to bet that many people back in the ESPN 2k hockey days bought that game specifically because it had ESPN. I know I did one year but since I was younger I was more into the graphics and EA looked way better so it appealed to me more.

People in Canada or people who are hardcore hockey fans aren't going to skip buying the game because NBC is in the game and CBC/Rogers isn't, or vice versa. The hardcore hockey fans are likely to skip for bigger reasons like gameplay. I know that is my reason with this series.

Anyway I definitely see your point but if you look at what this series has done to try and attract the casuals the past however many years, they really aren't focused on what the hardcore fans want. The hardcore players have no option but EA and if they want a new NHL game bad enough that's what they have to buy. Maybe it will change with Next Gen but I'm not banking on it. What I would like to see though is if you're using a US team the broadcast is NBC, and if you're a Canadian team it's CBC. I think that would be awesome and is appealing to everyone. An option in the visual settings menu would also be nice. That's just my .02 cents on it, but I really hope they can make the presentation so it appeals to both Canadians and Americans.

[Segagendude]

Quote: Originally Posted by SHAKYR

I really hope they implement it well and not just as a simple cosmetic tack on.

I'm thinking that's all it's gonna be---- the NBC logo.

[The00Raven00Effect]

CBC > TSN > NBC.

Hockey night in Canada presentation package would really be something special. Does anyone outside of Canada really play this game anyways?