Could FHM 15 be a better game than NHL 15?

[omjo]

NHL 15 Might Be Missing More Than We Anticipated (XB1/PS4) - Operation Sports

By better, I mean more enjoyable.

I honestly think if you guys can push this game out with minimal bugs, you can sweep up some disappointed EA'ers on the market. Because, as is right now, NHL 15 has nothing to offer. Especially for next gen gamers.

Now I don't know gaming trends, and if console gamers are willing to move to PC gaming... But for a hockey GM experience, FHM 15 should be able to dominate that part of the market compared to NHL 15.

[AlpineSK]

My jaw just hit the floor.. Wow.. Talk about completely blowing up a franchise..

[dave1927p]

Those are two very different types of games. EA Sports really cares about graphics...the big edition was adding "realistic fans" , to me i could careless if they still looked like cardboard cutouts. The actual gameplay is fun, especially playing with a buddy who is in the same room or online, but I want depth and an enjoyable realistic Single player experience. EAs series does not offer that for me. So yes, for me FHM 15 will be more enjoyable.

I really wish NHL 15's Be A Pro Mode didn't force you to play so many games. They punish you so severely for simulating no matter how well your player is playing to the point where i find it not enjoyable. I want to be able to play out a career in a few hours like i can in Madden. Instead they make you have to play at least 1/3 of the games just about. Far too much for my liking. Too bad too because i really could have some fun with it.

I was fed up with EAs series and then found Eastside Hockey Manager. So definitely for a small percentage its possible.

[tictacktoe5]

Originally Posted by dave1927p

Those are two very different types of games. EA Sports really cares about graphics...the big edition was adding "realistic fans" , to me i could careless if they still looked like cardboard cutouts. The actual gameplay is fun, especially playing with a buddy who is in the same room or online, but I want depth and an enjoyable realistic Single player experience. EAs series does not offer that for me. So yes, for me FHM 15 will be more enjoyable.

I really wish NHL 15's Be A Pro Mode didn't force you to play so many games. They punish you so severely for simulating no matter how well your player is playing to the point where i find it not enjoyable. I want to be able to play out a career in a few hours like i can in Madden. Instead they make you have to play at least 1/3 of the games just about. Far too much for my liking. Too bad too because i really could have some fun with it.

I was fed up with EAs series and then found Eastside Hockey Manager. So definitely for a small percentage its possible.

Did you turn the sim penalty off? There should be an option to turn it off before you begin and you can sim without punishment.

Anyways, I think that as long as FHM 15 doesn't have a lot of game breaking flaws at launch and gets positive word of mouth from its players (because professional reviews aren't always the best source of information for deciding if you should pick up a game or not), then they can definitely round up a few people looking for a deeper single player experience.

I don't want to tell OOTP what to do, but I do believe with EA's flop on NHL 15 and the number of hardcore players looking for something to occupy their hockey itch that a big marketing campaign would definitely benefit them (once their product is ready, of course.)

It's a shame that a company like EA continues to blunder. I shoulder a majority of the blame on the suits (mostly the marketing teams), though the devs are not completely without fault. But I do believe something must be done from inside. There is no excuse for this.

[archibalduk]

NHL hasn't been much fun for me for many years at all. I loved the series from NHL 99 up until 2004 (although I remember 2003 and possibly 2002 being dreadful arcade-style games with power-ups of some description). After that, I found the game became less fun.

I think the competition from the NHL 2K series helped push EA into creating a better game (similar to the competition from PES which forced EA to improve FIFA). But since the 2K series disappeared, the improvements in NHL have been few and far between. In many ways, I don't think NHL has yet caught up with the gameplay of NHL 2K5 or 2K6. Take for example boardplay - it's such a big feature in the game of hockey and yet it is represented in NHL with a single animation. Compare that with 2K6 where there was a wide variety of animations and moves you could make along the boards.

[Alessandro]

This thread is like saying "Can potatoes be better than apples?"

[AlpineSK]

Originally Posted by Alessandro

This thread is like saying "Can potatoes be better than apples?"

Of course they can.. Potatoes are extremely versatile. Except for the whole "juice" issue. Although its great for sending secret messages, potato juice is not nearly as good as apple juice.

[dave1927p]

Originally Posted by archibalduk

NHL hasn't been much fun for me for many years at all. I loved the series from NHL 99 up until 2004 (although I remember 2003 and possibly 2002 being dreadful arcade-style games with power-ups of some description). After that, I found the game became less fun.

I think the competition from the NHL 2K series helped push EA into creating a better game (similar to the competition from PES which forced EA to improve FIFA). But since the 2K series disappeared, the improvements in NHL have been few and far between. In many ways, I don't think NHL has yet caught up with the gameplay of NHL 2K5 or 2K6. Take for example boardplay - it's such a big feature in the game of hockey and yet it is represented in NHL with a single animation. Compare that with 2K6 where there was a wide variety of animations and moves you could make along the boards.

yeah, you are right. The moment that EA won the exclusive rights was the moment it seemed they stopped trying. 2K sports always had a GM mode that was a few steps ahead and kept forcing EA to reinvent and change their own to keep up.

[Lukas Berger]

Originally Posted by dave1927p

I was fed up with EAs series and then found Eastside Hockey Manager. So definitely for a small percentage its possible.

Yep, same here.

[geckon]

For me personally it will certainly be better (as in more enjoyable). FHM14 is better than that (again for me).

At the same time I'm sure there are people who feel it completely the other way around.

[ra7c7er]

Originally Posted by omjo

NHL 15 Might Be Missing More Than We Anticipated (XB1/PS4) - Operation Sports

By better, I mean more enjoyable.

I honestly think if you guys can push this game out with minimal bugs, you can sweep up some disappointed EA'ers on the market. Because, as is right now, NHL 15 has nothing to offer. Especially for next gen gamers.

Now I don't know gaming trends, and if console gamers are willing to move to PC gaming... But for a hockey GM experience, FHM 15 should be able to dominate that part of the market compared to NHL 15.

Very few console gamers come over to the PC for more than Minecraft. Hence why you still get console gamers claiming consoles are better than PC even though they have hardware restrictions, no anti aliasing, lower frame rates, increased load times, smaller games, etc (I could go on and on).

----

As for could FHM be a better game than NHL 15. I'd say, even though it's hard to compare the two since they are completely different, YES. That's just from the list of things that NHL 15 has abandoned. It's going to be the lowest selling EA NHL game of all time. Even going back to the early games.

Plus you have to remember nobody buys console sports games for stats and intricacies. They buy the game to actually play the game which is something that, even with 3D, sim-stats games will never have.

[Gauch33]

For me the reality is I enjoy both for different reasons - the presentation, the graphics, actually playing your player / team on the ice is a reason I enjoy the NHL series - it's GM mode is not bad but not nearly as detailed as I like (for some though even the level of detail in the EA series is too much). That's why I love Eastside and hope FHM 15 continues to develop because of the GM sim depth. So for me I really enjoy both types of gameplay. I almost always play both. Looking forward to both NHL 15 and FHM 15.

[canadiancreed]

Monopoly company offers inferior product for extortionate price? Sounds like EA's M.O. for the last decade or so.

[Ciccarelli]

It sounds like they're doing what they did when Madden got ported to the 360 with the NHL series (just watch as some of these removed items become new "features" in a year or so).

You're right to an extent, I can see people looking for alternatives to EA's game with hardcore players of Be A GM mode. Seriously, EA? Not being able to draft players manually? That's one of the key perks to BEING a GM.

[dave1927p]

Originally Posted by Ciccarelli

It sounds like they're doing what they did when Madden got ported to the 360 with the NHL series (just watch as some of these removed items become new "features" in a year or so)

Yes, that was my fear with the new consoles and I'm not surprised. It will take couple years for them to get back to where they were. That seems to be the case with new gen games (last gen and this gen when released), they look fantastic but that's just about it...at least for a little while. Then again, it seems like way to many people are happy with pretty graphics but I know us text based players feel differently!

[rj58]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

Monopoly company offers inferior product for extortionate price? Sounds like EA's M.O. for the last decade or so.

Because these types of statements really get under my skin.. a fact based rebuttal:

Inferior product? I don't think so. I've played both the text based stats sims like this as well as a number of releases of NHL <xx> console products (PS3). I find both to be fun in different ways. The previous NHL product was basically bug free, and very good modes to play.. and a pretty good AI that took real effort to get better against. It is in no way 'inferior', unless you have an axe to grind against EA. EA's NHL games are really popular for a reason.

Extortionate price: I don't think so: If you look at amazon's prices for new games, NHL 15 is in line with all the other newer games.. and the prices tend to come down based on demand in the market place. If you look at NHL 14 on amazon, you see its at $44 right now. That isn't extortion on EA's part, its priced to make money based on current demand. ALL games are priced that way.. its based on current sales figures, not some evil capitalist plot by EA. The fact that NHL 14 is STILL priced above $10 is proof that their sales are just booming. And just an FYI to you.. 'extortion' requires the use of FORCE. EA forces no one to go to amazon/Origin/where-ever to buy their games. Its all done with no pressure. They set their prices based on demand.. and demand alone. Go look up other EA games on amazon if you don't believe me.. NCAA 13 Football new is at $13 right now.. That price isn't an accident.. it just indicates that sales are drying up so they continue to try to move it at a lower price point.

People continue to buy these games because they work and are fun to play. Sales dry up when folks reject a product.. EA is obviously doing something right with the NHL games.

What ootpdevelopements games provide is unequaled depth. You will never get that in a graphics based game like Madden or EA-NHL. They are different beasts... and the developers must choose how to invest those scarce developer resources to make something that is marketable. Depth will generally lose when graphics is a consideration.. money is after all not limitless. This does not make the graphics based games any less fun or of lesser value.. it all depends on what the player thinks is important. Its why the market supports both types of products. I also mourn the loss of 2K's hockey franchise.. but competition picks winners, not me. And nothing at all is preventing other companies from trying to compete..


My take is that if you see EA raise their prices above other new games, you'll see much more impetus for competitors to develop sports games.. but right now that isn't the case.. they are in line with new products in other genres.

This is all free capitalism/market dynamics 101.. its just that no one knows this stuff except for some econ/business majors and folks who run businesses or are involved with sales/marketing.

[dave1927p]

Originally Posted by rj58

This is all free capitalism/market dynamics 101.. its just that no one knows this stuff except for some econ/business majors and folks who run businesses or are involved with sales/marketing.

The next chapter is Market Power, monopoly and profit maximizing in a monopoly

Originally Posted by Alessandro

This thread is like saying "Can potatoes be better than apples?"

haha The fate of the Irish is linked to potatoes, so yes they can. I agree though two very different games.

[rudel.dietrich]

If FHM 15 removes historical mode and fictional mode and online play then perhaps it could be compared to NHL 15.

I don't understand NHL 15 at all. FIFA and Madden were able to transition onto next gen systems with no loss of modes at all (okay, FIFA did lose one mode)
FIFA and NHL are even made by the same damn developer!


Perhaps this just goes to show that hockey is not a sport that moves a great deal of game copies. But the sport has no one to blame but themselves for that.

[Mafarfloune]

Originally Posted by rj58

And nothing at all is preventing other companies from trying to compete..

I agree with pretty much everything in your post, but this can be argued : EA buying exclusivity deals with the NFL effectively killed the NFL2K franchise by preventing them from competing (even though EA had a far inferior product in those years). Indirectly, the same kind of exclusivity deal, this time with the ESPN network, was a huge hit to 2Ksports' NHL and MLB franchise (though NHL 09 and NHL 10 were very nice games and probably played a bigger part in NHL 2K's destruction), and kinda led to their downfall in some ways. They absolutely did deny a fair competition to the other companies.

[tictacktoe5]

Can someone tell me how well All - Pro Football 2k8 was? I never played it, but know it was one of 2k's last football games.

But I think a hockey game that can compete with ea will do the company some good. It doesn't have to have NHL on it. In fact the league can be fictional. It just has to be a hockey game that plays well enough to draw away sells. Something that goes in a direction that EA isn't heading in. I feel like if the game play is good, people will buy it. And if ea sees people are buying a rival's game rather theirs , then they'll change their focus.