NHL 23 summed up in this video
A buddy made this video. Aljo keeps asking for video of stuff. Here's a great one for you 🙂 [Video removed for immediate profanity - Admin.] EDIT: Video was removed for profanity, wow. Speechless...
Forum Discussion
@EA_Aljo It's nice that you've all seen it but is something going to be done about it or are we left with this broken game until NHL 24 comes out? I don't get why the dev's can't communicate what things are being worked on?
Many devs from other games have constant and open communication with their customers. We're not asking EA to give us a date when things will be fixed, we're asking them to acknowledge our issues and let us know that they WILL be addressed. The silence from EA speaks volumes and we're left here sitting in the dark thinking that they either don't care or are fine with the current state of the game.
Is it against company policy to communicate what's actively being worked on? As a long time customer that's bought EVERY NHL game since 92, I'm very frustrated. I know that I'm not the only one
Many devs from other games have constant and open communication with their customers. We're not asking EA to give us a date when things will be fixed, we're asking them to acknowledge our issues and let us know that they WILL be addressed. The silence from EA speaks volumes and we're left here sitting in the dark thinking that they either don't care or are fine with the current state of the game.
Is it against company policy to communicate what's actively being worked on? As a long time customer that's bought EVERY NHL game since 92, I'm very frustrated. I know that I'm not the only one
EA_Aljo
Community Manager
Community ManagerHey, @Nammer604
I try to always acknowledge when an issue is known. Unfortunately, we can't say whether or not something is going to be addressed. Especially with gameplay issues. Making a small change can also make things worse. This is why it often takes until the next game to see fixes. We need the proper amount of time to fix issues. Also, when something is reported, that's not a guarantee it's going to get attention.
I would love to see better communication. There really isn't anything I can say about this other than I'm trying to get this improved. @TTZ_Dipsy stated it pretty well though. Currently, we can't talk about anything until it's been officially announced from the team.
- @EA_Aljo We get your predicament, and I hope you're compensated well for being on the front lines here.
The community is just tired. It's year after year of regurgitated subpar effort. Unfortunately, because it's the only hockey game available, those that are fan of the sport have no choice but to keep buying it. However, it feels like EA takes full advantage of this at the expense of the fanbase. Charging full price + extra at launch, removing famed features that were there in games prior, and straying away from the identity that made the game bearable years before.
It just feels like EA takes our money when the game releases and calls it a day. Every year the maintenance of the game gets less and less attention. Now we're at a point where tuning the game (which happens on a constant basis for other games), has become a thing of the past. Is it that hard for developers to realize that most people simply want a balanced game, with all the features that came with the game in the past, with a focus on NHL. Personally, this game went to the dumps as soon as EA adopted this strange obsession with this bro-centric, outdoor crap instead of the tried and true, NHL pro-centric that most of the fanbase was used to.
All in all, the fanbase just want to feel as though we and the game itself matter. Instead, we're made to feel like the game extorts as much money as it can squeeze out in the beginning of that year's life while going dark for months, having people like you answer for the complete lack of communication, ignoring fleshing the game that's currently out, and then pooling their resources for the next cash grab. It's insulting, really, and EA could do with some decent competition.
Ah well.- EA_Aljo
Thanks for the feedback. It's sincerely appreciated.
As far as not releasing tuners goes, that's a direct response to the overwhelming amount of feedback we had saying the game was best during the beta. This started a couple of years ago. I believe we had maybe 1 tuner for NHL 22. It's possible they could return someday. I'll pass on the feedback. I'd love to see this happen as well.
I know everyone likes to say there's just a cashgrab here. There is one mode in the game out of a dozen that has a way to spend additional money. While there are daily content updates, it doesn't receive any more attention than the rest of the game. World of Chel also gets frequent content updates. For offline modes, there are roster updates. We've also had 4 patches so far so I think we'll have to agree to disagree that we go dark after release.
As far as communication goes, there is most always backlash when we do that so developers have avoided coming here. I would absolutely love to see more communication though. I hope we can peel back the curtain a bit at some point and be more transparent, but this hasn't gone well in the past.
Regarding the identity, keep in mind, the hardcore, simulation crowd makes up a small percentage of the overall playerbase. We try to make a game that has options for all levels of enthusiasm for the sport and game. For example, drop-ins, Ones and Threes eliminator cater more to the casual crowd while the more hardcore fans have EASHL club games. The sport of hockey has changed over the years and we also need to change with it. However, due to the very diverse audience we have, it's going to be impossible to please everyone.
Thanks again for the constructive feedback. I can't tell you how much that's appreciated.
@EA_Aljo wrote:As far as not releasing tuners goes, that's a direct response to the overwhelming amount of feedback we had saying the game was best during the beta. This started a couple of years ago. I believe we had maybe 1 tuner for NHL 22. It's possible they could return someday. I'll pass on the feedback. I'd love to see this happen as well.
I know it's not your intent, but every time this response is trotted out it come across as completely disingenuous. Just because there were years in the past that the community expressed a preference for the beta is no reason for every subsequent game to be left in its beta state. Every year people pay for a "new", full-priced game. They deserve proper support for each one on its own merits. If any given release needs balance or bug fixes it should get that support regardless of how well received the beta was a few years ago.
If there is this overwhelming support for the current state of NHL 23 please share it with the rest of us, because it's not my personal experience and I'm not seeing it anywhere else online. I'd genuinely love to see where the developers are getting the feedback that the game is in a good state. Who exactly has their ear?
