I think it’ll be a great idea for EA NHL to have a trello board, you’ve got one for Apex Legends and it’s a good way for us to see what’s being working on and what’s ready to be released and also what’s been flagged to be looked into. Just an idea
lol
Unfortunately I just don't see this working for the NHL series as long as they're slaves to the yearly release model. Instead of continuously updating their software as features and bug fixes are completed they're forced to try to develop a handful of "new", shiny features that can be used to entice people to buy the next release. There's no incentive to make these changes in the middle of the yearly lifecycle because you need them as bait for the next release. There's also reluctance to letting the player base know what's being worked on because they need to be able to market and "hype" these changes on a schedule that fits the next release date.
SaaS games like Apex can be more open about their development pipeline because they can add features and fix bugs in the game as those bug fixes and features become viable. If feature 'x' slips because it needs a bit more time in the oven it just moves to the next patch instead of the next yearly release. They're also not relying on one big set of changes to drive their revenue for the next year. Regular updates and changes can actually be a tool to keep the player base engaged instead of "wasting" next year's marketing material. I'm not saying SaaS is some magic panacea for game development, but if you want openness and transparency from a development team locking them into a yearly release cycle isn't the way to go.
@PlayoffError wrote:I'm not saying SaaS is some magic panacea for game development, but if you want openness and transparency from a development team locking them into a yearly release cycle isn't the way to go.
I think sports games would benefit the most from a SaaS model. The problem is what the suits think. Right now, you're getting (pure estimate) likely 350,000 - 400,000 base game sales.
Typically, SaaS games offer free entry - which means no base sales. You're relying entirely on subscriptions/season passes.
Can EA convince 350,000 - 400,000 users to shell out $10/month for access to World of Chel/HUT? If you make OVP/Ones/Drop-Ins free to play, how do you recoup base-game sales from that group? Maybe you start microtransactions for cosmetic items?
.. and would this even change the approach to development/bug fixes, or would there just be a massive 'patch' or 'update' released every October and then minimal updates throughout the year.. basically like we have now?
In any case, the current dev cycle is too short. But chances are, it's not only EA making the decision to put out a yearly game. The NHL itself is the biggest stakeholder here and there's no doubt they have an out-of-touch executive who may not have an understanding of the market to push EA to change things up.
Community Manager
@PlayoffError wrote:
@KidShowtime1867 I'd imagine the primary concern would be how to keep HUT going without the yearly reset when the new game comes out. New game sales certainly play a part, but UT is where the real money is for EA's sports games.
I doubt the player base would be thrilled with having their collection wiped out or otherwise made useless without a "new" game to go with it. But EA would need to somehow keep people on that power creep treadmill indefinitely to keep them buying packs for new cards.
I doubt the monthly subscription approach would go over well. There's not a lot of that left in the industry. Probably a 'battle pass' approach would be more palatable, but they'd need to come up with some way of monetizing it. The cosmetics currently in the game are underwhelming to say the least. Although if it becomes a more primary revenue generator maybe they'd spend more time and money on them.
I think if we set the expectation that teams would be reset annually, it wouldn't be as much of an issue. I like the battle pass approach though.
@EA_AljoI think there's a certain psychological hurdle to overcome if progress is reset without a 'new' game, but you could be right.
Are there any games doing that currently? I'm trying to think of an active game where people can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on in-game 'power' just to have the game hit the reset button at set intervals and I'm drawing a blank.
Community Manager
@PlayoffError wrote:
@EA_AljoI think there's a certain psychological hurdle to overcome if progress is reset without a 'new' game, but you could be right.
Are there any games doing that currently? I'm trying to think of an active game where people can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on in-game 'power' just to have the game hit the reset button at set intervals and I'm drawing a blank.
Yeah. I agree that there would be some people upset about it, but we also can't just let teams remain stacked with 99 rated players. Since teams get reset every year, I think it would be understandable that they would reset if we moved to a subscription based plan.
I might be wrong, but I believe FIFA Mobile, Madden Mobile and NBA Live Mobile all do this. While they aren't subscription based games, they reset with each new real-world season. Again, I might not be totally correct on that.
Community Manager
@KlariskraysNHL wrote:
@EA_Aljo Plus you gotta remove some players from the game when they retire and rights are no longer had. It's a huge can of worms for HUT to manage. Sure a monthly pass would work for HUT, but I think when it comes to EASHL most of us don't really care for the crazy equipment so we'd probably be less inclined to spend money. And offline would probably become a thing of the past or just sold as a $30-40 rental where after that no more roster updates and changes happen or it ceases to work. Also means the end of a physical copy most likely too.
If the game went on a bi-yearly state we aren't even guaranteed things would be better either.
Also here is the info of the FIFA mobile.
https://www.ea.com/games/fifa/fifa-mobile/news/season-transition
I'm not interested in the gear in EASHL as well, but it's actually more popular than you might think. Regardless, there would need to be some way to monetize the game if it were to move to a subscription model instead of an annual purchase.
There's no guarantee of anything being better no matter the release cycle, but chances are good there would be more improvements and additions since the team would have more time, but they also would still be supporting the current game. Which, eats into the time they can devote to the next game. Regardless, there are always improvements to the game, but they are also overshadowed by the lack of apparent changes. The game needs to look and play different every year to give people the feeling it's a new game. That's just not possible with an annual or bi-annual release. Even still, how much different can the game really look? It's hockey and will probably always have the same general aesthetic. New modes and features could be added though of course.
