Community ManagerHi there, @dAtA250
We don't have the licensing to include NCAA players, unfortunately. Even though they may have signed to an NHL team, we still can't include them without having the rights to do so.
@EA_Aljo wrote:Licensing is always an issue. We cannot put players in the game we don't have the rights for. As far as an update goes, we'll have to wait and see if another is released.
My understanding is once a player takes their first official shift in the NHL, you have the licensing for that player.
Hutson and Nazar have already played a game this week and Gauthier is scheduled to tomorrow night.
These little things like not committing one way or another to something as simple as a future roster update are part of the reasons this team gets so much flack for poor communication.
Community Manager
@Beauts90 wrote:
@EA_Aljo wrote:
Licensing is always an issue. We cannot put players in the game we don't have the rights for. As far as an update goes, we'll have to wait and see if another is released.
My understanding is once a player takes their first official shift in the NHL, you have the licensing for that player.
Hutson and Nazar have already played a game this week and Gauthier is scheduled to tomorrow night.
These little things like not committing one way or another to something as simple as a future roster update are part of the reasons this team gets so much flack for poor communication.
That's not how it works. We still need individual players to authorize their right to be represented in our game. When we have the necessary paperwork done, signatures, etc, then they have to play their first NHL shift before they can be added to a roster. They all aren't just automatically included based on playing.
We normally announce patches a day before they're released. Roster updates sometimes get announced early, but normally don't. I have to wait until there's either approval to announce it on the forums or until it's already announced on our Twitter account. Which is why I can't confirm if there's going to be another update. In the past, as far as I know, we have still done roster updates this late in the season.
Newest Roster update includes at least some of the NCAA players like Nazar (CHI), Graf (SJS) and Hutson (MTL).
There are still some missing, though.
@EA_Aljo wrote:That's not how it works. We still need individual players to authorize their right to be represented in our game. When we have the necessary paperwork done, signatures, etc, then they have to play their first NHL shift before they can be added to a roster. They all aren't just automatically included based on playing.
Wouldn’t the NHLPA just have a standard license agreement that allows the players likeness to be used across all areas such as advertising, merchandise and games? It would be strange to not have such a large thing like the NHL series not to be included in it, although it would make sense as I’ve seen it take up to 2 years to have players be represented better than a quickly made create a player.
Not really important I guess, I can’t actually think of an instance where a player appeared in an actual NHL game and then wasn’t included in the next roster update.
@EA_Aljo wrote:Being in the NHLPA doesn't give us the rights to use every player. We still need their individual authorization.
That’s not what I was saying, but it’s really not important.
What I meant was a lot of time when athletes turn pro, I think they sign a likeness agreement with their union that allows them to be used in a bunch of different things like ads/promotions and not have to sign 100 different contracts. I was surprised being part of the EA game wasn’t included in that agreement was all.
I figured licensing was the reason behind no KHL or NCAA access. Is it not possible to reach a licensing agreement, or is there more underlying issues?
@admiral745 wrote:I figured licensing was the reason behind no KHL or NCAA access. Is it not possible to reach a licensing agreement, or is there more underlying issues?
Would love to hear an answer to this question. NCAA is sending tons of talent to the NHL right now.. I'd buy the game again if NCAA is included. Until then, gameplay isn't good enough to make it worthwhile.
Community ManagerIt's possible NCAA teams/players could be added at some point in the future. Currently though, we don't have any news on this. We'll just have to wait and see if it happens.
