A Different Format

So I think there are a variety of problems that lead to what you're seeing. First, as you've pointed out its mid July, only the people who REALLY like hockey/ NHL are playing. Beyond that, it's EA NHL it is the only choice people have and it could use a lot of work the only people that really play the title are people who play every year, new players won't stay regardless as it is behind every other sports title by a sizable amount at this point. Until more resources, time, people, money are put into the game again we're going to see the same players/ a shrinking population. They have to pander to the people they do have and that's those that buy every year. At the end of the day a big company is only concerned with profit. They have people who analyze data and determine what will increase profits most. Personally I think theyre making poor moves (at least with this series) but they know they can invest almost nothing into the title and get roughly the same profit every year regardless. It would be good to see improvements and a bigger player base but they must feel the work/money wouldn't be worth the profits they project. Its why there is no online franchise or game on PC. Everything EA does is decided on by people who analyze data and potential profits and their opportunity costs. There are ways they could make UT and WoC FAR better, I personally think it would grow their player base and profits a lot.. but the truth is NHL will never be FIFA or CFL or Madden.. Its not a huge concern. 

I've made several posts about how to improve each part of the game, including gameplay. I think the gameplay is decent, and close to being really good but almost every part of it needs some polishing. They are a decade behind in adding online franchise. They are behind nearly every sports title in allowing your online player to improve. Their UT challenges are boring and unimaginative, I also think their formula needs to change as I feel the hockey community is different from the other sports but that's a separate argument altogether. Until EA sees it as advantageous we won't see much of a change. I'm not sure anything can convince them unless the sport itself blows up or the NHL gets involved in asking for a better product, or a competitor like 2K comes along. At this point of that happens then EA would likely just stop making it (my guess) just wouldn't be worth competing and most of their customers have no love for them. We are 4? Years into this new dev team.. still waiting on the discord. Just a bad look. If people are unhappy with your product, its when you should have the most open discussion. Nearly every game I play the devs talk to the community and improve their game.. NHL is completely silent until they want more of your money. UT posts to push packs and posts about the next game every year. That's it. 

Thanks for the reply. Basically I believe we are on the same page here regarding our thoughts on the game itself. My post was, like I'm sure yours have in the past, were suggestions regarding taking different avenues regarding the games existing setup. And I do agree with you. I don't see any major changes happening in the future. 

rsandersr47 wrote:

new players won't stay regardless as it is behind every other sports title by a sizable amount at this point

What metrics do you base this on? 

rsandersr47 wrote:

we're going to see the same players/ a shrinking population.

Again, the metric being used to determine the population is 'shrinking' would go a long way in adding credibility to your claims.

rsandersr47 wrote:

they can invest almost nothing into the title and get roughly the same profit every year regardless

With the exception of NHL 15, every title in the series has introduced substantial changes that demand significant engineering effort, and that doesn’t come cheap. Game development is incredibly complex. Some critics compare EA’s 9 month development cycle to the multi-year timelines of massive studios, and that’s simply not a fair comparison.

As for the annual release model, yes, it's a business decision. EA isn't going to skip a year when those releases are already factored into financial forecasts. The revenue from yearly titles is a key part of the company’s broader strategy, and pulling the plug on that isn’t as simple as hitting pause.

While you may have specific frustrations or cite questionable stats about a shrinking player base, the reality is that the NHL series continues to thrive in a challenging market. Competing against AAA studios with blockbuster budgets, EA NHL still manages to deliver an engaging experience year after year.

There are active players in every mode, and the leaderboards are constantly full. That’s not the sign of a dying game.

The idea that die hard fans blindly drop $90 annually on a game with "zero new features" doesn't hold up. People spend money where they see value. And if hundreds of thousands of players continue to support the franchise, that speaks volumes about the value they perceive, whether or not it fits your narrative of EA coasting on profits.

rsandersr47 wrote:

I've made several posts about how to improve each part of the game, including gameplay. I think the gameplay is decent, and close to being really good but almost every part of it needs some polishing.

Keep in mind this is a video game. It will never, and I mean never, be a perfect recreation of the real world sport. The gameplay will always need refinement. That’s inevitable. There will always be a running list of improvements, simply because the game engine is constantly chasing the impossible: fully replicating the real-world game of hockey. And that’s a goal it will never completely reach.

rsandersr47 wrote:

I'm not sure anything can convince them unless the sport itself blows up or the NHL gets involved in asking for a better product, or a competitor like 2K comes along.

As long as the trademark is generating profit year over year, the NHL will be fine with EA's product. They don't care that some die-hards don't get the immersion they want. They don't care about the team intro backlash - because 99% of that was just social media noise and people making a stink because it got them engagement on their platforms. The NHL likely couldn't care less about the formula being used in HUT modes. All they care about is that EA continues to issue those hefty licensing payments while respecting the brand. 

rsandersr47 wrote:

We are 4? Years into this new dev team.. still waiting on the discord. Just a bad look. If people are unhappy with your product, its when you should have the most open discussion

It’s ultimately up to EA to prioritize what they believe matters most and I genuinely think they care. But tough decisions have to be made early in development. Sometimes that means cutting or shelving features they want to improve in order to meet broader production goals for the upcoming release.

That doesn’t always align with what the most vocal members of the community think should be added, fixed, or removed. And in some cases, what’s perceived as a flaw is actually just a skill gap. This creates a disconnect: the game functions as the developers intended, but because certain players struggle with the skill or nuance involved, frustration builds. Rather than adapting, these players reject the changes.

This puts the dev team in a difficult spot; trying to innovate without introducing mechanics that are too advanced for less-skilled players. And when those players can’t fully take advantage of the improvements, they dismiss the changes as insignificant.

rsandersr47 wrote:

NHL is completely silent until they want more of your money. UT posts to push packs and posts about the next game every year. That's it. 

100% BS. 

You can come in here and have an issue with the game addressed (not fixed) almost immediately by the community managers. You can post legit video of a real problem and have an engineer looking at the video within days (likely). This constant drum beating that "EA doesn't listen" is just absurd. Again, it comes down to a disconnect between the people demanding these changes and their understanding of game development. 

Google EA nhl 25 sales as compared to other sporting games. That may give you what you are challenging. And your point of players not adapting to changes creating frustration. That isn't the issue at all. The game has been geared to be an online franchise. They make more revenue by it being so. Its the neglect that they have not addressed regarding game issues, or lack of absorbing thoughts and ideas from the community. Obviously you are content with the game. And that's great. But its your opinion. Others have a different one from yours. Hashing this out does not solve the issue. All the best in your going forward with the game. The comment is meant sincerely. Not critically.

But they don’t care because they have no competition anymore. If a new company came along with fresh talent that programed a better game like when ea had competition like NHL 2K or others. But they just want to get more money by people playing ULTIMATE TEAM. Have you noticed in BeAPro that when you poke check it still with the flat of the blade but yet NPC’s poke check with the point or can sweep check without tripping you?

You can sweep your stick without tripping if you manage the gap correctly.

Noting that there are limitations as far as the current AI can go. The game could be possibly better, if EA took note of community suggestions. After all. Its the community that knows the game the best. Putting out new venues that are not fully accepted by the community does nothing to enhance the game. The shoulder checks as an example. Not always easy to accomplish, but it belies the checking aspect of the game altogether.

A lot of “diehards” do blindly buy the game each year regardless of new features or not.  If we want to play in leagues and with friends we have no choice not to.

Are there any leagues playing with 24 still?  No.  So to play in any of them we have to buy 25.

Are any of my friends still playing 24 still?  Maybe a few but not worth not buying 25 where the majority of my friends are playing.  Same thing with having to buy a PS5. Those are the main reasons I’ve blindly been buying this game since basically WOC started over 10 years ago.  

Any new features and/or improvements don’t sell me the game. The “value” I see is the cost compared to the amount of time I play.  So far in 25 I’ve played over 2000 games.  So even the game at $100 equals 5 cents a game for myself.  Or if you want to go by hours played (over 1000) it’s 10 cents a hour.  That’s nothing!  Regardless of the game that’s very cheap entertainment to chat with online friends while playing a game. Thats why I buy the game and well for my love of playing hockey.  I bet a lot of other diehards have the same reasoning.  The only way I stop buying this game blindly each year is if WOC ceased to exist and maybe if a competitor came out with its own WOC mode.

Thats why the majority of online players buy this game.  

Edit: Removed drug and alcohol references. -CM

Mostly using wait times to guess player count. Since the purchases are hidden and its otherwise impossible to prove i feel this is the only way to guesstimate. 5-6 years ago we spent almost 0 time waiting in a lobby. Now when I get on we sometimes just have to play something else because we can't find a game. I feel that's fair.. its fine if you don't.

I dont count any community managers here as EA. They are not able to tell us much of what goes on behind the curtain.. we dont know if what we say here is actually ever brought up.. I am strictly talking about when EA puts out any information, check their X account https://x.com/EASPORTSNHL?t=OHGHcHTKjvuzwJ1OrGrRwg&s=09

We are always gonna have to agree to disagree on how much is enough to be added from title to title. Calling it difficult to me is just an excuse. Its the same one we always hear though. Sometimes it just doesn't even make sense, like when they get rid of things that made the game better the previous year. As far as the game still selling, I truly believe the NHL helps sell the copies, I dont think its Eaa's work. I just think people feel forced to buy if they want a hockey game to play online with friends.. again, you may have a different opinion, at the end of the day it's impossible to get these statistics. 

I try to be fair with the game. I understand constraints.. its just when you get rid of match room size.. or you can't fix lobby glitches for 5+ years.. its hard for me to believe they care. When EA makes good changes I am sure to acknowledge those things, I wrote about them less because that information won't do much to help push the game forward they are also things i tend to write about more when the game first drops. I don't see the massive changes from year to year since 2015 that youre seeing though. I by no means think the game is absolute trash. I just think a lot of TLC is needed in almost every part of the game. EA as a company needs to throw some resources at it. 

I feel almost every sports gane does something really well.. Madden for instance (i hate the game, most gameplay) they do Ultimate team REALLY well imo. The offline challenges are fun, lots of crazy stuff they throw in there. Training cards are cool. Events.. its just really well put together. I'd say college football has by far the best dynasty/ franchise mode. 2K is just the immersion, attention to detail, production.. a whole city to walk around, pregame, halftime, post game shows.. sponsored leagues, etc. It feels like a real world inside the game. FIFA franchise, BAP and online.. MLB be a pro. I feel NHL is the only game w/o online franchise (not sure about MLB)the BAP has gone unchanged for 5 years? Yet 2k (I know they have more money, but they have that time constraint) puts out a full on new story, city, voice lines, and so much more EVERY year. UT challenges are the same "win a few faceoffs, score a goal, win the game" lemme do something fun like play previous stanley cup teams.. or a whole team of giant Howe's give us training cards that we can build up. WoC just needs a whole face-lift. Ive made enough posts about what WoC could do better.. i acknowledge they've actually made a decent number of changes to WoC and I respect that. I do think they went backwards by getting rid of match room size, and I think threes rules get a bit worse every year. I think rule changes should change in that mode season to season or something, club uniforms again would be nice. Not sure why this is the only team mode w/o the ability to have a goalie (not a big issue, just seems odd to me) The addition of bobble head arcade mode was an unexpected good time, but it was often too chaotic and could be dialed back a little. I would also like more change there. Seemed the few times I played that mode all the items were roughly the same concepts.

If there's anything NHL does better than other games, I'd say gameplay by a small amount. I just feel more in control of what I'm doing than I do in any other sports title. I have full control of my stick (mostly I guess) my guy rarely does any wild animations.. when it does happen I typically understand why. I think a LARGE focus on goalies would improve the gameplay a TON.  Also (while I dont like to fight) fighting probably needs a full on overhaul. I also think the game should allow you to put a setting on your WoC player that you won't accept a fight. If the female players can't fight, the male players shouldn't have to engage, especially for a clean hit. All in all I have issues with gameplay but it really just needs touch upside. Defensive players need a bit more awareness sometimes, I think hitting could use polish or a change (but it was improved from the system before) hip checks def need looked at. Balancing needs done for D2D 1T. I like that they are scored and it opens the game up to more options but I think things just need balanced a bit.

Read your post. I agree with you on the its an individuals choice whether they want to buy or not. But I'm kind of bewildered by your on again off again rebuttal. I realise you did state you are trying to be fair in your evaluation. However. When things are bad or not corrected. They have to be called out. Its hard to stand up for something on one hand. Then dispute it on the other. And yes I agree. All in all, the game does have its merits and value. But its the lack of attention to things in the game that are faulty, or have not been improved on. This forum is loaded with disgruntled players, who from one point or another have found issue with the game. And you are right that squabbling here in the forum will not resolve those issues. But the forum is meant to be a place of discussion. Pro or Con. Everyone is entitled to ones own opinion. Its also a place to extol or vent. The reason why most players are finding difficulty in getting opponents. Probably lies with the numbers to draw from. One has to ask. Why are those numbers seemingly low. The answer is again related to who are playing. And the difficulty is probably because a lot are not. Your post was well expressed overall. And I wish that the pleasure you derive from the game continues. GL going forward in your games.