Didn't buy

More or less a lack of competition means little work goes into the game. Little work goes into the game means little demand for the game. Little demand for the game means little competition. 2K currently doesn't see the advantage of competing in a small market. NHL doesn't bring in the same numbers as a Madden. That being said 2K is planning on rolling out a soccer game and with EA soccer being their biggest money maker if 2k pushes them the same way they pushed out EA in NBA it will only be a matter of time before we see the same in the NFL and NHL markets. The way EA has treated its customers I don't think many fans are going to stick with EA if there's another option. I'd say most NHL fans feel pretty disgusted with how we're treated, how slow they are to roll out with the same technology that other titles are getting. I hate basketball but I'm quick to admit NBA 2K is by far the best sports game available. People complain about the money you put into it for your character and whatnot but I'd gladly pay $150 every year if the game had all the bells and whistles that 2k has. 2K fans complain that their city isn't updated enough.. NHL we complain that the menu is as slow as ps1/ ps2 days and that doesn't even load a whole city.. 2K is decades ahead of NHL. I understand NHL gets less money but if 2K can make a whole new story, a new city, a new player archetype builder, new animations, etc. EVERY year.. do we see that level of changes even after 10 years in NHL? How much does NHL make in 10 years vs NBA 2K in 1? If it's close then 2k is STILL doing far better. NHL has made some significant changes in the last 10 years, DSS comes to mind as the biggest change but also lots of changes weren't asked for, were worthless, were already removed or debuffed. Lots of development time was rendered worthless. Their vision and direction seem poor. They need a better council/ development focus. 

2K does do a lot of fan service and attention to detail I think this is a big reason people tend to choose 2K over EA through the years. I go into the NBA city that they made and I can walk into any store and buy clothes, I can go to play diff modes, I can go to the coaches office and look at the game plan, I can go to practice, I can look at my trophy room, I can see and customize shoes.  What could all this look like in a hockey game? 

Even just customizing goalie masks and having a trophy room/ a crib or something would go a long way with fans. Having a crib/ locker room to go to in WoC would be cool. Having more options in practice mode for your club so you can practice 2 on 1s and stuff. There are a lot of things this game COULD add to show they care.. instead I just feel like every game gives us the bare minimum. Just enough to throw some features on the back cover to warrant $70. I used to think EA didn't give everything fans wanted so that they wouldn't run out of ideas for future games but with the mountain of things that were seeing in other games that are lacking in this game.. it just seems they just don't want to work on much. Again, I'm not in the room.. idk what all goes into this but it truly seems like they work on each game for about a month out of the year, and call it. Dunno how many there are.. of they get paid for the whole year or how it all works but the lack of development between each game just seems outrageous even factoring in the smaller player base. Work on the game and the player base grows. Add as few features as possible and it continues to dwindle. I would think k as hockey grows in popularity the game would sell itself and if EA invested a decent amount of money into the game just for a couple years they would make all that mo ey back and more.. fans would return and new fans would come. Bugs being in the game for years and years is NOT how you sell games and it makes fans feel they're not heard.