We’re talking about basic features that were already in NHL over a decade ago, ran fine, and made the experience better.
What features? My dude - you need to understand that in order for ChatGPT to provide a response that has some substance, you need to prompt it properly. You're just saying platitudes like "realism needs to be brought back" and "they just need to change their entire business model". These statements mean nothing without actual examples of exactly what you mean.
just bring back the core features that made past games great
like what? provide some actual examples instead of word salad from ChatGPT.
But if it’s really good and you want to keep playing, most people would keep their subscription going year after year
Again with this "If the game was good, people would buy it". Like.. my guy... please understand the vagueness of these statements makes them drip with insincerity.
it is just a fail safe for EA to roll out a better, higher quality game with many more feature missing and for players to continue subscribing if it is worth it.
How?! Please provide an actual specific example of how a 12-month development cycle would differ under a subscription model. You haven't laid out any specifics other than "if they made the game great, people would subscribe"
I played MVP Baseball 05 for six years after its release because they gave players full customization in and out of franchise mode, with way more depth. If EA isn’t going to give us proper player scans, accurate equipment sizes no and styles, and the ability to edit attributes inside Franchise — along with the option to fix their terrible generic faces and hairstyles for non-scanned players — it just shows they don’t want to give full customization by design. They’re afraid that if offline players had that kind of freedom, people wouldn’t feel the need to buy every year.
The generic faces haven’t changed in over a decade, and there’s zero incentive to make offline modes feel like a real NHL season experience. The devs are capable of it — it’s EA holding it back for money.
For me, making NHL great again has less to do with raw gameplay and more to do with the depth of a true simulated NHL experience. Most of the features I’ve listed are about realism, not mechanics: interviews, storylines, authentic and fluid commentary, in-season scrimmages and drills, news articles, off-ice interactions (not just in Be a Pro), full customization, more cutscenes showing players, fans, arenas, and broadcast walk-ins while commentators go over keys to the game. These are all features that used to exist in some form years ago, only to be stripped down and drip-fed back slowly by design.
And honestly, this kind of stuff could all be added in one offseason if EA wanted to. A subscription model would ensure players keep paying every year even with full customization. Hell, if they don’t want to include it by default, then monetize it — charge us to unlock full customization or for updated scans. At least give the option. Fans have been asking for years, and it’s insane that the depth, weight, and realism of a true NHL simulation keeps getting ignored.
Community ManagerThe generic faces haven’t changed in over a decade, and there’s zero incentive to make offline modes feel like a real NHL season experience. The devs are capable of it — it’s EA holding it back for money.
This is not true. Nothing is held back for money reasons. If anything is held back it's because it's not ready for release. Again, a subscription model most likely wouldn't get more accomplished. The dev team would still be doing the same amount of work.
