Do you want to see NHL on PC?

I absolutely love the fact that this is being brought up by other members of the NHL community. I put in a decent effort into composing the following letter to Electronic Arts. It's shameful that in 2016, with 4K and 60FPS gaming available on living room PC units (Corsair Bulldog, Nvidia Shield, etc.)  we're capped to 30FPS and ugly graphics. Here it is:

Dear Electronic Arts,

     My name is [blank] and I’ve been a consumer and dedicated fan of the NHL franchise that you produce. I’ve owned every game from NHL ’93 on the SEGA Genesis and continue to play to this day. I am not the only person. Year over year you’ve had a loyal fan base composed of millions who look to play a state of the art, true next-generation hockey simulation. Unfortunately, I believe that the NHL franchise has been constrained by the Xbox One and Playstation 4 hardware limitations. What I personally believe is that the PC gaming market could offer consumers the next generation overhaul that they’ve been desperately seeking. I’m confident that this has been a topic of conversation in your product development meetings.

     Electronic Arts is the only company that produces a hockey simulation, so no one has an ability to get their fix if they decide against buying a console. According to an article on www.gamesindustry.biz, writer Joost van Dreunen explains that the PC gaming revenue for the year 2015 surpassed the “dominant” mobile gaming industry by $7B, for an overall of $32B in total PC gaming market revenue. That is currently the largest market and there’s still more to be made. Based off of the International Data Center’s numbers, “…high end desktops and laptops for gaming are doing better than ever” and it goes into forecasts anticipating twenty six percent growth annually. I believe that if capitalized on, Electronic Arts can take sports gaming to the next level by adapting to the current market trends.

     More importantly is the impending connection of an international market. Console gaming and selling physical copies of video games is antiquated and costly. PC gaming sales platforms such as Steam, Origin, and uPlay streamline the process of purchasing games and with proper pricing structure, all international countries can enjoy your game at an affordable price from the savings you’ll stack up from slowly pulling away from physical copies of video games. In synergy with a global PC gaming market, the NHL’s push to an international market is evident now more than ever with its new adoption of the World Cup of Hockey. By leveraging the exposure that the NHL is giving hockey to an international community, you can utilize their marketing to aggregate a consumer base of people showing interest in the sport in continents such as Europe and, if the NHL’s meets its ambitious goals of expanding into the Chinese market, Asia.

     Furthermore, NHL HUT and online gaming has the potential to catch on and continue to grow into the streaming market. Competitive tournaments and e-sports prize pools continue to grow in number and if nurtured correctly, Electronic Arts can be an incredibly positive influence in that domain.

     Something I believe is being hindered by the mediocre capabilities of the Xbox One and Playstation 4 is the talents of your game developers. The year is 2016 and we’re rapidly approaching 2017. There is 4K resolution gaming available as well as 60FPS gaming, something the gaming community is desperate to get. If the console markets won’t provide that, adapt and move yourself to another platform! Corsair has introduced the new Bulldog console with high end hardware to achieve those goals while maintaining your roots with the living room and couch gaming approach. Steam has the Steam Machine, Nvidia has the Shield, and even Alienware is tapping in with the Alpha. Your developers have the ability to set the standard for what a sports game should be. Imagine NHL 19 with 60FPS and 4K resolution and incredible graphics that everyone will salivate over. The gaming industry needs to be progressive and not remain stagnant by limiting itself.

Be the pioneers.

Think bigger.

Sincerely,

dZ_darkh0rse