@zFonzx Microsoft has stated that Xcloud will be open to Xbox Game Libraries by the end of the year, so NHL could be playable through Xcloud on PC by the end of the year some time.
The only way it wouldn't be is if EA doesn't allow it. (Don't know why they wouldn't, we would still have to buy the game).
Being a unique individual spending 2+ years working PR/Customer Service and being a Computer Science student working on video games at one of Canada’s top universities, and reading this debate for over 5 years since NHL17, I understand Aljo’s (and I guess EA’s) standpoint as well as this one.
In complete honesty, the ability for EA to release a PC port is not impossible. Yes, there is risk, and yes there is quite a bit of work, but at the end of the day a PC port isn’t going to disable EA’s ability to release a new NHL game on consoles. I do, however also see the business standpoint and the reliance of this arbitrary “not enough PC players” argument that seems to be more of a PR argument over an actual in-depth and thoroughly researched project. Research needs to be thorough, and in this sense, thorough research would most likely involve getting the public’s general opinion. The numbers people can crunch their numbers all they want, but they can only do as good of a job as good as the data they are provided with. EA has taken no measure of the interest in a PC game officially (from what I’ve seen, never seen a poll or some popup on my game asking me if I would be interested in a PC version), so I assume that they compare it to the vast difference in Madden’s PC vs Console sales.
I do feel like there is a bit of a difference with NHL mainly being popular in Canada, and Europe, but I’m not going to get into detail as to why that is an insolvable variable in their “crunched numbers”. Comparing google trends, the search term “nhl on PC” is as popular now as it was back in 2007-2008 on google worldwide, and is FAR more popular now in Canada than it was when it was pulled back in 2009. So there does seem to be an increased interest in consumers whether or not there is a popular NHL game on PC, so I would be very interested in seeing how EA computes the size of this market.
Who knows, maybe, just maybe, there is somehow a big enough PC market to warrant a refresh. Is this likely? Probably not, but it isn’t impossible. In my past 5 or 6 years hunting, I’ve only ever seen threads from passionate PC users who for some reason actually signed up for an account to post the argument here, which falls on deaf ears. I get that EA needs to make money, it is a business, but none of the excuses really satisfy me because there’s no conclusive evidence that this is the case or no thorough explanation from the developers themselves. If there is, maybe it’s best to make a huge note/video and repeatedly post it so people wondering can understand directly what the developers are saying, but whatever.
But, on the other hand, I don’t see much of an excuse for backing away from cloud gaming. It seems to be the optimal solution as it (should) allow EA to conduct extensive research on how much players will use cloud gaming to play this game through a PC, while also requiring next to no work and still earning money off of a game sale. If this data is eventually released to the public, it also allows PC players to see EA’s standpoint more clearly. However, even if it does come on the cloud and EA sees underwhelming player-ship for the PC, I really don’t know why we can’t just resort to just updating the PC port from NHL09 to NHL23 or NHL24 or whatnot. I would happily buy NHL23 on PC and wouldn’t be upset if the next game was NHL27 or NHL29 or whatever, because at least I have something to play that isn’t 14 years old. I guess it’s more of a business decision.
But even then, I guess what I’m really unhappy about is the disorganized stream of information and excuses from a company apparently worth billions of dollars. I think the community managers do a great job but I’d like to hear a professional and detailed response from the developers, particularly if they choose to not allow this game to go on the cloud, a response that can constantly be linked to instead of the community managers just going “oh well the market is small I know this because of this and I spoke to the development team myself and blah blah”. I get that this is the community managers’ job, to manage the community and report to both the community and developers, but it’s such a huge discussion with tens of thousands of silent voices that read the first article saying “EA isn't releasing the game on PC” and then proceeding to sigh and move on, that I feel like a developer response that can be consistently referred to can clear the water. I’m not here with anger (like some people here), its just curiosity and closure. I’ll still probably buy NHL23 anyways because what else should I use my hard earned 90 dollars on, and use some cool PS4 tricks to actually play it on my PC screen using a keyboard, but it would be nice if EA took this opportunity of cloud gaming and experimented with it to see if, in the future, they can clarify or maybe even reverse their stance on the state of the PC market. I would much rather throw my money at EA for a PC release because I play the game with my PC right now, but since I technically have to use my PS4 to do it, it counts me as a PS4 player. Cloud gaming though seems like a good way for me to just buy the game on xbox and play it on my PC that way instead of my current method. But nonetheless, I like your passion Gerard, and I understand you’re just doing your job Aljo, but it is what it is. Maybe one day (hopefully in December) we can have some sort of solution to this.
I am all for a PC port. Only if you're able to turn off cross play between PC and console. So that if PC has a cheater issue. Console players don't end up suffering for it. Then PC players can deal with that themselves. 🤷♂️
@SturmWolfe wrote:I am all for a PC port. Only if you're able to turn off cross play between PC and console. So that if PC has a cheater issue. Console players don't end up suffering for it. Then PC players can deal with that themselves. 🤷♂️
And consoles don't have cheaters? Are you serious?
@BruinsHockey08
Indeed. Some people will do anything to cheat.
Oh well, EA just lost thousands of sales by not releasing a PC version. I have 10 friends all with only PCs wanting this game. We can't be the only 10 people in the world that this is a thing.
If you want to show us you care, make NHL 22, which is already on Xbox Game Pass, playable on Xcloud because we know NHL 23 won't be on Game Pass til the end of the season. Just let us play NHL. That's all we want in any way possible.
@MrGerard0406 wrote:@BruinsHockey08
Indeed. Some people will do anything to cheat.
Oh well, EA just lost thousands of sales by not releasing a PC version. I have 10 friends all with only PCs wanting this game. We can't be the only 10 people in the world that this is a thing.If you want to show us you care, make NHL 22, which is already on Xbox Game Pass, playable on Xcloud because we know NHL 23 won't be on Game Pass til the end of the season. Just let us play NHL. That's all we want in any way possible.
EA is missing out with no PC release.
Especially hurtful to those with a Steam Deck too since we could have played some puck while we were on a car ride or something along those lines.
@BruinsHockey08So true. And heck with a Cloud release through Xbox, you can even play it on your Steam Deck as well. Same with a Nintendo Switch, PC, Smart Phone, etc. Just give us a cloud version to stream. It takes no work on their part because it's just the console version.
@MrGerard0406 wrote:@BruinsHockey08So true. And heck with a Cloud release through Xbox, you can even play it on your Steam Deck as well. Same with a Nintendo Switch, PC, Smart Phone, etc. Just give us a cloud version to stream. It takes no work on their part because it's just the console version.
It's just a missed opportunity, Madden and FIFA sell quite well and I think NHL would to if they give it its due.
Yeah, I'm one of those moving away from consoles and will be PC only in the future. With Microsoft and Sony buying studios and having exclusives, I've noticed most of their exclusives are still coming to PC and they are going to look great with 3080. So when the PS4 version discontinues, I'll probably call it quits.
I think crossplay locked to gen was smart. I speculate that this will be the last NHL game for old gen consoles anyways so they didn't want to mix crossplay on old-gen with next-gen. I could be wrong, but when the PS4 came out, I think there were only 2 hockey games released afterwards on PS3. Maybe next year if NHL is next-gen exclusive, sales will decrease and they'll remember the PC community.
It would be great if NHL24 makes it's way to Xbox Game Pass or something for the PC . Ulimately, I'd like a PC port, start a franchise, and make some adjustments so my goalie masks match my team colors. I still don't know why goalie masks with team colors is such a huge task for them. Even if I couldn't customize my goalie mask, it would still be nice to continue playing.
Community ManagerI'm the opposite. I used to be a big PC guy, but now I just want my games to work. I probably see more people having trouble with PCs than consoles on Answers HQ. There's a million things that can go wrong with PCs. Granted, when it works, you have a pretty incredible experience so for someone that knows what they're doing, it's a killer platform for gaming.
We need the logo customization of Diamond Dynasty from MLB The Show in NHL.
#NHL24OnPC
@EA_Aljo
Sounds like an EA game problem as I don't have any other issues with any PC games. Though in my experience I have not had any PC-specific issues with Madden 23 on PC (don't play any other EA games, well I tried BF2042 and that was pretty bad imo). The only issues I have with that game is the game itself 🙂 but we won't talk about that here.
Can you answer this question though? So NHL 22 is on Xbox Game Pass, right? So why is the option to play it through Xcloud not there? This is a great opportunity for EA to gain more information about a non-console player base. And it's no effort on EA's side. It's just the Xbox version streamed to PC, mobile, Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, smart TVs, etc.
Community ManagerI'm just going off what I see here on Answers HQ. Consoles are mostly more about connection issues where PC problems are a lot more complicated. As I said though, if you know what you're doing, like yourself, you can fix issues on your own. Not everyone has that level of knowledge or patience. I had fun in my PC days, but I just like start up a game and have it work. Plus, all my friends on are console as well so it works out. I'd absolutely love it if we had a PC version though. I wouldn't play it, but I think it would be amazing if we could support that platform.
So what would be considered the minimum amount of sales that would need to be made in order for the game to be on PC?
I mean Eastside Hockey Manager which is just hockey sim has sold over 66,000 copies and that's for a game that isn't a high end title like the NHL series would be (and its a 22.00 CAD title...sure that's about a quarter of the price the NHL series would be on PC but considering the difference in caliber you would think that would mean something).
If you want to see interest perhaps you should field things by having a poll on steam or better yet have a place holder for it and see how many people add it to their wish list....sure that doesnt equal sales but would give you guys a pretty good idea of how much interest there is out there. If EA already has games on steam i believe the cost is minimal i believe the last time i looked at it to release one of my indy titles it was about 100).
Another option would be to make a deal with a different game studio that could just port the game and give you guys a percentage of the revenues on the first PC release. If Nintendo can do it and they are pretty tight with their IPs surely EA could.
I find it ridiculous that in this day and age you guys still feel like PC isn't worth the time and effort.
I don't think it's sales is the problem here...I believe EA just hasn't had interest to brain storm how to get it to the masses.
Heck I would even pay for an NHL game on PC if the only that that was ported is the sim portion of it if it meant real releases will come down the line. Surely not as much time would need to be spent in ensuring the game runs well on a PC if it is non gameplay portions. Call it NHL gm or something. All it takes is to think outside the box...which sounds like EA hasn't been capable of doing so far.
@pamba1e2ojb5
I see your enthusiasm for this, but an NHL GM mode from EA would not sell well on PC at all, considering EHM and FHM are already doing that and in much more depth (too bad FHM is buggy as all heck)
If they were to release a pc game it would need all the gameplay. Which still, why they haven't yet is ridiculous. My Xcloud question also I guess will never get answered lol. They don't even know how to respond to it because they themselves don't even know why it's not on Xcloud.
I think at this stage it's a management decision whether or not to bring NHL to PC. I agree with EA_Aljo that PC problems would be more complicated to resolve, but I think the constant PC glitches are a thing of the past. If the PC port was done right, I don't think there would as many issues as they claim. I can't remember the last time I played a game on Steam that gave me an error.
And if PC gaming was so bad, then why would Sony be porting their exclusives like Spiderman, God of War, Uncharted collection and more to PC? And why are the new games being released on PC?
I would think that the small team rumor would be a false assumption too. EA worked with Velan Studios to publisher Knockout City (team of 50) and that is PC/console and crossplay.
All I'm going to suggest is that if EA ever brings a NHL game back to PC, I hope they really advertise it. I've been able to play hockey on PS4, but know a lot of you guys haven't played since NHL 09 on PC.
Community ManagerI'm not saying PC gaming is bad. There's just a small community of hockey video game players in it. NHL is a niche game for a sport that isn't as popular as Soccer, American Football, etc. The number of people playing it wouldn't make all the work it takes to bring it to PC worth it. I sincerely hope that changes someday.
I'm one of those who haven't played an NHL game on PC since 09.
A few years after that when it looked like EA wasn't going to do a thing about it I also stopped purchasing EA games altogether. I'm only one customer so i'm sure i'm not even a blip on their radar but I refuse to give any of my hard earned money to them until they get NHL back on PC.
Have i missed out on great games? Sure but the beauty of PC gaming is there is a ton of choices and I can play games from 20 years ago if i really want to (and ironically enough that's pretty much what I do whenever I feel the itch to play NHL on PC) without having to worry about it working (to some point).
If it's true that EA doesn't have an exclusivity on NHL games I wish we could see another company step up.
I haven't played since XBOX 360. But it was different back then. There was a point to having consoles because of the exclusives. As I mentioned previously, there isn't anymore. A PC is a better deal because of PC exclusives, definite 'backwards compatibility' since majority of my games are between Epic & Steam, and now all XBOX & Playstation exclusives are on PC as well. It's the more all-in-one gaming platform, with the exception of Nintendo.
And personally, I never really liked being forced to play on a controller. I grew up with keyboard & mouse and prefer to stick by that.
I've been in the same mindset in terms of giving up on EA entirely. Sims 4 is the more recent game and its expansion I spent money on, but a few years ago I decided I'm fed up with EA. There was nothing good about Origin. I barely had any friends on it, because everyone was on Steam. The few friends I do have on there are never online because no one plays their games anymore. I only kept using Origin because of Sims 4. And as everyone knows, EA milks that like crazy. So I've given up on that series, and have no plans for Sims 5.
If NHL joins the new "EA app" platform, I'll give EA a chance again.
And I just got an email that I've been selected for the NHL 23 Technical test.
1. I didn't apply for it.
2. I don't have an XBOX beyond a 360.
Thanks for trolling EA.
Ayo i’d love a code 😂
(jk PC only gang)
Gave up on NHL by EA after the POS that was NHL19. Clear they didn't care about hockey at that point. Been playing hockey video games since Blades of Steel on NES, so nice work EA getting me to stop caring.
