The Fall of EA's NHL Series - What Happened?

The NHL series of hockey video games made by EA used to be amazing. From the iconic NHL 94, to the critically acclaimed NHL 2004, to the last great NHL game, NHL 14. But then NHL 15 came and ruined everything, resulting in a series that is now a shell of itself (with over 80 features no longer in the game that once were). Classic EA, am I right? Haha

00:00 Intro
02:58 The Golden Era
10:25 The Start
15:07 The Fall
20:29 Promise
20:30 Final Thoughts

Follow SOFTDRINKTV

[SOFTDRINKTV]

I made a mistake! NHL 94 DID NOT have fighting. I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I also forgot to mention that 07 introduced the skill stick, a huge feature.

[MikeJr]

The decline of both the Madden series and the NHL series are basically parallel to each other.

[MattColbo]

man i remember buying NHL 15 for the 360 on release day only to discover it was literally the exact same game, in every single way, as NHL 14, just with Bergeron on the cover

[cainhub]

I knew the AI was cheating, there is no way they score some of the goals they do. They also happen to score in the most crucial moments no matter what my defence

[thecanadian]

"A friend" working at EA in 2005 said there was a MAJOR shift away from quality.
2004 was the last time the word "fun" was a priority. It quickly became get it "shippable"
This was at the end of PS2 XBOX cycle, add 360, PS3, even PSP. Too many SKUs. Bad products
Top management was axed in 2004 (start of downfall), early 2006 10% of staff axed. Many vets.
They've never been the same since.

[ReifeErnteRacing]

One feature I really miss over years, because it creates so much atmosphere, are Entrance scenes from some specific teams. If I remember correctly, there were NHL titles where San Jose came up on the ice through a shark head.

[notdylancolley]

I miss NHL 14 so much. I had so many memories, and Gary Throne's commentary really gave off those old school hockey vibes. I still remember my first "Live the live" series. I made myself; A short, defensive, two way center who could deke, dangle, and snipe. I was young and didn't care about passing though lol, so one season I actually had 350 goals just as my created player. I also had an Old Sens series I made too, with Spezza as the captain. I had Taylor Hall on the team with him too. The chemistry with them was awesome.

[commentarywithconnor]

I thought I was the only one who thought that the final 360/PS3 NHL(14) was the last great NHL. That generation made incredible strides year by year and 14 was phenomenal with all its game modes and its perfect gameplay. The perfect mix between realism and arcade.

[VindictiveRaider]

From a 52 year old guy that has retired from playing hockey on EA a thank you for this video. It brought back tons of memories. It was so fun playing back in the 90s.

[bruin]

2K NEEDS to start making NHL games again

[Zeitgeistmusic]

The mark of a great documentary is to get someone to watch and care about something that they do t care about. I don't care about hockey nor do I care about hockey video games but I was enthralled by the documentary 👏.

[saddler]

2010-2014 was probably my favorite time with the game.

[chasewilliams]

The downfall of EA sports started in 2013 when Andrew Wilson became CEO of EA. After 2014’s Advanced Warfare Andrew saw just how Lucrative micro transactions can make. After that EA games have never been the same. EA sports now is in a period where they take away features, wait 5 years and bring those same features back and make it the main selling point for their yearly releases rinse and repeat. When it comes to sports games ONLY BUY USED. I don’t care if they’re selling it for the same price you can buy it new at Walmart. Never let EA see a penny from you

[shawklan]

Remember that time when nhl 2k10 allowed you control a ice ring cleaner just because? Shit like that gave that game a great sense of personality something that is extremely lacking in todays nhl games.

[vaagai]

Here's how good NHL 09 was for me- I played that game on my PC for more than a hundred hours in my teenage days and I hadn't even watched a single ice hockey match in my life.

[halfclappertopchedda]

Dude I never noticed this before. The goal celebrations from nhl10 are the SAME animation at nhl22. WTF. EA is SO lazy. Holy man that is embarssing.

[hartingjonbalaj]

Imagine a company that has basically monopolized sports simulation games and instead of revolutionizing the gaming industry they have literally regressed in ways that one would view as unfathomable unimaginable 15 years ago.

[Basegud]

I had been playing NHL 21 for a while, but then I decided to take a little trip down memory lane and popped in NHL 15. I immediately noticed that the graphics and shadows were a lot better, and I was kinda confused to see this better output coming from an older game.

[matthewbless]

The NHL 01 intro still gives me goosebumps. Heavy by Collective Soul banging in the background of hard hits and fast paced hockey action was *so* cool back in the day

[SavedAndConfused]

The nhl games became my absolute favorite sports videogames when I was a kid and single handedly made me hockey fan. I'm hoping soon we can get back to something on the level of 14