PHPA Press Releases
EA SPORTS NHL 11 in Stores Now
By With files from the Toronto Star Published on: Thursday August 19, 2010
EA announced today that EA SPORTS NHL SLAPSHOT and NHL 11 are both available in North American stores. Both games will be available worldwide September 9, 2010. EA SPORTS NHL 11 is available for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system.
"We are extremely excited about our hockey offerings this year,” says Brent Nielsen, executive producer, EA SPORTS. “Our NHL product is consistently one of our strongest titles on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
NHL 11 marks the 20th Anniversary of the award winning EA SPORTS NHL franchise, by introducing a genre changing real-time physics engine that replicates the real sport like never before. With real physics powering NHL 11, every check, broken stick and bounce of the puck will now react like it does in the real world. NHL 11 also introduces a revamped faceoff system to the franchise. Now players will be given all the options that an NHL center has in the faceoff circle, giving users even more control than they have ever had in an EA SPORTS NHL game.
Meanwhile in Toronto, Luke Schenn says winning the Stanley Cup is easy. He can do it in a video game anytime he wants. And, like any true gamer, he’s got connections — he secured a copy of NHL 11 well before the game went on sale to the public on Tuesday.
In the game, the real Schenn gives the avatar Schenn plenty of responsibility.“He played quite a few minutes,” the real Schenn said. “But he wasn’t the leading scorer.”
In the game, Schenn has the ability to build a team and play with its members — for 25 seasons.
Schenn and many other Leafs devote hours to the game, relaxing on their couches and playing online against buddies like Tyler Bozak and John Mitchell.
The game’s prime demographic is men age 34 and under. That leaves Ron Wilson, 55, mystified with the gaming culture. “The only thing I play on my computer, my iPad, is solitaire,” Wilson said before putting on his glasses to examine the game’s depth chart of his Maple Leaf squad. “Well, there’s no Clarke MacArthur there. Or (Nazem) Kadri. It’s fairly close — I’m actually going to take this,” Wilson said as he slowly shuffled away. “The computer’s gotta be smarter than me.”
For the gaming generation, nothing is more important than a player’s rating. Developers rank attributes — such as skating, shot power and strength — that affect how each player performs in the game.
Schenn is listed as a two-way defenceman with a rating of 81 out of 100. Bozak, a playmaker, checks in at 79, as does Mitchell, although he’s listed as a two-way forward.
Shane Malloy is the man behind the rating system. He freelances for EA Sports, the NHL 11 developer, as the company’s professional scout. Malloy watched every single NHL, AHL and CHL team last year — more than 200 live games — in an effort to give an accurate portrayal of every player in the game.
Since the fall of 2007 with NHL 08, EA SPORTS has had an exclusive license with the American Hockey League allowing all AHL teams -- as well as players, stats, uniforms, logos, arenas and trophies -- to be featured in EA's NHL franchise. This extension will continue the AHL's involvement through 2003-14.
The inclusion of the AHL provides an additional level of authenticity to EA SPORTS' award-winning NHL game franchise. The AHL serves as top development League for all 30 NHL clubs and 85 percent of all current NHL players are graduates of the American Hockey League. In the NHL 11 game, gamers can play AHL teams against each other or use the "Be A Pro" feature to start off in the ranks of the American Hockey League and advance to a potentially legendary career in the NHL.
