Gamespot preview (Wii) plus video including 360 footage

[Grandmaster D]

Here's the article:
http://www.gamespot.com/wii/sports/nhl2k9/news.html?sid=6195406

They have also added a video preview for the Wii-version. Minutes 4:34 to 4:46 show fighting on the 360 version.

[joker07]

The x360 Fighting is perfect !

[RoadDoggFL]

Where the Phaneuf trip-over-a-stick button?

[CellFish]

I absolutely hate that they're putting so much focus on the Wii version. Sure the Wii is the best-selling console right now but absolutely no hardcore players have made it their primary system and I wouldn't be surprised if NHL 2K9 doesn't sell at all on it (stupid Carnival games will outsell it by a wide margin). I am definitely happy that some 360 footage made it in there though. The fighting looks splendid. I love how you have to keep your balance while fighting and for once, the fighting looks very very realistic: even the referee movements and reactions are real. Looks like 2k9 is close to winning me over yet again, I just hope they show off some real 360 footage soon.

[MapleLeaf16]

It worries me too that it seems like it's all about the Wii this year. We need more coverage on the next gen versions NOW!!!!

[CellFish]

What 2k doesn't seem to realize is that the Wii MIGHT have a hockey audience. MIGHT. That means that people are just as likely to buy the game as they are not to. It's entirely 50/50. However, 2k should know by now that there already is a gigantic audience for hockey on the next-gen consoles. Real hockey gamers have followed the hockey series from the beginning and watched it improve year by year. Once a new edition arrived, the fans thirsted for better graphics and sound and they bought whatever hardware would allow them to experience those better graphics and sound. As such, real hockey gamers own a 360 and/or a PS3. EA understands that for sports games, you will need to cater to the hardcore, 2k doesn't seem to because even in the previous years, 2k made a very minimal effort in showcasing their game for the 360 and the PS3, favouring the PS2 for whatever reason (possibly install base). The result of this was that EA's game really took advantage of the hardware that it was on whereas 2k's game, though extremely entertaining, seemed to look dated the moment it was released. Consequently, reviews became poorer (especially last year when 1UP and EGM tore 2k a new *******) because the end result really seemed to be a slap in the face, though many of us will say it was still superior to the competition.

I have preferred 2k's game during the years of NHL 2K3, 2K4, 2K5, 2K6 and 2K8. EA's offering in 2007 was better despite the fact that it was lacking key features, had a bad framerate and mentally-challenged goaltenders (2k7 was absolutely atrocious), 2k8 won me back with an incredible control scheme (that was deemed too complicated by many people) and intelligent fans (especially when you compare to the EA fans that seem to jump up and cheer even when the home team just got scored on) but the graphics were still poor, player customization was pretty lame (can I please customize a face and not just choose one?) and the sounds just didn't seem right. The default gameplay was also pretty unrealistic though I am aware it can be changed (even though it should not be and the default gameplay should automatically be set to simulation to prevent hockey purists from overlooking the game).

What strikes me as funny in this whole thing though is that EA, not 2K, came up with the hockey MMO idea. The reason I find this peculiar is because I posted a comment on this type of scenario last year on this very forum though I was suggesting that it would be interesting to have a TEAM MMO scenario and not a player MMO (you build up your team from a bunch of losers in a garage league to a national league team instead of building up your player from an overweight bum with no hand-eye coordination to a star) though I suppose that a player-centric scenario is more interesting. I wonder if 2k ever looks at these forums because it seems that EA are the ones scouring this forum for suggestions / ideas.

[zzyzx]

First, what evidence do we have that 2k's spending all their time and resources on the wii version? All we know is that it's getting better media coverage. Which is what exactly what you'd expect. Introducing a franchise to a console is always a bigger story than covering the incremental changes from year x to year x+1. Actually, it's a bit more than that - since EA has conceded hockey on Nintendo to 2k, this is the debut of the entire sport.

As for being a questionable investment . . . I'll defer to the folks at 2K / Take 2 / whatever. The way the install base for the Wii keeps growing, I'm not sure how much faith I'd put in sales figures from 12-18 months ago. I think 2k sees an opportunity to really create an identity on Nintendo by making games for people over age 12 (unlike EA, which seems to have bought hook, line, and sinker into all the completely exaggerated hype about little tykes and grandparents bonding over a sports video game. Seriously, wt f?)

From here it looks like good news for Nintendo owners, and still way to early to tell for Sony and MS. Why get worked up over it before there's any actual reason.

[RoadDoggFL]

Haha, CellFish. Yeah, you came up with Be a Pro and EA only thought of it by looking at this forum.

It's a logical progression and the only reason it hasn't been a common request is because online support in hockey games has always sucked.

And have you even seen 2K8 (or hell, even 2K7) on the PS2? No way in hell was that thing their main focus during development.

[zzyzx]

FWIW, I'm not saying 2K shouldn't devote the time to produce first rate games for the next gen systems. I just doubt that the wii version has that much to do with anything. Look at EA. They totally crapped out the Wii version of NCAA Football, and the 360/PS3 versions are still buggy as hell, and have major trouble spots with AI. It isn't as simple as focusing on this platform versus that one. It just isn't as simple as deciding to focus on one system and then automatically getting good results.