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EA Sports donates $500,000 of in-game ads to Movember initiative
In good guy news, EA Sports is putting up $500,000 worth of in-game advertising for Movember, free of charge. You may have already spotted the ads, which will run this month, in the latest iterations of FIFA, Madden, and NHL.Movember's been going for several years now, but in case you're yet to link it to the surge of facial hair above November lips, the charity's website can fill you in. In short, dudes grow their mustaches out across the month, all in the name of raising money for men's health charities like the Prostate Cancer and LiveStrong foundations.While this is excellent of EA Sports, we're a little disappointed to not hear of EA CEO Peter Moore growing out his whiskers - we mean really growing out his whiskers. We reckon he could totally pull off this little number. Of course, even that 'stache woudn't compare to a certain reviews editor's super sexy stylings.
Failing the NHL 13 academy
I love sports, but I know next to nothing about hockey. Maybe my lack of NHL love has something to do with my Wisconsin upbringing, a sort of "no-man's land" for professional hockey. The Milwaukee Admirals AHL team doesn't excite me, and picking between the Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild and Detroit Red Wings is an uncomfortable proposition.My knowledge of the sport itself is even more limited. Aside from the terms "icing" and "line changes," hockey is alien to me. Joystiq recently ran an editorial discussing how simulation sports games don't do enough to assist people like me in learning the ropes in the sports they feature. To test that theory, I attempted to learn more about hockey through NHL 13.%Gallery-165522%
NHL 13 EU demo out next week, full title rushing the ice Sept. 13
Pulling someone's shirt over their head and them punching them in the gut is a great way to pass the time and everything, but sometimes you need a structured sporting event built around beating the tar out of someone. Thus, hockey was invented, and has been continually reinvented every year by EA's NHL series of games.The latest entry, NHL 13, will be available in demo form for Europeans with XBL and/or PSN access on August 21 and 22 respectively, EA has just announced during its Gamescom conference in Cologne, Germany. The full game will crush your spine against a plexiglass barrier on September 13.
EA Season Ticket expands with 'over $100 of PDLC' for use in Ultimate Team mode
Nope, "PDLC" does not stand for "Penguin Downloadable Costumes," as much as we want it to. Unfortunately, in this instance, it stands for "paid downloadable content," and EA Sports' $25 "Season Ticket" is adding a smattering of said content to its value proposition in its coming line of annual sports games.For instance, Madden 13 players are getting one legendary pack and 24 Pro Madden Packs, apparently, while NHL/FIFA fans are also getting 24 "Premium Gold Packs" for their Ultimate Team modes. Both Tiger Woods 14 and NCAA 14 are also putting their normally paid DLC into EA's Season Ticket program, though no details are given on what that content will be.The usual other Season Ticket perks apply, such as three-day early access to digital versions of next year's sports title and a 20 percent discount on non-included DLC. And yes, you get to keep the smug sense of satisfaction you get from having a one-up on your Ultimate Team compatriots.
NHL 13's goalie is more limber than ever before
According to the latest NHL 13 goalie trailer, last year's model was basically the equivalent of an old Volvo: boxy, slow, heavy and totally Swedish.
NHL 13 to feature Flyers' Giroux on cover
Claude Giroux was declared the winner of the NHL 13 cover vote, and was announced as the game's featured cover athlete earlier this week by EA Sports. The Philadelphia Flyers forward beat Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne to win the cover tournament.This was the first cover vote for the NHL series, which EA Sports said resulted in over 26 million votes. Unlike the Madden cover votes in the past, tournament voting was hosted directly on the league's website, underscoring the sense of value both the NHL and players have for the opportunity to grace the cover of the game.NHL 13 will launch September 11 in North America for Xbox 360 and PS3, and September 14 in Europe.
Knuckle-puck time: NHL 13 slated for Sept. 11, collector's edition announced
EA Sports Canada recently announced the feature set for NHL 13, which is due for release on September 11 in North America and September 14 in Europe on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Among the more noteworthy features listed are the additions of "True Performance Skating" and "EA Sports Hockey I.Q." True Performance Skating is the latest in EA Sports' apparent efforts to introduce physics-based engines to player movement. Much like FIFA 12's Player Impact Engine, True Performance Skating promises to deliver the "explosiveness, momentum and top end speed displayed by today's NHL players," while utilizing over a thousand new player animations. The result, according to the team, should allow for more realistic and creative player movement. NHL 13 also features EA Sports Hockey I.Q., and unfortunately it isn't a sports-themed quiz show. EA Sports elaborated on the shortcomings of the computer A.I. in last year's game, saying that "players were only aware of skaters in their immediate proximity and goalies could only react to the player in control of the puck." EA Sports Hockey I.Q. is expected to encourage, you guessed it, more intelligent decisions by computer-controlled players, who will now "read the whole ice." The series' Be a GM mode, traditionally a single-player feature, will allow players to pit their teams against one another in a full 30-team online league in NHL 13. EA Sports Canada says there will be a "companion mobile app" for players to connect to their online leagues as well. EA Sports also listed details on collector's edition versions of the game, which mostly includes Hockey Ultimate Team card packs. Both the standard and collector's editions of the game are available to pre-order now from the Origin store.
