EA Canada details start of NHL 15 post-launch content
EA Canada revealed content updates it's currently working on for NHL 15 on PS4 and Xbox One, such as custom offline Playoff Mode tournaments and Online Team Play. The annual hockey sim takes to the ice this week under the weight of recent criticism, after it emerged several modes and features are absent from the new-gen versions.
On the EA forums, Producer Sean Ramjagsingh detailed updates which are expected to arrive across the next two months or so. EA Canada estimates the offline Playoff Mode tournaments will land in September, along with Coach Feedback for Be a Pro, 3 Stars of the Game stats for every mode, and a number of minor updates to Hockey Ultimate Team. GM Draft, which limits draft picks to 3 minute countdown, is due in October, as is Online Team Play, which the studio previously said would be added to as part of the post-launch update program.
However, the mode, which lets users each control a player on the ice, will be 5 vs 5 when it arrives rather than 6 vs 6. Ramjagsingh explained in the comments that goalies "add another level of complexity. We want to get OTP into your hands ASAP as we continue to work on fleshing the experience."
The news follows Operation Sports' report that Xbox One players trying out the EA Access version had noted a number of other absentees in addition to those previously confirmed. 3 Stars of the Game featured on Operation Sports' MIA list, giving some legitimacy to fears the other features and modes won't make it into the game as things stand.
In his op-ed on the modes missing from PS4/Xbox One versions, Joystiq's Xav de Matos said, "EA Canada's stance seems to be: We're going to update NHL 15 regularly and we're going to make sure NHL 16 is fantastic. For now, the only way to get the NHL 15 game you want – the version of the game that features all the modes you've come to expect and technological upgrade they've promised – is to purchase both the previous and next-generation versions of the game. Or don't purchase either version and see how NHL 16 turns out when it launches in September 2015."
[Image: EA]
