Over the past nearly two decades, EA’s venerable NHL hockey gaming franchise has evolved from the simplistic arcade-style experience featured in the movie Swingers (you can’t stop Roenick!) into a full-blown hockey simulation designed to mirror the professional sports down to the last detail.
In doing so, EA Sports has alienated the “old timer” crowd who enjoyed a simple game of hockey without having to worry about all the other “stuff.”
With the surge in casual gaming EA has a great opportunity to return to their roots and appease the old-timers while reaching a new audience the same time. They aim to do that with 3 on 3 NHL Arcade, a new hockey franchise designed from the ground up for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
3 on 3 NHL Arcade features real NHL players with enlarged heads and distorted features duking it out in a small rink with no rules. Power-ups will fall from the sky that can change a team’s momentum in a split-second. In a nod to past and current NHL players, a classic and newer Skill Stick control options.
Hockey purists might groan at power-ups, but the ability for three players on the same console to play against three players on another console via Xbox Live or the Playstation Network will be hard to turn down.
3 on 3 NHL Arcade will be available exclusively via download on Xbox Live Marketplace 800 MS Points and the Playstation Netowrk for $9.99 sometime in February.
