Hartford Whaler logo in NHL 06

[wman]

The Whale were stolen from Hartford and Connecticut. They drew better there than they do in Raleigh. (Don't be fooled by the name--everyone thinks they play in Charlotte like the Panthers). There are at least five franchises in the NHL that could do better in Hartford--if they could just get a better arena. It's a darn shame.

[Perfect Zero]

The Whale were stolen from Hartford and Connecticut. They drew better there than they do in Raleigh. (Don't be fooled by the name--everyone thinks they play in Charlotte like the Panthers). There are at least five franchises in the NHL that could do better in Hartford--if they could just get a better arena. It's a darn shame.

Hartford, Conneticut, or whoever kept the name were smart. I would like some day to see the Whalers return home.

[Mac the Knife]

NFL 2k5 is TWENTY times better than Madden 06

Ummm....no. No it isn't. Madden is so far superior it's ridiculous.

Ah, yeah, yeah it is. Get off the EA hype machine and look at a real sports game made by SEGA/2K Sports. THeir hockey is the best, their football is the best (thus the reason EA bought the exclusive NFL licence), basketball again the best.

The NFL was looking for one company to sell to, EA didn't go to the NFL, the NFL came to EA.

Sure, that's what they TRY and make you believe. EA didn't go to the NCAA and AFL either. They ALL wanted only one video game licence and chose EA, yeah, right.

Stop eating up EA's crap with a spoon...

SHaMROCK

Actually, I can personally vouch for the fact that in the NFL and AFL's cases, they were looking for someone to partner with exclusively. The AFL in fact was so desparate to do so they made an NBC-like sweetheart deal with EA, giving them some pretty sweet incentives (cuts of expansion franchise fees, etc.) just so EA'd publish for them.

[-Helix-]

The Whale were stolen from Hartford and Connecticut.  They drew better there than they do in Raleigh. (Don't be fooled by the name--everyone thinks they play in Charlotte like the Panthers).  There are at least five franchises in the NHL that could do better in Hartford--if they could just get a better arena.  It's a darn shame.

Hm. Yeah. Seeing two people in the stands in Hartford is really an improvement over 1 fan in the stands at Carolina...

I remember watching the NHL back in the days of the Whale and I don't think I EVER saw Hartford's arena over half capacity. Atleast Carolina can sell out a game from time to time. Not to mention the horrible corporate support in Hartford. Which is just as important as attendance these days.

Highest average attendance ever for Hartford: 14,574 in '87/'88

The Hurricanes have beat that average atleast 3 times in a much shorter history.

(And what's with these Sega fanboys calling conspiracy about the NFL and EA? Everyone knows that the NFL offered the rights first. It's not EA's fault they were faster. How can you blame someone for not wanting to lose business? Don't get me wrong, I think Madden is pretty piss poor myself, but still better than those horrible 2KSports games that made my eyes hurt because of the retarded-looking player models and horrible graphics.)

[theLOFTstudio]

im glad that you're basing your theory on yearly average attendance and what you see on tv.

as a whaler fan and former season ticket holder, i can tell you that our attendance was much higher than the quality of the team that usually wore the green. the civic center only held 15,500 and change, and the crowd usually was at least 75% filled.

i live in boston now, and the support they get is less than the whale got in hartford.

[WSU151]

Oh yeah, I forgot. You know, customized teams can only go so far, sometimes you actually have to play the game. That's where madden fails. The graphics are subpar even on the Xbox 360 to 2k5

You're on crack. I have 2k5. The graphics aren't THAT good. Madden 2006 graphics are better than 2k5 on any platform.

And quit making up facts about EA's exclusive licenses. You're losing whatever support you had...Fast.

[Sean84106]

I'm pissed at EA for what they did to NBA Live/Madden '06 for the XBOX 360. Both those games suck, and if it weren't for Madden being the only NFL game on 360, I probably wouldn't be playing it. Luckily, NBA 2K6 360 is worlds better than Live '06.

[Sterling84]

Mandatory Whalers reference to stay on topic: I wish more US games were like Winning Eleven. It's got a simplistic (MS Paint) style interface where you design your own logo. Simple. Perfect. Then we could have the Whalers back.

Anyway, if I can chime in on the EA thing. I......I hate them. With a passion. There is no doubt they've earned there beloved status. Years of awesome Madden and NHL titles.

But seriously....I haven't been satisfied with ONE product from them in roughly 5 years. I don't know all the backroom dealings and stuff and am not crying conspiracy.

All I know is this:

Madden on the 360 doesn't even have create-a-player. Is that critical? No. But it's expected and moreover it's LAZY. They will continue to push themselves less and less and we suffer. Whether you like the game or not (Madden 06) you are feeding the machine that's killing you by remaining devoted to it sight unseen.

NASCAR (Exclusive to EA) STILL does not have full 43 person online competition. wtf? I don't even play that game, but a buddy of mine is huge into left turns and says they've basically up and quit trying since getting the exclusive deal with EA. He still prefers the competitor (NASCAR Heat?) from 2003. While games like Halo pioneered 16 player LAN gaming and Live! gaming more than two years ago...EAs NASCAR 06 is the first one where you can even race 4!!! people online. Once again...LAZY.

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. Delayed and revised, revised and delayed. A full year after it was first rumored to be released this is without question THE sloppiest, most half-a**ed release of a major title I have ever seen. There are basically no instructions included. It freezes up constantly. It glitches. Targets disappear for no reason. There are precious few online Live! options. Some of the single player goals are literally impossible. As in, destroy these 13 items when there are only 11. The game guide was printed before it's release and is wrong in so many places it's clear the game was either changed or never finished. To do this to a great license like BF is just atrocious. Especially given the rave reviews the PC version has received.

They just suck. Period. They've ceased being their own game shop and become an international strip mining operation...buying up promising companies, titles, franchises....coasting on that name recognition and putting out less and less effort.

Whether or not you like the 2K series or not is irrelevant. I happen to think NFL2K5 was tremendous while the K2,K3, and K4 were awful. I love their NBA 2K2 and entire NHL series. But again, whether YOU personally like them or not..at least they were willing to experiment, to reinvent themselves, to give you the customer a price break.

I just hope somebody has the foresight to release a Winning Eleven-style football game in the near future. With full customization of the league, field dimensions (Canada, US, indoor), rules (remember when Madden used to allow late hits? I mean, it was a penalty, but now the action stops at the whistle, how lame) and all the stuff that used to be fun including logos.

Buying Madden at this point is like paying to go to a College bowl game. It just feeds the machine and perpetuates a corrupt system.

[JQK]

Anyone every Play "Ice Hockey" for nintendo?

I loved that fat bastard.........

Back to the regularly-scheduled EA bashing....

[gbasalmon]

I suspect that NHL2k6 is much more accurate to the actual feel of the game than NHL 06 is. I realize that they didn't have much time to actually implement the changes in the NHL this year, but it seems like a severe throw-in to have the trapezoid behind the net and some added animations. The penalties are also still called like a mid-90's Devils-Flyers game, i.e. not at all, even with the sliders jacked up all the way. Also the shot totals are way off. I will freely admit that I pretty much suck at the game, but there is no way Florida should outshoot Buffalo 65-20 with 10 minute periods.

[BRice16]

All I know is this:

Madden on the 360 doesn't even have create-a-player. Is that critical? No. But it's expected and moreover it's LAZY. They will continue to push themselves less and less and we suffer. Whether you like the game or not (Madden 06) you are feeding the machine that's killing you by remaining devoted to it sight unseen.

NASCAR (Exclusive to EA) STILL does not have full 43 person online competition. wtf? I don't even play that game, but a buddy of mine is huge into left turns and says they've basically up and quit trying since getting the exclusive deal with EA. He still prefers the competitor (NASCAR Heat?) from 2003. While games like Halo pioneered 16 player LAN gaming and Live! gaming more than two years ago...EAs NASCAR 06 is the first one where you can even race 4!!! people online. Once again...LAZY.

The EA titles for XBOX 360 were limited by the fact that the EA designers were not given acess to the technology until about 8 months ago. Development time on a game like Madden or Live is about a 14 month process. EA has fully admitted that they put out a bare bones game for this year and that it will improve next year, when they have the full time to develop it.

NASCAR Racing 2003 is the title your friend was refering to. Sierra built their entire online system around that game and it predecessors, so they developed it witha specific on-line system in mind. EA has been struggling to add that to their online matchup system.

[StormSurge]

Some news broke today about a 2nd group looking to bring the Whale back to Hartford.

New Arena, NHL returns?

Also, the Wolfpack will be honoring Ron Francis, Kevin Dineen & Ulf Samuleson at their January 6 game against Portland.

[OB33]

Anyone every Play "Ice Hockey" for nintendo?

I loved that fat bastard.........

As did I, dude was untouchable.

[winters in buffalo]

Don't be fooled by the name--everyone thinks they play in Charlotte like the Panthers).

Who thinks that?

[BRice16]

Don't be fooled by the name--everyone thinks they play in Charlotte like the Panthers).

Who thinks that?

If you asked 10 casual hockey fans where the Carolina Hurricanes played, I'd be willing to bet only 1 or 2 would correctly answer Raleigh.

Hell, I'm a pretty big hockey fan and I thought they still played in Greensboro until I saw them on TV earlier this year.

To alot of people, Charlotte is the only "big city" in the Carolinas capable of hosting a pro sports team.

[Sterling84]

All I know is this:

Madden on the 360 doesn't even have create-a-player.  Is that critical? No.  But it's expected and moreover it's LAZY.  They will continue to push themselves less and less and we suffer.  Whether you like the game or not (Madden 06) you are feeding the machine that's killing you by remaining devoted to it sight unseen.

NASCAR (Exclusive to EA) STILL does not have full 43 person online competition. wtf? I don't even play that game, but a buddy of mine is huge into left turns and says they've basically up and quit trying since getting the exclusive deal with EA.  He still prefers the competitor (NASCAR Heat?) from 2003.  While games like Halo pioneered 16 player LAN gaming and Live! gaming more than two years ago...EAs NASCAR 06 is the first one where you can even race 4!!! people online.  Once again...LAZY.

The EA titles for XBOX 360 were limited by the fact that the EA designers were not given acess to the technology until about 8 months ago. Development time on a game like Madden or Live is about a 14 month process. EA has fully admitted that they put out a bare bones game for this year and that it will improve next year, when they have the full time to develop it.

NASCAR Racing 2003 is the title your friend was refering to. Sierra built their entire online system around that game and it predecessors, so they developed it witha specific on-line system in mind. EA has been struggling to add that to their online matchup system.

That's all very interesting and I have no doubt it's 100% true.

But none of that disputes my assertions.

If they needed 14 months, they should've said the 360 would launch Madden in 07. But they had no problem marketing a half done game and selling us an 06 title twice in the same year. Next gen my ass.

And all commercials (starting with the NFL draft in April) showed prerendered scenes from the 360 intro while touting the release date (Aug) for XBox and PS2 versions. Basically showing you something you would not be purchasing.

THey've stopped being a group of 40 or 50 guys trying to make the best football game possible and become a board of directors so beholden to bottom line that they couldn't care less what actually rolls out the door.

I know the business is cutthroat and growing. Much like Hollywood it means the average quality goes down as everyone swings for the fences.

But like movies or music, the best stuff is almost never what you see at the cinema or hear on the radio. If they lose the aspect of competition we all lose.

Bummer about the fake Whalers logo.

[verticalman16]

Anyone every Play "Ice Hockey" for nintendo?

I loved that fat bastard.........

As did I, dude was untouchable.

What a great game. It always made my day when the two teams would get in a big brawl.

[Cujo]

Anyone every Play "Ice Hockey" for nintendo?

I loved that fat bastard.........

As did I, dude was untouchable.

What a great game. It always made my day when the two teams would get in a big brawl.

That game was a classic! Just reminding me of it makes me wish I had never sold my NES and the game at a yard sale.

[youcan'tseeme]

NFL 2k5 is TWENTY times better than Madden 06

Ummm....no. No it isn't. Madden is so far superior it's ridiculous.

Ah, yeah, yeah it is. Get off the EA hype machine and look at a real sports game made by SEGA/2K Sports. THeir hockey is the best, their football is the best (thus the reason EA bought the exclusive NFL licence), basketball again the best.

there hockey is the best? the players skate like they have no joints way to stiff and the graphic's aren't even close. NHL 06 is the bomb! got if for christmas it's amazing! know i'm just waiting for Driver:Parallel Lines which comes out March 17th, 2006!

[SHaMROCK]

NFL 2k5 is TWENTY times better than Madden 06

Ummm....no. No it isn't. Madden is so far superior it's ridiculous.

Ah, yeah, yeah it is. Get off the EA hype machine and look at a real sports game made by SEGA/2K Sports. THeir hockey is the best, their football is the best (thus the reason EA bought the exclusive NFL licence), basketball again the best.

there hockey is the best? the players skate like they have no joints way to stiff and the graphic's aren't even close. NHL 06 is the bomb! got if for christmas it's amazing! know i'm just waiting for Driver:Parallel Lines which comes out March 17th, 2006!

Graphics aren't everything. If you like EA hockey, you don't like REAL hockey!!! EA's goals scoring is too easy, the hitting is too often and too hard. The game is the hockey equivelant of NBA JAM. NHL 2Kx is a true hockey sim, even if the graphics are lacking, which they are not anyway.