#NHL 04 PC REBUILT SERIES#

It was the first time fans could put themselves into the game to play alongside their favorite players from the NHL. NHL 95 introduced a fully-featured season mode for players as well as the introduction of player creation, editing, trading and signing.

With competition from the likes of ESPN NHL Hockey, Brett Hull Hockey, and NHL Breakaway, among others, it just made sense for the company to continue improving on the already solid foundation they had built in order to avoid being overtaken. Maintaining MomentumĪfter the success of NHL 94, EA Sports had a franchise that continued on an upswing throughout the next few installments thanks to improvements in modes, graphics and gameplay features. It has even gone on to be named one of the greatest games of all time according to IGN.

#NHL 04 PC REBUILT SERIES#

And it’s not the only iteration of the series that has that luxury, but more on that later on. The game became so popular that it still receives yearly graphic and roster updates from dedicated fans by way of. After all, isn’t that the point of video games? To be fun? Also added was the breaking of glass, a regular season made, shootout and playoffs.

It made the game much more fun for everyone involved. NHL 94’s one-timer feature may have been considered cheese to some, but it allowed players to have contests end in scores of 5-4 and 6-5 as opposed to every game ending 1-0 or 2-1. The new mechanic blew the doors off a game that seemed to struggle to find its scoring touch in the first two releases. For the first time in an NHL video game, fans were able to utilize a one-timer in order to try and beat opposing goaltenders. Though fighting was removed from the game, NHL ’94 introduced a mechanic that would change the hockey video game genre forever and shoot the series up the popularity charts. There was a PC version, but it wasn’t the game that everyone remembers. In the fall of 1993, EA Sports released NHL ’94 for the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis. What they didn’t expect is just how far the next installment would take them. The improved gameplay showed players that EA, now using the newly created EA Sports Network (EASN), was prepared to take the NHL series to heights never thought imaginable. NHLPA Hockey ’93 released the following year with the addition of fighting, and fans flocked to the game. It was well received for the most part, but it was clear that it was the first effort for a project that was planned for growth. It was the first officially licensed NHL video game to feature both authentic teams and players.

In 1991, the EA dipped into then hockey market with the release of NHL Hockey on the Sega Genesis/Master Drive. The company had released John Madden Football to much praise, but the ultimate goal was to become a major player for fans of each of the major sports, whether it be football, baseball, basketball, soccer or hockey. Humble Beginningsīack in the early 1990s, Electronic Arts was still getting its feet wet in the sports gaming industry. It may have started as a simple extension of a subdivision of Electronic Arts, but it wasn’t long before EA Sports NHL became a household name in the world of video games, let alone sports titles.Ī nearly 25-year-old series that continues on to this day because of innovation, and a fan base that can be compared to any of the other hardcore groups in the gaming industry.īut what was once viewed as a seemingly unstoppable titan in the world of sports video games nearly collapsed under itself only to lay out a new foundation as it looks to rise back up to prominence in the sports video game world.

Nhl 04 pc rebuilt