NHL games and the topic of simulation gaming

I own NHL 09 on ps3 and 360. I own NHL 10 on the ps3 and 360. I do not own NHL 11, and probably won't for a while.

I do own Gran Turismo 2-5.

I think I've owned one basketball game in my life, and the last football game I owned was NFL Quarterback Club 98.

What's all this got to do with anything? Well, I was playing NHL 10 and comparing it to 09. For those in the know, 09 is way better than 10. And from what I've read way better than 11 as well.

The problem with the games is realism. I can have the same teams, with the same settings, on the same system....k? On NHL 10 the comp scores on me 4 or 5 times in a row, on 09? They don't even have a chance. So what's the difference? Realism. They make it harder to do things with 10, and even harder with 11 for the sake of realism. Looser puck controls, harder defense, more tricky checking.

Does this make a game better? Eh. When you're playing a hockey video game, or any sports game for that matter, you should be well aware that you actually aren't playing the sport. Take the best NBA2k gamer on the planet and put him against any basketball player, chances are you'll see video games are completely different from the actual sport. So why make a game more realistic if you know you're going to lose customers? (The NHL games have consistently gotten lower scores since 09).

Especially in such a niche market as a hockey video game. It's not that big of a seller, so why ruin what your customers want? Hardcore hockey fans want to play hockey games, not spend half their time setting up plays and team management.

Sorry, there's a reason NFL Head Coach and NFL Tour existed. The demand for a stronger sense of customization and management. There's also a reason those games hardly exist anymore, gamers don't want that. A realistic sports game is along the same lines as an RTS on a console. No one wants to sit down and team manage for 3 hours, and get 10 minutes of stick time, or floor time, or turf time.
At least make an arcade mode and a simulation mode.

You mean.... like the Gran Turismo series? Bingo.

They do it right. They know there are two types of people out there who play GT games. The hardcore car enthusiast who will spend more time in the customization shop, turning their car and working towards better parts. Then there are the people who just want to race a realistic racer and collect cars and money.

(I suppose there are 3 types of people, the third being people who want to just race, those kids have Burnout and Flatout to depend on).

If you just want to race a car, and you don't care about customization, you'll play GT's arcade mode. It gives you a select amount of cars and tracks, but it's still a solid racer. If you want more swag, you go into swagger mode- Simulation/ GT Mode.

There's a fairly obvious difference between the arcade mode and the simulation mode. The drivers, in arcade mode it feels like a computer, in simulation mode it feels like a person driving next to you.

Logitech makes a $300 steering wheel for Gran Turismo. I've seen pictures and video of multiple peoples "in house car" setups for GT5. 3 screens, a steering wheel, pedals and a shift knob, and a car seat. More than a few of these exist.

That's because the people who play GT are simulation gamers. They want what feels real. GT delivers a realistic feeling and has the globes to give you want you want, no matter your realism demands. Force feedback? Yep. Rumble and wheel pull? Yep. Pedals with varying resistance? Yessir. The game has features for all of that. It makes me feel kinda stupid for playing with a controller. Like I'm missing the bigger picture. Like Steel Battalion being played with only a keyboard.

Does NHL have that level of sophistication and swag? No. So why fatigue my guy realistically as he's sitting off the side of the bench if he's been checked too many times? Why add aggression levels to the players (THAT HASN'T WORKED SINCE NHL 99.) Sorry. It was the last great hockey game I played, you know, a decade ago. They had a feature where if your guy got into more fights, chances are he'd check more. Adaptive AI, it was sketchy and glitchy, but they tried it. The trick was, it was optional. You could turn it off.

I just want to play a sports game. Not manage a league. If that means bringing back NHL Hitz, I'd be all for it. The way I see it you're creating realism, but destroying gaming enjoyment. And with your sales numbers EA Sports, is that something you want to risk?