Espn National League Hockey Night Sega Genesis Cover Art
Every week, PHT will spotlight hockey video games you might not take heard of, ones yous fondly recall, and ones we'd all like to forget. This time around, we'll look back at the surprisingly sprawling run of hockey video games from Sony.
When information technology comes to lamenting old hockey video games, we wait back fondly on arcade-manner games or honest attempts at sims, and often wish for more. Fifty-fifty with a game like "Hit the Ice," which was ported in many differentways, there wasn't really a sequel. Merely from "ESPN National Hockey Night" to the "NHL FaceOff" games down to "Gretzky NHL" titles, you can't say that Sony didn't accept enough kicks at the can to brand hockey video games.
Zooming out, Sony pumped out a really staggering legacy of … well, largely hockey forgettable video games.
The sheer volume of those titles ways we won't go into too much depth on any given title. Instead, let's ponder the twists and turns, from different consoles, to brands, to killing 99 time.
Sony'due south hockey video games begin before Sony consoles with "ESPN National Hockey Night."
Released on 16-bit consoles (Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo), Sega CD, and computers in late 1994, Sony Imagesoft put out what would exist far from the last hockey video game with ESPN branding. It seemed similar a pretty aggressive title for its era. Though maybe I'm an piece of cake mark considering of that sweet ESPN hockey theme kick this video off:
And too FMV Bill Clement!
Alas, this title began a trend. While Sony hockey video games sometimes experienced big changes and displayed varying levels of ambition, they rarely fabricated much of a mark. About of these titles were either met with a shoulder shrug, or during bad times, a grimace.
Sony transitions to "NHL FaceOff" series on Playstation, then Playstation 2
If yous grumble at in that location just beingness i "Mutant League Hockey" game, or just a few "NHL Hitz" titles, and then you lot might furrow your brow at but how long-lasting "NHL FaceOff" existed — even ignoring the pivots from Sony before and after "NHL FaceOff."
Outset in 1995, Sony pumped out the "NHL FaceOff" titles aslope other sports series. Frankly, one of my lasting memories of Sony'south sports titles was the "NFL GameDay" intro song, which for some reason is etched into my brain:
Early on in the "NHL FaceOff" serial, you could see some pretty significant jumps in graphics. This came at a time when video game developers were still wrestling with the leap from 2D to 3D, and sports video games were non allowed to such challenges. Consider the leaps from the showtime title in 1995 to the 1998 edition ("NHL FaceOff '99"):
It turns out that EA Sports' "NHL" series isn't the first instance where a hockey video game presentation went from featuring ESPN and/or Neb Clement to NBC's own Mike "Doc" Emrick. Emrick ended upward being a fixture for the series, aslope Darren Pang, even once the "FaceOff" games transitioned to their next bit of packaging.
Once more, the diverse studios that worked on the series definitely tried things. Relish, for instance, 989 Sports "made by the pros, played by the pros" video featuring 1) Warren Sapp, ii) Vin Scully(!), and 3) Scotty Bowman (!!).
There were even foot-in-the-crease reviews in "NHL FaceOff 2000."
… And this beautiful visage of Mike Modano.
The serial truly loses its way
While the commencement "NHL FaceOff" celebrated hockey on the Playstation's offset iteration, the next console jump might explain why an OK-to-good serial went sideways. Starting with "NHL FaceOff 2001," the series transitioned to the Playstation 2. (That 2001 edition appeared on both Playstation i and ii.) Things were bumpy enough that the 2002 edition ended upwards existence canceled. (According to the serial' Wikipedia folio, Luc Robitaille was supposed to be the cover star.)
The last in the series was "NHL FaceOff 2003," initially published in 2002. (NHL seasons spanning parts of two years often makes these titles experience a little confusing, right?)
The 2003 version didn't go the series back on track. That said, the little in-game "previews" were a mix of pretty nifty and so-bad-it'southward-adept.
Overall, the "NHL FaceOff" series enjoyed a long run fifty-fifty if you ignore the other Sony-related hockey video game titles, releasing from 1995-2002 (with one twelvemonth off, which really feels truthful to the sport's era of lockouts).
Just like "ESPN National Hockey Dark" made style for "NHL FaceOff," Sony's titles would get new life once more than in a unlike wrapper.
Sony puts out a couple hockey video games with Wayne Gretzky involved
Sony pivoted from "NHL FaceOff" titles to "Gretzky NHL 2005" and a 2006 version on Playstation 2. As Alex Navarro noted at Gamespot, the Sony Gretzky titles mainly distinguished themselves as Sony hockey video games that weren't terrible.
Navarro besides pointed out that Sony revived the series under that Gretzky NHL title during a lockout. If that didn't set the table for a letdown, both EA'south "NHL" titles and the "NHL 2K" serial attracted far more attention from sim-minded hockey gamers. It'due south not particularly surprising that the titles were met with a full general "meh."
That said, the Gretzky titles were too ported to Sony'southward handheld PSP system, and seemed to fare reasonably well.
Being that EA largely ignores handhelds such as the Nintendo Switch — aside from mayhap i release of a "FIFA" — it's a bummer that the Gretzky/"NHL FaceOff" series couldn't have pivoted to that format. Being able to play a pretty good, NHL-licensed hockey game on a aeroplane would have been cool right upward until the mere thought of air travel became deeply terrifying.
I besides wonder if "Gretzky NHL 2005/2006" should accept gone full-arcade. Beyond evoking the pretty fun Nintendo 64-era Gretzky games, yous'd lean into something that could arrive stand out. The 2006 edition of the game had a feature where you could basically … summon Gretzky to assist y'all win? Bonkers, certain, but what if it was the focus of development rather than a feature?
Wayne Gretzky representing a hockey video game series' answer to the obnoxious blue beat in Mario Kart? I don't hate it.
Once more, a rather startling series of Sony hockey video games
OK, so let's consider the timeline of Sony hockey video games one more time. Do note that information technology's possible something will be left out because there really were so many of them. (Share in the comments if you notice something. Maybe there was an off-shoot within an off-shoot wrapped in bacon and enigmas?)
- "ESPN National Hockey Night" (Various xvi-bit consoles/PC, released in 1994)
- "NHL FaceOff through NHL FaceOff 2000" (Playstation, released each yr from 1995-1999)
- Consider "NHL FaceOff 2001" a break in the tendency considering it was released on two consoles. (Playstation i and 2, released in 2000)
- … The procedure of making one on each console might explain why "NHL FaceOff 2002" got canceled for PS2.
- "NHL FaceOff 2003" (Playstation 2, released in 2002.)
- "Gretzky NHL 2005" (Playstation 2, released in 2004; PSP version released in 2005)
- "Gretzky NHL 2006" (Playstation 2, released in September 2005; PSP version released in October 2005)
Sony produced one heck of a run of … bad or OK hockey video games. They might have challenged the limits of Michael Scott'due south favorite Gretzky quote in doing and so. Today, they mainly focus on baseball game with the generally well-received "MLB The Show" series.
As enticing equally variety can be, Sony was probably smart in moving away from hockey/NHL video games.
PHT remembers other hockey video games:
- "Hitting the Ice," an arcade championship that came in many forms.
- Tony Abbott ( @OhHiTony ) shares his memories of NHL Hitz 2003.
- Super Claret Hockey ended up being quite fun, and solid. Maybe even super.
- NHL Championship 2000, Flim-flam's rare foray into hockey video games, starring Mike Modano.
- NHL Slapshot, a Wii video game with Wayne Gretzky and a small plastic hockey stick peripheral.
- EA's NHL '98, when the company hit its polygonal stride, and also featured a swell soundtrack (ironically and unironically?).
- An ode to the NHL 2K serial, which challenged and sometimes surpassed EA's pop entries.
- Who needs Tecmo Super Bowl when you tin can have Tecmo Super Hockey? (You might desire to stick with Tecmo Super Basin.)
- "Ice Hockey" makes a fat, skinny, normal touch on on the Nintendo NES.
- Looking dorsum at hockey video games on the Nintendo 64.
- Bone up on Basic Jackson & Co. in "Mutant League Hockey."
- "Become the pass (?)" with this retrospective on "Blades of Steel."
—
James O'Brien is a author forPro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports . Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter@cyclelikesedins.
Source: https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2020/06/30/pht-remembers-the-many-hockey-nhl-video-games-made-by-sony/
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