NHL Hockey

The NHL series is the most popular video game series based on hockey, by EA Sports. The first version was released for the Sega Genesis in 1992, and since then it has been available on most major gaming platforms. more...

Currently, it is available for the PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox.

The series

NHL Hockey (1992)

The first version of the game, titled NHL Hockey and released in 1992 for the Genesis, was considered the most realistic hockey game of its time. This game used a vertical view, which was unique at the time since most previous hockey games used horizontal or top-down views. It also featured an NHL license but not a license from the NHLPA, the players association. Therefore, the team names and logos were all present, but no players' names were mentioned. Instead, all players were referred to by their numbers. The Mega Drive version was released soon after, called EA Hockey and featured international teams. However, this change was merely cosmetic, as most team colours could be tracked to NHL teams. Although the game had all NHL teams that existed at the time, the only competition present were the playoffs, either decided on one or seven matches.

NHLPA Hockey 93

The next release was titled NHLPA Hockey '93 and while having an NHLPA license did not have an NHL license. Due to the lack of an NHL license, the game included all player names and numbers but did not include real team names or logos. Instead, teams were identified by their city and colors. This meant that the New York Islanders were referred to as the Long Island team, even though the official name does not designate the team as such. Also introduced were Tampa Bay and Ottawa to the 22 teams of NHL Hockey. It was also one of the first non-RPGs featuring EEPROM battery saving, which allowed to save lines and the ongoing playoff, rather than use passwords.

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