As you may know, I am an avid EA NHL fan. Its what helped me find my content niche online and introduced me to so many people. This is why I am so passionate about the success of the newest NHL installment this year.
NHL24 was released a week ago and already some of its most vocal supporters are already sharing criticism online. While people have praised the gameplay, and there's definitely a split decision behind the new controls, in HUT, the online mode which you grind each week for rewards to build up your team, the rewards are impacting player’s motivation to reach the highest level.
In Thrash94Gaming’s recent video, he highlights that the packs rewards are less than last year when playing HUT Rivals, which is the online competitive mode each week, especially when mixed in with these generic “collectables” that can be redeemed for still less than the rewards from last year.
Another EA Gamechanger, NoSleevesGaming shared “I think there’s some decent concepts in the event as well as the new sets with rewards however I can’t help but think it’s all just changing things just to change things...Every change so far has been a net negative.”
Full time creator Henreeek observed, “Rivals rewards are so much worse now, I mean idk what the plan is here. NHL 24 HUT is off to a really rough start, not sure why you would remove the second set of packs and give collectibles that are not enough to get anything good at all.”
The reason I highlighted the above three creators is:
They are all affiliated with EA as Gamechangers with direct access to providing feedback
Full-time content creators
Have had more time with the games than everyone, even being featured in the first EA video regarding HUT event release cards
My biggest concern going into this year was if the content was enough to keep average players coming back. With just the same exact modes as last year, there was nothing different except upcoming event players (to which the majority are disappointed in for Week 1) and the rewards being the carrot at the end of the stick.
Well, it looks like the carrot is a baby carrot and also only for display in a dish your nana gave you from 1920 that for some reason your mother insists on putting on the living room table when company is coming over.
If full time creators are criticizing the game, they will leave and play/stream other games. Their livelihood depends on it, and they can't afford to make poor content. If they leave, this could influence their fans and the EA NHL fan base to explore other options as well. It's only been a week with this concern raised, when typically, people are upset with rewards in February.
The new team working on EA NHL has definitely stepped up with communication pre-launch and hopefully we hear from them soon on how they plan to address this feedback from not just the three creators I shared, but the community as a whole. As a fan, I hope they provide the fan base with a reason to return each week to play their favorite modes to give us a reward worth playing for.
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