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Features for Franchise Hockey Manager 2 Coming This Spring
In 2013 OOTP Developments, creators of the Out of the Park Baseball franchise, debuted Franchise Hockey Manager. The game was met with mixed reviews that trended negative as a large number of users cited frequent crashes and other elements deemed disappointing or troublesome. Later this year the company will release Beyond the Sidelines Football in an attempt to break into the untapped market in that sport for PC management sims.
With response to the first Franchise Hockey Manager in mind OOTP Developments has pushed back original plans for when the sequel would come out to a target now of late May. That means there will have been nearly 20 months between the two releases. They will then try and align the third edition in the series with the start of the NHL season in 2016. Features to expect from Franchise Hockey Manager 2: Read more
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NBA Live 15 Now Available for Free with EA Access Subscription
It took nearly two weeks since discovering that NBA Live 15 was headed to the EA Access “Vault” but the game is now one of the benefits of the subscription service. Those with active subscriptions will have unlimited time with the full game for no additional cost.
The EA Access service is currently exclusive to Xbox One as Sony opted not to allow it for the PS4. It’s $30 for a full year or $5 month-to-month. Members get unlimited access to the Vault which contains older EA games. Right now that includes 2013’s slate of sports titles, Need for Speed Rivals, PvZ Garden Warfare, Battlefield 4, Peggle 2, and the most recently added UFC. Also there’s 10% savings on all digital purchases and five days of limited (six hours) early play before each EA game releases.
Unfortunately its arrival for EA Access has coincided with the price for non-subscribers rising back to $30. For the last week Live had been available to buy outright digitally for just $9.
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Your Thoughts on the Impact of MLB 15: The Show New Features and Improvements
With just five weeks to go until release most of what there is to know about MLB 15: The Show has already been laid out. The complete features list summarizes the important information while live streams on gameplay and Licensed Equipment/Universal Rewards/Diamond Dynasty have followed to expand on the improvements detailed earlier, with a full game video pulling much of it together.
Earlier polls have gone up to gauge interest in the various features while this one is intended to determine whether they have influenced any purchase decisions. There’s a consistency to the series, and consumer approach to it, that suggests new features may not move the needle all that much. However there are always some on the fence evaluating a potential purchase on features or gameplay videos. Vote in the poll and leave any thoughts in the comments!
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The Line Drive for February 22
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦Put together the top risers and fallers in NBA 2K15 ratings for Sporting News.
♦New screenshots have been added the FB album for MLB 15: The Show.
♦EA detailed the Winter Upgrades made to players in FIFA 15 Ultimate Team.
♦EA has also completed Skill Upgrades for players in FIFA Ultimate Team.
♦FIFA 15 should be getting an update soon to add Orlando City and NYC FC.
♦New developer blog updates the status of Season Mode for The Golf Club.
♦NBA Live 15 is still available digitally on Xbox One for $9.
♦EA Sports has added Chinese New Year content to NBA Live 15.
♦New snowboarding game Alto’s Adventure is available for iOS devices.
♦The March system update for Xbox One will include a screenshot feature.
♦The Chargers and Raiders are considering sharing a stadium by moving to LA.
♦Blu-ray releases this week headlined by Big Hero 6 and Horrible Bosses 2. -
Press Row Podcast: Has NBA 2K Grown Bigger Than Madden?
The latest Press Row Podcast features two primary topics. First is a discussion on MLB 15: The Show – what the improvements to Diamond Dynasty mode mean to the product and some early impressions. Then the episode turns to an argument over whether NBA 2K has overtaken Madden NFL as the second biggest sports game behind only FIFA. There’s no way to definitively answer that but it’s an interesting debate given that a case could be made for either depending on what specifically is being measured.
Check out the podcast through iTunes for iOS and the Stitcher app for Android – subscribe while there to help support the show! You can also listen in the streaming player below.
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MLB 15: The Show Full Game Live Stream
SCEA held a third developer live stream for MLB 15: The Show. The focus this time wasn’t on specific features but rather just playing through the majority (a few innings were skipped) of a lengthy game between the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. The stream ran for just over 90 minutes and is broken into two video segments below.
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Trade Deadline Deals Executed in Latest NBA 2K15 Roster Update
With the NBA trade deadline passing yesterday 2K Sports has updated the rosters for NBA 2K15 to reflect all the moves that were made. Most notably that includes Goran Dragic on his way to the Heat, Brandon Knight being sent to the Suns, Isaiah Thomas moving to the Celtics, Aaron Afflalo joining the Blazers, Enes Kanter and three others to the Thunder, and Kevin Garnett heading back to Minnesota to finish his career where it began. Read more
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More on the Changes to Diamond Dynasty Mode in MLB 15: The Show
It’s apparent this year that SCEA is making a strong effort to turn Diamond Dynasty mode into a lucrative revenue generator. It has failed to be that for them in the past, due to some perplexing and confusing design decisions and poor online experience, while Ultimate Team in EA Sports’ games has become a massive force and grown exponentially over the same period.
Work done this year includes getting rid of the expiration of MLB cards and reducing “Dynasty” (fake) players to one per team that can now play any position at any time. Even features that apply elsewhere in MLB 15 – the addition of “Legends” and Universal Rewards – are in part intended to raise awareness of Diamond Dynasty and funnel some new players in its direction.
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