The Line Drive for June 14
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦Check out articles of interest written on Sporting News and Hit The Pass:
   •A look at E3's past for sports games and what to expect this week
   •Russell Westbrook named cover athlete for NBA Live 16
   •Why do hitters in baseball games overperform or underperform ratings?
   ...
Player Editing Makes The Cut for NHL 16
Much has been made of the necessity for EA Sports to offer player editing in the NHL series. Not only are there many who would utilize it, but the poor support in the way of roster updates, and the lack of player differentiation within, largely necessitates it being an option.
Despite that it appeared that player editing would not be a feature for a second straight year. The company had been notably avoiding the topic - which reasonably, after last year, led people to expect the worst - b...
Press Row Podcast: E3 2015 Preview
The latest Press Row Podcast is here to get you ready for E3 early next week. The main press conferences take place Monday and the show floor opens Tuesday. For all the details on the conferences and show floor make sure to check out the article that went up yesterday!
From the basic messaging we’re expecting from core titles to far-flung future-state virtual reality, this year’s E3 conference is likely to throw a lot at fans of big-time sports. Will there be any major surpr...
Premiere Episode of The Film Room
Over at Hit The Pass, one of the new features that rolled out this week was The Film Room. The concept behind the videos will be to get into the head of players by analyzing the decision-making that everyone makes over the course of a game.
What worked and what didn't - and when something goes wrong what could have been done differently? The concept is different from "tips" videos because it isn't about completing certain actions rather the thinking that goes on behind any actions.
In...
Online Features for Rory McIlroy PGA Tour
With just a month now until release, and E3 a matter of days away, EA Sports has revealed the online feature suite for Rory McIlroy PGA Tour. Unfortunately it appears that the popular Country Clubs mode may be out, but some interesting things have been done with standard ranked and unranked online games and Tournaments.
All players, and not just their shot arcs, for the first time will be visible on the course. Based on screenshots like the one above this looks somewhat awkward and pot...
Features Announced for PES 2016
Konami today revealed the list of major features and improvements for Pro Evolution Soccer 2016. The series has also moved back into September by settling on the 15th. Last year's release came well after the FIFA series, so this time it'll have a better chance as a competitor by not just matching FIFA 16 but beating it to market by a week. (more…)...
Oculus Rift to Launch with Sports Game
A pre-E3 event was held today for the Oculus Rift, in which not many details about the actual device were discussed, but some announcements were made. The Facebook-owned Oculus will launch early 2016, have an Xbox One controller packed in, and it'll even allow for Xbox One games to be streamed to your "virtual living room" through your Windows PC.
One of the games revealed at the event was VR Sports Challenge. This will include several sports, designed to showcase the capabilities of t...
E3 2015 Preview
The biggest event of the year for the gaming industry, and one that always delivers new insight into the upcoming crop of sports games, is almost here. E3 takes place next week with the big press conferences that precede the event on Monday. Here's the lineup for when everything is taking place, what to expect, and where to watch. (more…)...