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NHL Season to be Played Virtually

Posted by Zonk on from the virtual-skates-real-fans dept.

Matt Clare writes "G4TechTV will play the regular NHL season via EA Sports NHL game. G4TechTV Canada subsriptions might get a bigger boost than when they picked up Leo Laport."

39 comments

  1. Feedback to the NHLPA and the Owners by Plake · · Score: 4, Informative

    Well, the CBC is doing one on one interviews with Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow about the lockout. So you can give them a piece of your mind.

    You can submit a question here: here

    --
    Check out Mon and Mon.cgi
    1. Re:Feedback to the NHLPA and the Owners by Goldberg's+Pants · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That was freakin' hilarious! There was a public debate last night that I saw... Yeah, the head of the NHLPA is trying to convince us that the stupidly high ticket prices has NOTHING to do with the stupidly high salaries.

      Dude, don't piss on my head and tell me it's raining.

      As for Laporte, he's ALWAYS been on Tech TV Canada. I think what the person means is, when G4 merged with them, one of the shows that got shitcanned was "Call for Help". Canadians complained, so the Canadian version of the station produces it's own version of the show, hosted by the erstwhile Laporte.

      Wish I could get Tech TV still:(

    2. Re:Feedback to the NHLPA and the Owners by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Yeah, the head of the NHLPA is trying to convince us that the stupidly high ticket prices has NOTHING to do with the stupidly high salaries.

      Listen, I'm behind the owners 100% but you can't tell me you believe that if the owners get a cap the ticket prices will go down. Come on! Look at it this way: Toronto is one of the most successful sports franchises in North America. It's owned by the Ontario Teachers Union and they rake it in. They could HALVE ticket prices and still make money with their payroll. They'd never think of it. Cap or no cap.

    3. Re:Feedback to the NHLPA and the Owners by MentosPimp · · Score: 1

      Agreed.

      Since the NFL got the salary cap did ticket prices go down? No.

      Since the NBA got the salary cap did ticket prices go down? No.

      Anyone fan who thinks that a league's salary structures affect their prices are living in a dream world. They are not even reasonably affected by normal economic standards, as you
      rarely see teams drop ticket prices when faced with near empty stadiums (see: the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, who get out-drawn by the local AHL team.)

      But that's OK. The owners are happy that you eat their shit and think it's choclate cake.

    4. Re:Feedback to the NHLPA and the Owners by Goldberg's+Pants · · Score: 1

      Shit = chocolate cake = best analogy ever.

      I'm quite certain the salaries DO dictate the price. However, as it the same with software piracy, if it lowered, the price of tickets would not drop. Why? Because far too many people stand to make far too much money.

      Not saying it's only the players to blame, it's not. However, to say that paying some jackass from Russia 3.8 million a year (random country, random amount, have no idea if that's an accurate figure) has no bearing on front seats being $60 is delusional. The money to pay the players has to come from somewhere.

    5. Re:Feedback to the NHLPA and the Owners by MentosPimp · · Score: 1

      The money to pay the players does come from tickets. And Corportate Skyboxes, and naming rights, and TV/other media money, and other sources to varied and many to list.

      However I would be willing to bet the plan to make those seats $60 was in place before signing $RANDOM_EURO_SKATER.

      Most owners arent going to spend themselves into the red, THEN raise ticket prices to compensate.

      Usually, they are going to have an idea on the demand on tickets and decide their payroll from there. If they think that having a better team will = better attendence (and 99% of the time it does) and they believe that demand will be enough to make ticket price increases a good thing, then they will do so. They get the added benefit of making it look like the increases are all because of $RANDOM_EURO_SKATER so if the team fails to meet managements quality expectations, the can have the abuse heaped onto their expensive Free Agent.

      Now I'm a baseball fan, and I think a salary cap there would be disasterous. However, there is something to be said for such caps to be imposed on lesser leagues (Like the MLS, or women's leagues - just trying to survive) I dont know if the NHL has been marginalized into a lesser league.

  2. Leo who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "G4TechTV will play the regular NHL season via EA Sports NHL game. G4TechTV Canada subsriptions might get a bigger boost than when they picked up Leo Laport."

    Leo Laporte

  3. Jealous by mentalflossboy · · Score: 1

    Man, wouldn't it be fun to be one of the guys controlling each team? Gee, rough life, having to play video games all the time. Although I s'pose it might be a little boring playing all 1,230 scheduled games. Might be a little sick of hockey by that point, eh?

    --
    "I make people like me... WITH VIOLENCE!" - ATHF
    1. Re:Jealous by RegalBegal · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure they're setting it to auto-play.

      --
      "It'll destroy you if you try to make it mean anything to anyone but yourself." - Henry Rollins
  4. G4TechTV by alatesystems · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The only programming worth anything on G4TechTV are the shows which were on Tech TV. I've WANTED to like other g4 shows, but they suck. Arena: come on, who wants to hear play by plays on an rpg meetup. Cheats: that dude is annoying as hell and totally useless. G4TV: I'd rather watch Saved By The Bell.

    All their shows suck. The only tech tv show they kept that sucked was robot wars. I love the rest of the tech tv shows. I wish they had kept Call For Help(Viva Leo) and Tech Live(tv version of slashdot). I can't believe G4 killed those two.

    I never really learned anything from CFH in terms of computer using skills, but I picked up photoshop skills from Alex and I found out about some great shareware, and I love Leo's personality on tv.

    Kevin and Alex Albrecht are a great team on The Screensavers. I think that is really what keeps me paying all this money for digital cable.

    Chris

    1. Re:G4TechTV by DavidLeblond · · Score: 1

      Wait wait, you mean you LIKE Alex Albrecht? The guy's a moron! Bring back Pat!

      Bastard beat up a G4...

  5. Heh by castleguardian · · Score: 3, Funny

    I kicker is that they'll get higher TV ratings than the actual NHL games...

    --
    --- Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.
    1. Re:Heh by Goobermunch · · Score: 3, Interesting

      What's interesting to me is that the games will also air on SportsNet.

      From the article:

      "G4techTV video game hockey highlights will also air on Comcast SportsNet. "We'd rather be televising the live games, but until the real games resume, this presents a fun opportunity to maintain the fans' interest," comments Jack Williams, President and CEO of Comcast SportsNet. "This is a natural and creative extension of G4techTV's video game expertise.""

      --AC

    2. Re:Heh by inkdesign · · Score: 1

      Lets keep in mind this is Canada we're talking about. They actually care about hockey up there!

  6. ESPN NHL 2005? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I didn't read in the article where it mentions it was going to use EA's NHL 2005 game or any particular game, although the screenshot is that of Sega's ESPN NHL 2005. So what game (or other piece of software) are they going to use for the simulation?

    1. Re:ESPN NHL 2005? by pipingguy · · Score: 1


      There are software licensing issues so they are going to use the backup solution

  7. EA NHL by dave-tx · · Score: 3, Interesting
    My experience with the EA NHL series is that is sucks royal ass.

    Then again, I'm a hockey purist and am unlikely to be impressed by much (although I thought Wayne Gretzky 2 by Bethesda was most excellent, but would make for lousy TV broadcast).

    Yes, I'm angry and bitter that I won't plant myself in front of the tube for a season's worth of Flyers games. My wife has a greatly different view on the lockout.

    --

    >> "What would the robut do? Frame someone!"

    1. Re:EA NHL by dave-tx · · Score: 1
      My experience with the EA NHL series is that is sucks royal ass.

      As does my proofreading... :-/

      --

      >> "What would the robut do? Frame someone!"

    2. Re:EA NHL by Cecil · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well, if you think EA NHL sucks, don't even bother with ESPN NHL. What it wins with decent graphics and marginally improved AI, it loses by crashing. Often.
      And 100% reproducably. In the middle of franchise mode. There's one save game down the toilet. And that's out of the box. It apparently gets much more unstable if you are crazy enough to do things like tweak the in-game soundtrack settings.

      Oh, yeah, that and the fantasy teams like the '89 Calgary Flames lose much of their luster when their names get replaced with "C. Center" and "R. Defenseman"

      --
      Random and weird software I've written.
    3. Re:EA NHL by dave-tx · · Score: 1
      To be honest, I've given up all hope on a good hockey sim (and to a lesser degree, sports sims in general). The EA franchise has convinced me (right or wrong) that the goal of these games is not to provide a realistic simulation, but to provide a good arcade experience chock full of eye candy.

      The crashing issue that you mention even misses this target. And I, for one, don't remember anybody named R. Defenseman playing for Calgary in the late 1980's... Heh.

      Guess I'll stick with freecell for now.

      --

      >> "What would the robut do? Frame someone!"

    4. Re:EA NHL by Cecil · · Score: 1

      By far the best (ie, most fun) hockey game I've played: "Ice Hockey" for the NES.

      At least it didn't pretend to be an accurate simulation in any way, shape or form. :) Skinny guys vs. Fat guys! Oh no!

      --
      Random and weird software I've written.
    5. Re:EA NHL by NaugaHunter · · Score: 1

      First, are you talking the XBox version or PS2? I don't think PS2 has the same soundtrack options, but whichever you mean it's not fair to judge one by the other. I don't know about 2K5, but 2K4 works fine for me on the PS2.

      Oh, yeah, that and the fantasy teams like the '89 Calgary Flames lose much of their luster when their names get replaced with "C. Center" and "R. Defenseman"

      Have you ever unlocked old teams before? It's almost always like this for all sports games. I'm pretty sure games sign contracts with the player unions (NHLPA?) for likeness and name rights, so if they aren't active players they don't even try.

      If you think this is bad, you should see ESPN NFL 2K5. They include 'scenarios' like the Immaculate Reception and The Drive, and they don't even name the players:

      "Trailing the Raiders 7-6, with 22 seconds left, the Steelers' QB fired a desperation pass to the RB. The ball hit his hands just as the Raiders' FS laid a crushing hit on him from behind. The ball ricocheted to Steeler RB, who caught it and ran it in for a TD in a play that game to be known as "The Immaculate Reception""

      "The Broncos QB led them on a 13 play, 98 yard, 5 minute epic drive that ended with a TD pass with only 37 seconds remaining. With the extra point, the game was sent ot overtime, where Denver stopped the Browns on the first possession, and kicked a 33-yard FG for the win. "The Drive" cemented the Bronco QB's legacy as one of the greatest come from behind quarterbacks in the history of the game."

      I mean, are these just historical facts, even if they were NFL games? Why can't they name Bradshaw, Harris, Bledsoe, etc.? Ridiculous.

      --
      R: That voice. Where have I heard that voice before? B: In about 365 other episodes. But I don't know who it is either.
    6. Re:EA NHL by Cecil · · Score: 1

      Have you ever unlocked old teams before? It's almost always like this for all sports games. I'm pretty sure games sign contracts with the player unions (NHLPA?) for likeness and name rights, so if they aren't active players they don't even try.

      No, I haven't. I haven't been interested in Hockey until the recent Flames Stanley Cup run. And their last decent playoffs was in 1989, when we were lucky enough to have Pong and pretend it was hockey. ;)

      In any case, I don't think there's any point in having the vintage teams if they're not going to have player names, or at least provide me with a way to enter the player names. If they can't trademark infringe (or whatever kind of IP a player's name is) I will do so more than happily for them. What a waste.

      --
      Random and weird software I've written.
    7. Re:EA NHL by AvantLegion · · Score: 1
      >> I mean, are these just historical facts, even if they were NFL games? Why can't they name Bradshaw, Harris, Bledsoe, etc.? Ridiculous.

      It's called "the law".

      They do not have legal rights to use those names.

    8. Re:EA NHL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Organizations like the NFL/NFLPA throw fits over those type of things, even historical facts that are really public domain. They think they own everything about the game, and a licensee has no options other than comply with their demands or pay them more money.

    9. Re:EA NHL by NaugaHunter · · Score: 1

      It's pretty obvious they think the law would come after them. The question is, what law? Does ESPN have to pay someone every time they mention Bradshaw or Bledsoe? What if some TV show or movie has a sports fan that mentions them? Just what the hell law is it that gimps games like this?

      It seems more likely games early on agreed to something stupid and now no one wants to go to court over it and risk publicity, whether or not they think they'll win. I can grant you they need to license logos, stadium looks, and current players, but not being able to use something that turns up in almanacs is just asinine.

      --
      R: That voice. Where have I heard that voice before? B: In about 365 other episodes. But I don't know who it is either.
  8. This is actually nothing new... by ElectroKiwiMonkey · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I seem to remember back in the mid 90s, during one of the Baseball strikes, some TV station was simulating games on Genesis. Google isn't being my friend today, but I have a very clear memory of EGM running a news item about it at the time.

    --
    I am not a man, I am a free number.
  9. Funny thing is... by wan-fu · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...they still won't have anyone watching.

    1. Re:Funny thing is... by euxneks · · Score: 1

      I sure hope that's a joke about G4Tech or I might be forced to check you into the wall. ;P

      --
      in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni
  10. G4TechTV/EA by RomSteady · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Is it just me, or does G4TechTV (and G4 before it) place an inordinate amount of coverage on Electronic Arts titles?

    Every time I flip by the channel, I'm barraged with celebrities plugging EA titles on "Players," or I get a lot of EA interviews on "Icons," or some other ad masquerading as a show.

    I know that EA is the 800-pound gorilla of the industry, but I'd still appreciate seeing more balanced coverage of the industry rather than just coverage of EA LA.

    --
    RomSteady - I came, I saw, I tested. GamerTag: RomSteady / http://www.romsteady.net
    1. Re:G4TechTV/EA by Sanbao · · Score: 1

      No where in the article did it mention that EA NHL 2005 was going to be used. In fact, the screenshot was that of ESPN NHL 2K5. But who knows what they will use since the article never specified how they were going to do the simulation. So they might not use EA's game for this. For all we know, they could choose to use some old NHL game from the Genesis.

      And to encourage less EA coverage, inform the world not to buy EA games, so EA will produce less games and will sponsor less events, therefore the media won't report on them so much. Encourage people to buy other games from other publishers, so they will produce more games and sponsor more events. Then celebrities can finally say I play "Billy Bob's PGA Tour 2006" or "Need to Race: Country Edition".

    2. Re:G4TechTV/EA by RomSteady · · Score: 1
      No where in the article did it mention that EA NHL 2005 was going to be used.

      Never said it did. I was merely remarking on EA's preponderance of coverage on G4TechTV.

      And to encourage less EA coverage, inform the world not to buy EA games, so EA will produce less games and will sponsor less events, therefore the media won't report on them so much.

      I don't want EA to make fewer titles. While I may not approve of many of their business decisions, they do bring a lot of money and jobs into this industry. However, I do want balanced coverage from a network devoted to covering the industry. However, most of the EA coverage on G4TechTV crosses the line from coverage to product placement.

      As an aside, does anyone else remember when game magazines had ratings for sale on their ad cards?

      --
      RomSteady - I came, I saw, I tested. GamerTag: RomSteady / http://www.romsteady.net
  11. Play the lockout, too? by Gogo+Dodo · · Score: 5, Funny

    So are they going to turn off the computer to emulate the NHL lockout?

  12. Brilliant! by antikarma · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Showing a simulation of a sport with consistently low ratings on a channel with consistently low ratings. It's brilliant! If Ted McGinley was the host, they'd when an Emmy for sure.

  13. Leo on the radio by hai.uchida · · Score: 2, Informative
    For the few who don't know, Leo has an excellent radio show on KFI , which does stream live... It's on weekends from 12-3 PST. I believe he also archives the show on his own site.

    As much as I liked him on TV, I like the radio show better... Without the time constraints of a half hour show he can go much deeper into topics.

    --
    my password is private, but unchanged.
  14. No mention of EA Sports NHL 2005 by unclethursday · · Score: 2, Interesting
    There is no mention of either EA Sports' NHL 2005 or Sega Sports' ESPN NHL 2K5 in the press release, and the image shown in the press release is from ESPN NHL 2K5, not EA's NHL 2005.

    To simply assume that it is EA's game is wrong. The press release does not state which game is used, and they could use either/or or both games to get them done.

    The only mention of EA Sports is in talking about their Madden Challenge. No hockey game is mentioned by name in the press release at all.

  15. Riiight... by ajservo · · Score: 1

    "This is a natural and creative extension of G4techTV's video game expertise."

    I'm sorry... With their near 20 hours of poorly made video game shows...

    Does the above qualify as expertise? To show a video game on TV for a whole season?

    My guess is that this lasts only as long as the lockout does. And if the whole season gets tossed, this doesn't make it past Xmas.

    Does this mean I'm a movie expert by the extension that I see lots of movies?
    Or that a fat person is a food conniseur?
    Or that habitual speeder with a clean accident record is ready for NASCAR?

    Well then. If I'm a blithering idiot and I live in LA, I must work for G4TechTV, too...