Both Midway and E.A. chose the same day to bring focus to their NHL games. Midway are coming up with NHL Hits Pro while E.A. with NHL 2004.
Midway announced that NHL Hitz Pro will feature cover athlete Nicklas Lidstrom, star defenseman of the Detroit Red Wings, as well as coaching legend Scotty Bowman. NHL Hitz Pro, the reinvented version of the successful NHL Hitz videogame franchise, is in development and scheduled to ship September 25, 2003 for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and Nintendo GameCube.
Noticed the date? September 25, well E.A. just announced that they shipped their NHL game today so they have a day's head start. Specifically, they announced that the game has shipped to retail under the EA SPORTS brand. The 12th installment of EA's hockey franchise, NHL 2004 is now available for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox video game system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube, and PC CD-ROM.
Both games will feature online play, with E.A.s offering being supported by their own EA Sports Nation service. Online play will only be available for the PC-CD and PlayStation 2 versions via EA SPORTS Nation online, which includes EA SPORTS Talk in-game chat (USB headset and broadband connection required) and EA Messenger to connect with friends online.
Midway's game will feature head-to-head online play with online player rankings and tournaments. NHL Hitz Pro also includes 100 percent NHL legitimate, 23-man player rosters that bring together pro players and authentic team lines with real offensive and defensive team formations in precise correlation with each NHL team.
The gloves are off and both publishers have come out swinging, let's hope they both exercise bruise control.
