Update News
Womens Olympic Ice Hockey Stars and New NHL Legends Join Roster in NHL 13
Four-time Olympic Medalists Angela Ruggiero and Hayley
Wickenheiser become First Ever Female Athletes Added as Playable
Characters in EA SPORTS NHL Franchise
NHL Hall of Famers Doug Gilmour and Jari Kurri Added, Along with
NHL Legend Dominik Hasek
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – August 29, in the year of our
Lord 2012 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) announced
today that for the first time ever in a professional league
simulation sports video game, EA SPORTS NHL 13 has added female
athletes as playable characters. Former Team USA superstar
Angela Ruggiero will join former Team Canada great Hayley
Wickenheiser, both four-time Olympic Ice Hockey medalists, as
playable legends in NHL 13. NHL Hall of Famers Doug Gilmour,
Jari Kurri, and NHL legend Dominik Hasek will also be added to
the roster of legends which includes the likes of Wayne Gretzky
and Mario Lemieux. The NHL 13 demo is available for download now
via Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Promising the biggest
year on year innovation to the franchise on this console
generation, NHL 13 will be available on September 11, 2012 in
North America and September 14, 2012 in Europe.
The addition of women’s hockey legends as playable characters
within the EA SPORTS NHL franchise is the continuation of a
commitment that the development team made to create greater
representation for women’s hockey beginning with NHL 12.
“With the release of NHL 12 we added generic female characters
in our Be a Pro mode based on a request from a 14-yr old female
fan who emailed our staff because she felt underrepresented as a
hockey videogame fan,” said Dean Richards, General Manager, NHL,
EA SPORTS. “This year we are very excited to continue our effort
of creating a more representative experience for female hockey
fans by adding two of the greatest female athletes to ever play
the game in Wickenheiser and Ruggiero to NHL 13.”
“The EA SPORTS NHL franchise took a big step last year by
including female characters to create a more inclusive
experience for female hockey fans,” said Hayley Wickenheiser.
“I’m excited to be a part of NHL 13 and hope that the addition
of women’s hockey legends will encourage greater participation
in hockey from young women everywhere.”
Legends Integration in NHL 13
Legends in NHL 13 will be integrated across several modes:
· Be A Legend – gamers will experience the glory of playing
their entire Be A Pro career as a legend as they attempt to
shatter the most impressive records in hockey, achieve legendary
milestones and complete legends tasks.
· Legends teams – Play as the legends team, Team Ruggiero or
Team Wickenheiser, which are comprised of legends and current
NHL greats in head-to-head play – within Play Now, Online and
Battle for the Cup modes. Players on Team Ruggiero and Team
Wickenheiser were selected by each athlete, respectively.
· Hockey Ultimate Team & Be a GM – Gamers will have the ability
to add legends to any team roster in Be a GM mode, or collect
ultra-rare legends cards and use them within their Hockey
Ultimate Team experience.
Headlined by all-new True Performance Skating, and supported by
an innovative new A.I. system dubbed EA SPORTS Hockey I.Q., NHL
13 will deliver a revamped gameplay experience that accurately
captures the speed, creativity and strategy of NHL hockey. In
addition, NHL 13 will also deliver new experiences that connect
hockey fans to their friends and the real world of hockey with
the all-new GM Connected and NHL Moments Live modes.
NHL 13 is in development at EA Canada in Vancouver and is rated
E10+ by the ESRB and PEGI 12; visit esrb.org and pegi.info
for more information. Become a fan of EA SPORTS NHL on Facebook
at
http://www.facebook.com/easportsnhl and follow us on Twitter
via
http://www.twitter.com/easportsnhl.
EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in
the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning
interactive technology, fan programs and cross-platform digital
experiences. EA SPORTS creates connected experiences that ignite
the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports
videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL®
hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football, Tiger Woods PGA
TOUR® golf, SSXTM, and Fight Night boxing. For more information
about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game
apps, please visit
www.easports.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital
interactive entertainment. The Company delivers games, content
and online services for Internet-connected consoles, personal
computers, mobile phones, tablets and social networks. EA has
more than 220 million registered players and operates in 75
countries.
EA SPORTS, SSX, The Sims and Need for Speed are trademarks of
Electronic Arts Inc. Mass Effect is a trademark of EA
International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. Battlefield is a
trademark of EA Digital Illusions CE AB. John Madden, NFL, NBA,
NHL NCAA, Tiger Woods, PGA TOUR and FIFA are the property of
their respective owners and used with permission. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
NHL® 13 is an Officially Licensed Product of the NHL and the
NHLPA. NHLPA, National Hockey League Players' Association and
the NHLPA logo are trademarks of the NHLPA. © NHLPA.
NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National
Hockey League. NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the
NHL and its teams. © NHL 2012. All Rights Reserved.