No I'm not talking about women in executive positions at EA's worldwide headquarters, I'm talking about something far more rare than that: female athletes in EA Sports games.
EA Sports has decided, to include four-time Olympic medalists Angela Ruggiero and Hayley Wickenheiser as playable characters in NHL 13. Sure, last year they included generic females for NHL 12's Be a Pro mode (something that I'm not aware has every happened in a male-oriented sports game before), but that just isn't the same as including actual female athletes because that essentially places them as equals to the male athletes and that has got to be a good thing.
Now if only EA's FIFA franchise would give some love to Hope Solo I'd be a very happy camper.
For full details, follow the jump. NHL 13 comes out on September 11th.
WOMEN’S OLYMPIC ICE HOCKEY STARS AND NEW NHL LEGENDS JOIN ROSTER FOR EA SPORTS 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, 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 www.esrb.org and www.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.
For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game communities, please visit
www.easports.com to connect, share and compete.
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.
In fiscal 2012, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.1 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster brands such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield™ and Mass Effect™.
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.
