14 DAY TRIAL // EA Sports has announced that using its hockey simulator NHL 10, it has predicted that the Pittsburgh Penguins will pick up the Stanley Cup this year, beating the Chicago Blackhawks by 4 games to 2. The result was created by running a full season simulation with NHL 10 while using the stats for players and teams that the people at EA Sports have put together after careful survey of the real life players.
The track record of predictions coming from EA Sports has been mixed. For example, NHL 09 predicted that the Boston Bruins would be taking the Stanley Cup home the previous season, with the Blackhawks coming in second. In real life, Pittsburgh and Detroit played the final.
Madden NFL has had more success in predicting the winner of the Super Bowl. Still, these are just videogames and not full simulations of results, so players should not go out and bet their house on the results offered by NHL 10.
NHL 10 was well received by both reviewers and players when it was released. Most of the problems related to glitch goals from the previous version have been solved and a 360 passing mechanics has been introduced, permitting the gamer to move more freely and create more elaborate passes.
There is also a new system that allows for some moves to be continued after the referee has blown their whistle and the aggression element of hockey has been played up, by letting players put pressure on each other and by introducing a first person fighting system for those moments when friendly competition comes to blows.
Players have expressed some disappointment at the fact that there is an option to buy equipment, which adds to the skating and passing abilities that those who have virtual currency can use to gain the upper hand in matches.