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.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
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.
Women's Olympic Ice Hockey Stars and New NHL Legends Join Roster for EA SPORTS NHL 13 (Photo: Business Wire)
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.
Assets:
To download assets, please visit the EA press site at http://info.ea.com.
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™. More information about EA is available at http://info.ea.com.
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.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50390125&lang=en
Electronic Arts Inc.
Justin Del Giudice, 604-456-4199
Communications
Specialist
JDelGiudice@ea.com
Duke
Indrasigamany, 604-456-3150
Communications Manager
dukei@ea.com
Source: Electronic Arts Inc.
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