04/25/24
March 29, 2004
Even better than the real thing?: Interesting story about EA Sports hockey video game. If there is an NHL work stoppage next season, video games like EA will be the only NHL action we see next year. Considering how advanced video games have become and how the league is struggling, will anybody miss the real NHL?
posted by aupa_athletic to hockey at 04:09 PM - 21 comments
Considering how advanced video games have become and how the league is struggling, will anybody miss the real NHL? isnt that like saying "Blow up dolls have become so realistic and advanced. Will anyone miss women?"
posted by jerseygirl at 06:13 PM on March 29, 2004
I think what the story is trying to say that so many people relate to hockey through video games. I know of many people who play EA NHL who don't follow the NHL, but play the game because they enjoy the gameplay experience. Their entire knowledge of the game comes through the video game. There are plenty of people out there who only know Jeremy Roenick's greatness through video games and not his greatness on the ice. Sure, there will be plenty fans who will miss the NHL if it goes away, but a sizable portion won't even notice because they'll be too busy playing NHL 2005. As for the question of "Blow up dolls have become so realistic and advanced. Will anyone miss women?" In this case, maybe so. If a generation of guys grew up with advanced blow up dolls at their disposal, and had no contact with women, they probably wouldn't miss them that much.
posted by aupa_athletic at 06:27 PM on March 29, 2004
As for the question of "Blow up dolls have become so realistic and advanced. Will anyone miss women?" In this case, maybe so. If a generation of guys grew up with advanced blow up dolls at their disposal, and had no contact with women, they probably wouldn't miss them that much. We'd miss the way they whisper.
posted by dng at 06:33 PM on March 29, 2004
The dolls? That's probably a slow leak, fella.
posted by yerfatma at 07:37 PM on March 29, 2004
I couldn't even get through this article. Bleh. The real hockey fans will miss the game if they stop playing. It's really just that simple.
posted by jerseygirl at 08:39 PM on March 29, 2004
"Blow up dolls have become so realistic and advanced. Will anyone miss women?" Nah, blow up dolls don't talk.
posted by jmd82 at 12:27 AM on March 30, 2004
Who wants a blow up doll that talks? ;)
posted by justgary at 12:36 AM on March 30, 2004
Interesting article. Thanks.
posted by squealy at 03:22 AM on March 30, 2004
Ask anyone in southeastern Michigan that hasn't blocked the memory...1994-95 is known as "the time we couldn't go within 100 feet of *that guy*." *That guy* was me...
posted by MeatSaber at 07:00 AM on March 30, 2004
why would that be? NHL lockout or blow up doll obsession?
posted by gspm at 08:07 AM on March 30, 2004
For those interested, he author of this article, Jon Azpiri, wrote a related article about 6 weeks ago on Salon.com called "Video game fame". I claim no knowledge of his affinity to blow-up dolls.
posted by smithers at 08:50 AM on March 30, 2004
*the* author
posted by smithers at 08:51 AM on March 30, 2004
I prefer "affinity" to "obsession"...er, I mean, the lockout, of course...
posted by MeatSaber at 08:51 AM on March 30, 2004
Speaking as a person (and a Canadian, no less) who grew up with baseball and had absolutely no interest in hockey until he got hooked on NHL 2002 and then fell in love with the entire sport to the point at which he must replace remote controls after smashing his into the floor after Patrick Lalime lets in a dribbling game-winner against the evil Dallas Stars: yes, it's a damned good simulation, and yes, I'll miss the real thing if we lose it next year.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:52 AM on March 30, 2004
Jeez. A couple of spoiled kids skip a live NHL game in favor of PlayStation and this means that the games are comparable to the real thing? Their parents must have been really happy to buy those tickets.
posted by rcade at 09:59 AM on March 30, 2004
The idea that a simulation can become better than the real thing is thoroughly postmodern. It’s the same thought that Las Vegas used when they created miniature versions of New York, Paris and Venice, crammed with highlights. In the game, the action is better than reality, with “end-to-end action, bone-jarring hits, spectacular saves, and high-scoring games that are often settled in the final minutes.” The hockey video games have become so detailed that they have the ability to blur the line between simulation and reality. According to Baudrillard, the boundary between the image, or simulation, and reality implodes (breaks down). This creates a world of hyperreality where the distinctions between real and unreal are blurred. The public prefer spectacles to reality... The consequence of this preference is that reality loses its status, and that the effectiveness of simulation is greater than the potency of reality.
posted by dusted at 11:52 AM on March 30, 2004
OK, I gotta chime in with something more than just levity... I have been playing the PC version of NHL** since the 95 version. In fact, I was so rabid to play that game at the time, I paid $400 to double the RAM in my computer to 8MB. I still have all 10 games, and I can say with all honesty and experience that, although the games are fun to play, and though each year the game "looks" more and more like real hockey, it will never replace the real thing. I just finished my 3rd season in 2004, and swept the playoffs after going 82-0-0-0 in the regular season. This is on the hardest level, with every setting tuned against me. I averaged 8 goals for, and about 2.25 against. It's just not realistic, even if the Wings do rule all in real life...
posted by MeatSaber at 03:13 PM on March 30, 2004
Great link dusted....the simulacra and simulation concepts can be tricky when read in context.... my blog post on the article...
posted by smithers at 03:53 PM on March 30, 2004
try the new ESPN hockey for a truer simulation. EA is too arcady, imho.
posted by garfield at 04:11 PM on March 30, 2004
welcome back garf...
posted by smithers at 07:23 PM on March 30, 2004
Considering how advanced video games have become and how the league is struggling, will anybody miss the real NHL? Yes.