IGN: NHL 09 Preview (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/897/897903p1.html)

.... Ok.. THIS is something new. And hockey is one of those sports where everyone gets relatively into the action (can you imagine the crush to try to be the point guard in NBA, so you can jack up 30 threes a game, or the QB in Madden?).

I especially like that you get penalized in your ratings if you don't play your position correctly.

They have done something I didn't think was possible, made me care about an EA Sports Hockey game.

IGN: NHL 09 Preview (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/897/897903p1.html)

.... Ok.. THIS is something new. And hockey is one of those sports where everyone gets relatively into the action (can you imagine the crush to try to be the point guard in NBA, so you can jack up 30 threes a game, or the QB in Madden?).

I especially like that you get penalized in your ratings if you don't play your position correctly.

They have done something I didn't think was possible, made me care about an EA Sports Hockey game.

This is the absolute key. It has to be done well enough that the game isn't completely cheezy and feels like the real sport but not so hard that it's not fun. I give EA about a 0.1% chance of pulling it off first time, but I'm excited to see how they do it.

Sounds interesting. I bet it would work for basketball too. If there's good coaching ai your ass would hit the bench if you keep jacking threes.

Sounds interesting. I bet it would work for basketball too. If there's good coaching ai your ass would hit the bench if you keep jacking threes.

I'd love to see this for basketball. I'm intrigued to see it in hockey. This might persuade me to buy it this year.

Some talk of it here.

NHL09 pre-release talk - Front Office Football Central (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=67056)

I think my excitement about the positioning thing is almost matched by my fear of how it will be implemented. For example, if a defenceman pinches, is he out of position? Or only if he gets caught? If he goes in deep and a winger drops back to cover his point, is the winger now getting docked for being out of position too? Will this sort of thing lead to people not wanting to cover their teammates mistakes, thereby reducing overall team play?