lectronic Arts is keeping the goalie gloves on tight with any new information about their upcoming next-gen hockey title.  We go straight to the source and speak with former NCAA/NHL/IHL/ECHL goalie - now EA Canada Producer David Littman and find out what the game plan is for Xbox 360.  Plus we ask about GameCube, Wii, and PlayStation 3 thoughts.  Get the first details about NHL 07 right here in our exclusive interview...

Game Informer: Why did you choose Alexander Ovechkin to be the cover athlete for NHL 07?  Has he seen the game yet?  What does he think?  What kind of input will he make in the design of the game?

David Littman: We always look at the superstars of the NHL and who would best represent our vision for that year’s title. This is our first crack on a next gen console and Alexander Ovechkin represents the next generation of hockey players. With a Calder win under his belt after an unbelievable first season, we’re excited to see how far this guy can go. He is a perfect fit for our NHL franchise and the vision for this year’s game.

He has seen the game. He actually got a chance to play it when he was in Vancouver for the NHL Awards. He’s still definitely better on the ice than he is with the controller though. He is helping us stay true to the sport and is able to give us feedback on what he feels we need to tweak.

GI: What kind of things can you do with next-gen that would we’re able to do previously?

Littman: With the next gen console we are able to push higher polygon models as well as higher res textures, making the players, equipment, ice surfaces and arenas look that much better.

You will notice the different things on the jerseys like the perforations and stitching and on the equipment the different types of leathers and nylons. In the arenas we have modeled everything from the penalty box phones to the little screws along the boards. It's all the little things that current gen just could not do, that change the way we present our next gen games.

GI: What is the direction of NHL 07? I know you can’t get into specifics here – but what should we expect from NHL 07 on the 360?

Littman: Making NHL 07 has been so much fun this year because we are taking this game in the direction that we all believe it needs to go in. We have a great team – most of whom played hockey at a high level - and everyone is passionate about making NHL 07 the best sports game on the market. We made a sort of motto that we’ve been sticking to this year which is “If you can think it, you can do it.” We want to give our users the freedom to play the game like you can on the ice and put the control in their hands to do it. So our main focus this year was definitely gameplay and authenticity to the sport. Hockey translates really well into a video game and with this year’s gameplay and graphic innovations we are taking hockey video games to a place they have never been before.

GI: What do you think of 2K’s goalie “crease control?”

Littman: I actually think that they were on the right track with it. Good idea, but I’d like to see it with a different implementation.

GI: Do you plan on allowing players to control goalies in NHL 07 in any new ways?

Littman: We are looking into that right now, but can’t get into too much detail on it this early. This is particular interest to me because I was a goalie. I can say this: We have put a lot of time and effort into making our goalies as realistic as possible this year. I think the goalie is the coolest character in sport and we wanted to showcase that. You will see our goalies do things that you have never seen in a video game – like closing their glove on the puck. It’s pretty awesome.

GI: What changes have you made with the right analog stick from NHL 06?
 
Littman: We are rebuilding this game from the ground up - so yes - there are definite differences on the right analog stick that we are really excited to unveil. Unfortunately we are going to keep this up our sleeve for a little longer - but I promise it will definitely be worth the wait!

GI: How will you enhance skating and on the ice control?

Littman: EA Sports has put a lot of effort into athletic performance and we have developed a similar idea for NHL 07. Once again – we are going for authenticity to the sport. So things like goalie momentum across the crease and realistic skating fluidity will be included. As I mentioned before – control is a key this year and we feel that we’ve reached new heights in that respect.

GI: We see no indication of a PS3 SKU.  When will future PlayStation 3 owners be able to skate on EA ice?

Littman: EA is in full support of the PS3 and we will be there in future iterations.

GI: When’s your roster cut off?  What are your plans for roster updates?

Littman: Our roster cut-off is in late July, but if there is a blockbuster after that – we will work to get it in. We actually already have Demitra in a Wild uni, Luongo as a Canuck and Bertuzzi as a Panther in our present build.

GI: Are there plans for any other downloadable content?

Littman: This year being the first year of the NHL franchise on Xbox 360 we’ll have gamer pics and gamer tags of your favorite NHL teams for your Xbox Live profile. We will also have free roster downloads during the season.

GI: Is there create-a-player? Create-a-team?

Littman: Yes, we’ve kept creation zone in NHL 07 that includes Create and Edit Player. There is no create-a-team in the Xbox 360 version.

GI: Is the Dynasty Mode going to lack the feature set that other previous first-gen EA Sports titles have had so far on the Xbox 360?

Littman: Not at all. We really made a concerted effort to retain the depth from last year's NHL 06 current gen game. NHL 07 will have Dynasty Mode, Create Player, Shootout Mode as well as online play. The Dynasty mode has the salary cap and a host of other new features including full compliance with the NHL salary cap and will let a user get a full taste of what its like to be a GM in the “new” NHL.

GI: How will the fighting system change in NHL 07? Will you be able to pull the jerseys over the players’ heads?  If you smack a player around a lot will facial damage stay on the player through out the game?

Littman: We’ve added animations to make fighting more realistic and also give a little more control to the user. As for making our players into the Hanson Brothers from Slapshot – we need to be really aware of who our audience is and have to stay within NHL licensing regulations.

GI: What is the reasoning behind not having a Gamecube version this year? What about Wii?
 
Littman: EA has a full line of games on Nintendo DS and looks forward to exploring new opportunities with the Wii once it launches. I personally think that the sport of hockey would be a good fit for the Wii remote.

GI: Would you ever like to have Zamboni racing?

Littman: We love this idea. It is something that we wish we could do, but we’ve yet to nail down the license on it! Good idea though – do you want to work with us?

GI: Absolutely!  We'll talk about our price at a later date. Thanks for your time.

-Billy Berghammer, Matthew Kato