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 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.

The music selected for the soundtrack, in conjunction with the extensive presentation overhaul undertaken in NHL 13, ensures the game looks, plays and sounds like an authentic NHL® hockey experience. Promising the biggest change 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.

Internal EA estimates that worldwide sell through for NHL 13 in its first week is up 9% globally over last year's previous franchise high, and fans are deeply engaged with the game's new connected experiences.

"NHL 13 has incredible new gameplay innovation, and it's the most connected NHL title we've ever created," said Andrew Wilson, Executive Vice President of EA Sports. "We're proud of this year's game, and we're extremely happy to see our fans worldwide embracing it in record numbers."

How fans are playing NHL 13:

• Since the launch of NHL 13, fans have created just under 50,000 of their own alternate versions of the NHL through the new GM Connected feature in NHL 13.
• During the first week, the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins were the most popular teams used across all game modes in NHL 13.
• Fans have played over 3.7 million online games, or the equivalent of over 350 games a minute.
• Fans have scored just under 5 million goals in the first week, dwarfing the 244 goals scored during the first week of the real 2011-2012 NHL regular season.

Key Features:

• True Performance Skating – A game-changing innovation for the franchise that adds physics-driven skating and over 1000 new animations. True Performance Skating authentically replicates the explosiveness, momentum and top end speed displayed by today’s NHL players. True Performance Skating combined with the Skill Stick, finally gives gamers access to the entire toolset of an NHL player, delivering unprecedented control and unlocking a level of creativity never before possible in a hockey videogame.
• EA SPORTS Hockey I.Q. – An innovative new A.I. system that governs the behaviors of players, goalies and team systems. In previous NHL games, players were only aware of skaters in their immediate proximity and goalies could only react to the player in control of the puck. With EA SPORTS Hockey I.Q., all players are now fully aware of every other player on the ice, resulting in quicker, smarter and more true-to-life decision-making. EA SPORTS Hockey IQ also delivers the deepest and most customizable set of real-world hockey systems and strategies ever for the franchise.
• GM Connected – The ultimate fantasy league with friends. GM Connected takes the franchise’s most popular offline mode, Be a GM, and allows you to play with and against your friends in your own 30-team NHL. Whether you are a hardcore sports gamer or a hockey fan that moonlights as an armchair general manager, the mode offers unrivaled accessibility and depth by allowing players to manage, play or coach on the road to building your team’s legacy. GM’s can also take their experience with them with a mobile companion app, ensuring that they never miss a single moment.
• NHL Moments Live – Rewrite or relive history as you replay some of the most thrilling moments from today’s NHL. NHL 13 evolves the concept introduced by other sports games, introducing each scenario with real-world NHL footage to bring players closer to the intensity of the moment. Moments from the 2011-12 NHL season will ship on disc and new moments from the 2012-13 NHL season will be added when available throughout the season.
• Team-First Presentation, which customizes your NHL 13 experience based on your favorite NHL team
• The addition of Customizable EA SPORTS Hockey IQ allowing players to create and record their own player and team strategies to a level never before seen in the franchise.
• Improvements to core offline and online modes, including Hockey Ultimate Team, Be a Pro, EA SPORTS Hockey League, a refined on-ice presentation, and more.