... This particular game came out in 1993. It has the 1992-93 NHL teams and rosters.
EA always labeled their games a year ahead. Here's a list of their games from the early-to-mid 90's:
Sega Genesis Games
EA Hockey '91 -- Released in 1990. An "Olympic" type game, national teams with made-up players, with no NHL teams or players.
NHL Hockey -- Released in 1991. First EA NHL game. Has NHL licensing, so the teams and logos are there. This game does NOT have NHLPA licensing, so the players are represented by their jersey numbers instead of their names. The players are based on the real NHL players -- so #99 on the Kings plays exactly like Wayne Gretzky and #66 on the Penguins plays like Mario Lemieux, and so on. There was no "save" function on this game; it used a password system.
NHLPA Hockey '93 -- Released in 1992. This time, EA got the license from the NHLPA to include the players' names. But this one has no NHL licensing, so there are no team logos; teams are represented by their city names. NHLPA '93 was the first game to compile Playoff stats and the first game that allowed the player to decide who played on each line. '93 was the first game to allow game saves as well.
NHL '94 -- Released in 1993. One of the best hockey video games of all time. A true classic. Has both NHL and NHLPA licensing for the first time; all players and teams are represented. '94 had all the features of '93, and also was the first game to have one-timers and penalty shots.
NHL '95 -- Released in 1994. Allowed season play for the first time on the Sega Genesis. Game engine was changed, though; game play is nowhere near as good as NHL '94. A lot of bugs on this game; many players were listed as left-hand shots even though they were right-handed, and that clearly affected the game play and positioning of players.
PC Games
EA NHL Hockey -- Released in 1993. Uses all of the same players, stats, and teams as NHL '94 for the Genesis. Differences were that a player could play in full season mode and trade players, and the line editor was more comprehensive. If I remember correctly, trades are allowed in this game as well. Graphics are better and more detailed, but game play/animation seems to be less smooth than on the Genesis. Still an outstanding game.
NHL Hockey '95 -- Released in 1994. Uses all of the same players, stats, and teams as NHL '95 for the Genesis. A very good game -- a lot of the bugs in the Genesis version of this game are fixed, and the game plays much smoother. Allowed player creation and editing of created players in addition to all of the previous year's game features. Lots of little additions put in during actual game play; very cool stuff.
Once NHL '96 came out (in 1995), the PC and Console versions both would have the same titles every year from that point on.
Hope this helps a little.
JT_Dutch
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