THN.com/podcast. From The Hockey News Podcast: Comebacks, Upsets and D.B. Sweeney Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk4NTAyNDk1NTc4NzYwNjQz/nhlroblox-1.jpg] Apart from EA Sports’ popular NHL video games, the league has not often used the broader video game medium for marketing purposes. That all changed in April when the NHL announced the launch of NHL Blast on the popular online game Roblox. NHL Blast acts as a central hub where hockey fans and Roblox players alike can connect and celebrate the sport of hockey. Users can customize their avatar's attire right down to their jersey and even goalie mask. Where the game truly shines, though, is with its recreations of NHL events, the first of which being the 2023 Stanley Cup final. Using data from the NHL Edge system that tracks puck and player movement, Roblox users can see three-dimensional recreations of the latest goals from the series currently underway between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Florida Panthers. If they choose to, players can even have their in-game avatar pose on the virtual ice for a selfie. This opens the door for more complex highlights and events to be re-created in NHL Blast going forward. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMBtNN1V7Pg[/embed] The puck-tracking technology was also used in the NHL Big City Greens Classic, when ESPN and Disney Channel ran an animated NHL game telecast in March. Other sports leagues like the NBA have used gaming in their marketing for years but usually in a more player-centric sense. LeBron James has his own playable skin in Fortnite and is also a playable character in Warner Brothers’ MultiVersus fighting game. What the NHL is doing with Roblox encompasses the entire league and introduces a central hub that fans can participate in for years to come. Adding to this, Roblox has around 66.1 million daily active users as of May 2023, according to Demand Sage’s Daniel Ruby [https://www.demandsage.com/how-many-people-play-roblox/#:%7e:text=Roblox%20has%20around%2066.1%20million,users%20mark%20in%20April%202021.]. This massive user base should allow the NHL to both increase their viewership and fan base while also attracting those from a previously untapped market. In the month or so that the game has been online, there could still be some improvements. The main gripes revolve around NHL Blast’s main game mode, which is a shooter-style game with a hockey aesthetic and gimmick. Basically, two teams battle across an obstacle-ridden terrain to see who can get the most goals while also trying to shoot pucks at enemy players, which some users online have thought of as basic. Even still, NHL Blast allows the NHL and the sport of hockey to reach new heights and stay relevant in an ever-changing digital world.
