Each copy of NHL Slapshot will ship with a 21-inch hockey stick peripheral. Built with slots for the Wii Remote and nunchuk, NHL Slapshot producer Joe Nickolls says that the peripheral will offer greater accuracy than the Wii Remote alone as well as make Wii MotionPlus support redundant. "Just the motions of the wrist shot and the slapshot and checking somebody, to be able to actually do those in your living room, it's hockey in your living room as opposed to just playing with a controller," explained Nickolls. Other control schemes include using the Wii Remote and nunchuk without the peripheral, or only the Wii Remote.
Hockey great Wayne Gretzky will be appearing both on the game's cover and in the game itself. In the Peewees to Pros mode, players will be able to use a 12-year-old avatar of their own creation or a child version of a hockey star (like Gretzky or Sidney Crosby) and have them progress from the youth ice hockey leagues all way up to the NHL.
Developed by EA Canada, NHL Slapshot is set for release on September 7.
