NHL Hockey
NHL Hockey — frequently asked questions
- What platforms is NHL Hockey on?
- NHL Hockey was released on Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.
- When did NHL Hockey release?
- NHL Hockey was first released on December 31, 1991.
About NHL Hockey
NHL Hockey (titled EA Hockey outside North America) is an ice hockey game by Electronic Arts.
Summary via IGDB.
Game details
- Developer
- Park Place Productions
- Publisher
- Electronic Arts
- Game modes
- Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
- Series
- NHL
Details via IGDB.
Reception
Every version compared
Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release
| Platform | Year | Loose | Complete | Sealed | Period reviews | Fake risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sega Genesis | 1991 | $7 | $11 | $193 | 7 reviews | Low |
Also released on: Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. We haven’t priced or authenticated that version yet.
Collector value & authenticity
Sega Genesis · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-29
Other releases and variants
| Release | Loose | Complete | Sealed |
|---|---|---|---|
| European (PAL) release | $12 | $27 | — |
| Japanese release (EA Hockey) | $8 | $17 | — |
How often it sells
- Loose: about once a week
- Complete: about once a week
- Sealed: about once a year
Prices marked “few sales” rest on about one recorded sale a year, so treat them as a rough guide: the next copy could sell well above or below. Expect to wait for one to come up.
Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-29.
Price over time
- Loose
- Complete
A loose copy sold for about $0.87 in Oct 2012, $5.89 five years ago, and $6.99 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2013 | $0.87 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $2.99 | $5.99 |
| Jan 2015 | $3.99 | $7.99 |
| Jan 2016 | $3.52 | $8.95 |
| Jan 2017 | $3.61 | $7.96 |
| Jan 2018 | $4.95 | $6.99 |
| Jan 2019 | $6.12 | $12.82 |
| Jan 2020 | $4.25 | $11.02 |
| Jan 2021 | $6.67 | $9.99 |
| Jan 2022 | $5.63 | $10.00 |
| Jan 2023 | $5.88 | $11.22 |
| Jan 2024 | $4.68 | $9.99 |
| Jan 2025 | $5.88 | $10.12 |
| Jan 2026 | $6.05 | $10.96 |
| Oct 2026 | $6.99 | $11.06 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
Release record
| Territory | Date | Product number | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America | August 1991 | — | 014633070408 |
| Europe / PAL | August 1991 | — | — |
| Japan | 20 November 1992 | EM20002 | — |
- Region
- NA+EU+JP
- Released
- 1991
- Authenticity
- Low
The Genesis hockey game that started EA's NHL series, and a cheap US cart.
NHL Hockey was developed by Park Place Productions and published by Electronic Arts. It came out in North America and Europe in August 1991 and in Japan in November 1992. It is an action-oriented one- or two-player game with fighting, power plays and penalties, and it features the teams of the 1990 to 1991 NHL season.
The team included members of the group that made John Madden Football. The North American cover shows Los Angeles Kings goaltender Glenn Healy.
What the press said at the time
| Game Informer Issue 1 | Fall 1991 | Overall Rating: 9 (Andy, The Game Dandy); Overall Rating: 9 (Rick, The Video Ranger) |
| MegaTech Issue 2 | January 1992 | 94% |
| Mean Machines Sega Issue 3 | December 1992 | 94% |
| Sega Pro Issue 36 | September 1994 | 85% |
| Sega Pro Issue 43 | April 1995 | 81% |
| ACE | 949/1000 | |
| Raze | 90/100 |
“EA hasn't missed a hat trick in designing what should be their next great sports hit. This cart’s got it all: cool graphics, fast action, fist fights”
“Electronic Arts has performed a national service by providing the first Genesis ice hockey game, NHL Hockey. And they deserve extra recognition for making it terrifically playable and loading it with plenty of authentic detail.”
“This cartridge is hot enough to melt the ice. It may be a tough start for the beginning player, but any fan of hockey or sports games will love It.”
“The first ice hockey game on the Megadrive and still the best. It is more responsive than Mario Hockey and it has a better player select feature”
Undated scores are from the review table in the game's Wikipedia article, limited to reviews of the Genesis version.
Before you buy
Among US carts it sits well below the median. The European cart, which was called EA Hockey, usually costs more than the US one, especially complete. The Japanese cart usually costs a little more and has a different cartridge shape from a Western console's slot. It is a cheap-tier game with no per-game fake concerns.
Watch on YouTube
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