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  <body>&lt;p&gt;Last week, 2K Games made the demo for &lt;em&gt;NHL 2K9 &lt;/em&gt;available for download on the PlayStation Store, to mixed reaction. Not to be outdone, Electronic Arts announced today that the demo for their own NHL license, &lt;em&gt;NHL '09,&lt;/em&gt; will be made available tonight as part of the Thursday PlayStation Store update.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As in the 2K demo, you'll be playing as either the Penguins or the Red Wings (last year's Stanley Cup finalists). But the wrinkle here is that EA's demo appears to be focused on the &amp;quot;Be a Pro&amp;quot; Mode, where you start off as an AHL player, and advance your skill until you reach the big leagues, and then it's on to Lord Stanley's Cup. The demo promises to put you in the skates of an existing pro, &amp;quot;with a dynamic new camera that puts the focus on your player.&amp;quot; &lt;/p&gt;Fret not Xbox owners: EA is promising the &lt;em&gt;NHL '09&lt;/em&gt; demo will hit XLBA next month.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here's the full release:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;August 21, 2008&lt;/strong&gt; &amp;ndash; Need your hockey fix? Experience the critically acclaimed EA SPORTS&amp;trade; NHL franchise in a whole new way with the NHL 09&amp;trade; demo that is now available on the PLAYSTATION&amp;reg; Network&amp;trade;- Xbox LIVE&amp;trade; demo to follow in early September. Re-live the excitement of last season&amp;rsquo;s Stanley Cup Final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings by stepping into the skates of a top NHL star in the new Be A Pro mode. With a dynamic new camera that puts the focus on your player, Be A Pro is a whole new way to play the greatest game on ice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The new Be A Pro career mode will put you in the skates of an up and coming superstar. Start in the AHL and work your way up to the NHL, with the ultimate goal of becoming an NHL legend. The new Performance Tracker will rate your play in over 60 categories so you will know exactly what parts of your game you need to improve. NHL 09 will also introduce the evolution of online team play - the EA SPORTS Hockley League. Take your created player online and join a team with friends, or scout for players. Featuring 6 vs. 6 online play and the ability to level up your player - you can become the first great name in videogame hockey.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Building off seven &amp;lsquo;Sports Game of the Year Awards&amp;rsquo; last year, NHL 09 provides gamers with an answer to the offensive innovation of years past with the introduction of Defensive Skill Stick. Players can now use an improved poke check, sweep their stick 360 degrees to block passing lanes, or lift an opponent&amp;rsquo;s stick when playing defense. Take a proven formula, sprinkle on some innovation, throw in a whole new way to play and see for yourself why every EA SPORTS gamer will love NHL 09.&lt;br /&gt;NHL 09 ships to retailers on September 9 on Xbox 360&amp;reg; and the PLAYSTATION&amp;reg;3 computer entertainment system.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For more information, please visit &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.easports.com/NHL09&quot;&gt;www.easports.com/NHL09&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Related Articles:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/gamer/00_19/blog/article/first_impressions_nhl_2k9&quot;&gt;First Impressions: NHL 2K9&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/gamer/coop/news/article/force_unleashed_demo_hits_xbox_live&quot;&gt;Force Unleashed Demo Hits Xbox Live &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/gamer/sean/news/article/thursday_playstation_store_update_08_14_08&quot;&gt;Thursday PlayStation Store Update 08.14.08&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</body>
  <category>news</category>
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  <created-at type="datetime">2008-08-21T13:31:36-04:00</created-at>
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  <published-at type="datetime">2008-08-21T13:31:36-04:00</published-at>
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  <slug>nhl_2009_demo_to_hit_playstation_3_tonight</slug>
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  <teaser>SKATE OR DIE!</teaser>
  <title>NHL 2009 Demo to Hit PlayStation 3 Tonight</title>
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  <user-id type="integer">18</user-id>
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