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Electronic Arts has been one of the most aggressive companies in developing solutions to the perceived used game dilemma. Publishers don't see a direct revenue stream from used games, so EA is one of many publishers coming up with incentives for consumers to purchase a new copy of their games. With Mass Effect 2, it was the Cerberus Network. With EA Sports, it's "Online Pass."
"Online Pass" is required for all online features. You don't have a choice. If you don't have an "Online Pass" code, it will cost you $10 to generate an "Online Pass." That's EA's carrot to used game fans.
What's in the "Online Pass"? According to EA: "you’ll have access to multiplayer online play, group features like online dynasty and leagues, user created content, and bonus downloadable content."
This new initiative will begin with the release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 next month and continue forward. The code needed to access Online Pass is included on the back of every game's manual. "Online Pass" is only required for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 releases. The announcement does not mention Wii or PC being involved in "Online Pass" and I'm currently seeking clarification there.
EA themselves make it clear this move is connected to the used game market.
"In order to continue to enhance the online experiences that are attracting nearly five million connected game sessions a day," explained senior VP of worldwide development Andrew Wilson in a post at EASports.com, "we think it’s fair to get paid for the services we provide and to reserve these online services for people who pay EA to access them. In return, we’ll continue to invest in creating great games and offer industry-leading online services to extend the game experience to everyone."
Like Cerberus Network, however, the hook is not just online connectivity; it's access to content that won't be available without hooking into "Online Pass." You can happily play Mass Effect 2 without Cerberus Network, even purchase premium downloadable content, and the same philosophy is being applied to games connected to "Online Pass." Your game isn't unplayable, but it is missing features, and to tempt used gamers even more, there will be a seven-day pass made available free of charge.
"When we see how many people are playing all of our games online," said Wilson, "consumers are telling us that competition is endemic to sports in a way that most people don’t get just by playing a game alone on their couch. As a result, we’ve made a significant investment to offer the most immersive online experience available. We want to reserve EA Sports online services for people who pay EA to access them."
For Xbox 360 players, this doesn't negate the requirement for an Xbox Live Gold membership.
If you're a used game buyer, will this influence your purchases going forward?
Have something to share? Sitting on a news tip? E-mail me. You can also follow me on Twitter.
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Comments
Displaying 41–60 of 76
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L1V3_2_W1N
ARE YOU PEOPLE KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW.....U HAVE TO BE JOKING EA may be greedy but GAMESTOP beats Ea by a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooong shot when it comes to greediness I would be right there with EA & i hate greedy people like Microsoft & Activison & Gamestop 3 greediest company in the history of greedy companies.
CamVtothesquare
EA's bonus wasn't big enough this year. So i guess we will have to help the millionaires. I thought it was about making quality fun games. Not profit margins.
drummzer965
what happened to developers and publishers caring about making good games more than just the pure monetary value of their games. I understand and completely sympathetic with the fact that the gaming industry is a business, but I hate this new trend towards kicking off single player value and either moving toward MMOs (to make wayyyyyyyyy more money with the monthly fee) and making people pay for DLCs *the day of release!!!!*; but this is even worse to me. making people pay to play the game online when they have all ready paid a significant amount for the game AND (if on xbox) they are paying to use the online service? this is just getting ridiculous guys.
dracoraptor
I will not buy any more EA or Activison games at this point because Activision killed good games and now EA is giving me BS DRM and online play.
dracoraptor
I will not buy any more EA or Activison games at this point because Activision killed good games and now EA is giving me BS DRM and online play.
ph34rsome
I don't think software developers are trying to cut into any used game profits. If anything this was implemented to cut down on piracy. Also Gamestop fully endorses this idea. I don't see why while purchasing your used copy of madden 11 they are not EA online play cards u can also purchase from the retail store.
DPsx72
This isn't a problem because EA's games aren't good enough to buy in the first place. The ones worth buying used don't go online anyway.
ph34rsome
I don't think software developers are trying to cut into any used game profits. If anything this was implemented to cut down on piracy. Also Gamestop fully endorses this idea. I don't see why while purchasing your used copy of madden 11 they are not EA online play cards u can also purchase from the retail store.
ph34rsome
I don't think software developers are trying to cut into any used game profits. If anything this was implemented to cut down on piracy. Also Gamestop fully endorses this idea. I don't see why while purchasing your used copy of madden 11 they are not EA online play cards u can also purchase from the retail store.
YourAssassin93
That's BS. My brother and I share an Xbox so now one of us won't be able to play an EA game online. This already happened with Bad Company 2 when only one of us got to use the VIP code.
ZyloWolfBane
Tons of things are resold as used on a daily basis, either through E-bay or a legitimate retail source but you dont see the original places of business or creators of said products demanding a cut of the profit do you?
And they shouldnt, you made the money off something once and you shouldnt expect to be able to milk it several times over.
Not to mention most video games bring in more money than any other resellable product known to man and for alot less money/effort, I mean when it comes to cars..if the car originally sold for $14,000 and someone 5-10 years from now resold it for $1000 (Keeping in mind that its still in good shape and not a wreck) would be reason enough for the manufacturer to demand some of that money back.
But unlike cars, GOOD games are sold off shelves constantly, not many things in this world sell quite as fast as the newest most popular game, Im sorry but the initial sales of a game will always beat however much money Gamestop makes out of selling it used later on, And if the game was well made and GOOD to begin with then less people would BE LESS WILLING TO PART WITH IT!
If they want to say this helps them then why not help out everyone who keeps their lifeblood flowing by cutting the costs of the new games in the first place which will incur less resale of the titles, as anyone knows trade-in values are generally half to 25% of what the game was originally sold for (Depending on popularity or how many are in stock, depending on retailer) not factoring in deals or special offers, so the lower the price of the initial product the lower the value.
If games went back down to $30 like they used to be before PS1 then games wouldnt be worth enough to be resold unless someone was desperate, and in most cases even alot of BAD games (Cough Dantes Inferno/EA Cough) might be excused when people dont take a near $70 hit for buying garbage thereby encouraging the idea to sell the POS and recoup some of the money lost.
Sorry, no matter how you look at it this is a bad call on EA's part and Im tired of companies thinking they can change the whole way of how things work in gaming to save themselves a couple of bucks while giving none of it back, Digital Downloads were bad enough, but controlling content because I dont feel like your game is worth the maximum asking price? Pffft screw you!
GFY Red King
you two are are just as dumb as everyone buying this crap. " no direct revenue for used games" is a bunch of crap. if they didnt get a slice for a used game you wouldnt be paying 49.99 or what ever the used games go for. wow 10 price cut, thats like saying pro athlete making 125 mil one season then getting 120 mil the next but with incentives you can make back the 125. thats garbage. EA is worried but how their sale are dropping like rocks and they cant figure how to stop the bleeding. well you fn tard this aint going to help. Name a EA tile and look at how their initial sales drop, then look at what happens over time that people either rent or buy them used. yet they claim no used game revenue? what about people that rent? EA can go F themselves
this was in response to the two numb nuts defending EA
Mystyr_E
what about games you rent with the instruction book included? is that basically a "free" online pass then buy the used version for cheap and boom, problem solved
seems like an iffy plan to me
UltimaBlackMage
To be honest I can understand this approach and I agree that it sucks that the companies get nothing from second hand games. I say all the developers should try and get a bill passed forcing all game retailers give 50% of the profits from second hand games to the respectful developers. The online pass is a good step towards fighting back against the lack of profits from second hand resales but considering a lot of games people own were bought second hand, especially during the GFC(Global Financial Crisis) it's also a little unfair to the consumer. I know other gamers hate this idea but all I can say is if you don't like it, blame Gamestop, EB Games, Game, etc. It's their fault for screwing both the consumer with crappy trade in values and over priced second hand games. In Australia a games that just got released is AU$120 and trade is during the first 3-6 months is AU$40-45 and they resell the game for AU$110, more then double what you got in the trade in. I am on the side of EA on this move and also what's an extra $10 to buy the game new? Then again if your American you pay $60 for a game and the $10 does make a big difference to you. Either way EA is in the right with what they are doing is making a stand against injustice.
vismortis
Why is the game industry the only one that thinks they deserve a cut of used product sales. No one thinks GM,Ford,Honda,BMW.... should get a cut of used car sales or that GE should get a cut of used dishwasher sales why are games sooooo diffrent?
anth920
I get why they are doing this but this is going to make it really complicated for the average consumer to play online. For instance a parent may buy a gold membership for there kids to use but then find out they have to use their credit car to pay an extra 10 dollars to play madden online when he thought that buying the membership would already do that. So he may get frustrated and not deal with it at all. On top of that people hate using the credit card to pay for online stuff anyway.
Microsoft will have to change its Xbox Live service because not everything is open when you buy a membership.
Warrior567
they should just include a code in the box like the battlefield 2 dlc. don't make me pay 70 dollars for a new game with all the features, than 50 dollars without the extra features
KoV HK6
I think that this is entirely fair. People that pay more for new games deserve a right to the entire experience and used game buyers can either be cheap or buy it new for about $10 more.
O600Drift_Rider
soo this is just for sports right? if so thats awesome cause i dont buy ea sports games!...WOO!..but seriously..this whole 3rd party network thing bla bla...is pointless...if i buy a xbox game and i pay for xbl gold..then my game should not be crippled out of the box cause its used...cause thats the point of XBL gold..i pay so i get to play on-line..not i have to spend an additional $10 on a used game on top of xbl to play...see that crap is almost like what they do on the PC side..its not just one key..its like 2 keys, a boat load of DRM and limited installs...hence..why there ist a point to buy the pc version of most games anymore.. and on top of that i buy used cause well its cheaper and the new copies take a little too long for there prices to fall..for gamers on a budget...used is a good thing..but if this is whats going to happen then i just wont buy the title at all..or wait till the new copy is like 15...and with all the other games out there..that dont do this to there used copies...i still have plenty to choose from...keep your PC gaming control based BS out of the console market...
Notafanboythatiknow
I am in favor of anything that curves the sale of video games (especially in shady places like Gamestop). This is a great incentive and a good value considering that sports games can be played year round, thus, $65 are wort it.
Hopefully we will see subscription services for sports franchises from EA and other publishers soon. It is a waste to have to buy games like Madden every year for small tweaks.
Displaying 41–60 of 76
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