EA Introduces "Online Pass" To Get In On Used Games Market

EA Sports has unveiled a new feature that they hope will help them get a piece of the lucrative used games market: the Online Pass. Each of their new titles will come with a one-time code that allows access to "premium" content and features. Players who buy the games used can get the same content, but will need to pay $10 for the privilege. "According to EA, the content can include anything from title updates and downloads to features like online leagues — and even online gameplay and multiplayer modes. ... EA will offer 10-day trials of Pass content so that users can see what they would be getting. So far, EA seems to be limiting the premium add-on experiment to its sports portfolio. ... The company has apparently gained the support of retailer GameStop, which has been watching with a close eye efforts on the part of publishers to discourage its thriving used games business. According to the retailer, encouraging premium content add-ons still benefits GameStop, since it sells PlayStation Network and Microsoft Points cards. It praised EA's Online Pass as 'forward-thinking.'"

Comments

Competitive gaming and premium content

[Decollete]

I hope this doesn't end up like those "free-to-play" online games where players can buy "premium content" for in-game advantage

Re:Competitive gaming and premium content

[QuantumLeaper]

I don't think so, it sounds like if you buy a New game you get a 'serial' number for DLC but if you buy a Used games, you have to buy the DLC for $10. It more to kill the used game market since they don't get a cut from it.

Re:Competitive gaming and premium content

[delinear]

That's what I thought. I've stopped even bothering to go into Game/Gamestation here in the UK because of the already ridiculous prices of used games (often you only get a couple of quid off the new price, occasionally the used price is more than the new price, and considering the gamble of a used, possibly scratched disk, it's just not worth it anymore) - add another £5-10 onto the price and I don't see how the used market can survive.

cheating the laws

[KiloByte]

Yay... a yet another attempt to work around the First Sale rules. All they're doing is relabeling part of the package, so instead it's an "add-on" now.

By "title updates" they really mean bug-fix patches. In other words, this "Online Pass" thingy is strictly negative.

Re:cheating the laws

[redscare2k4]

I've already heard about this. Is not patches and bugfixes they're aiming at. Its more like "our new FPS comes with the incredible amount of 2!! multiplayer maps, and as a free DLC you get another 10maps!!". Of course if you got the game used, you've got to ditch $10 bucks to get those 10 maps. But they're totally optional, right? :D

Seems game companies like Ubisoft and EA are keen on sending more ammunition to ppl defending piracy to be used against them. Oh well...

Re:cheating the laws

[redscare2k4]

Also (and sorry about the double post), game companies seem to forget that people who sell their games more often than not use that money to BUY MORE GAMES. Game companies are already getting benefits from the used game market, but as they can't put a figure in their anual reports, they're blind and think they're getting nothing.

Re:cheating the laws

[sakdoctor]

I would love to pirate some EA games, but unfortunately they just keep pumping out "YourGFXcardCan'tHandleThisShooter 4", and "MySims 3D, coke&whores addon-pack"

Re:cheating the laws

[Zaphod The 42nd]

No. Anybody who buys the game from a vendor, first, gets the code and forever has access to the "service" for free. Anybody who then purchases that title legitimately from that first owner cannot access the same content, content WHICH IS ON THE DISC, not some DLC he "could" download, but actual data and code that is on the physical copy he purchased and is within the game for which the user licence is sold and has been transferred. This is 100% EA locking out people who buy used, and forcing them to pay up to them directly, or to go buy from a vendor and not used. I can't disagree with you more.

Re:cheating the laws

[quantumplacet]

Anybody who then purchases that title legitimately from that first owner cannot access the same content, content WHICH IS ON THE DISC

really, the servers that host online multiplayer games are on the disc? that's an impressive disc.

Re:cheating the laws

[Firkragg14]

It isnt though. When you buy the disc you get the game and 2 maps say. This is the bit that is an item and the bit you can transfer under first sale. With the game though you also get "free" access to a "service" which allows you to download another 10 maps. Now because its a service it doesnt need to be transferable. While im not saying i approve of what they are doing i cant see it violating first sale (although if they already have the 10 maps on the disc and restrict access to them for anyone except the first person to use it i can imagine that as being a possible violation)

Re:cheating the laws

[WrongSizeGlass]

By "title updates" they really mean bug-fix patches. In other words, this "Online Pass" thingy is strictly negative.

This will also give EA the option of "discontinuing" this "super duper premium content" that was "soooo hot, and toooo cool" to even put on the game disk. They'll kill off this $10 DLC when the next sequel of their game hits the shelves.

Re:cheating the laws

[vegiVamp]

Yes, but surely you see how immoral that is ? That's like giving USED money to the game companies. You wouldn't want to use USED toilet paper now, would you ?

No, you need to give them NEW money, you filthy pirate scum.

Re:cheating the laws

[demiurgency]

Sign me up for that coke&whores add-on pack. Sounds like the best thing EA has released in years.

Hurray, you get to pay for updates

[indytx]

EA already uses "Service Updates" as an excuse to stop supporting online play after a certain period of time for many of its titles. http://www.ea.com/2/service-updates Now, it's going to restrict the ability to even update the game? FTA, "According to EA, the content can include anything from title updates and downloads . . . ." So, to paraphrase, if I want to play my game on another console, or my console croaks and I replace it, I might not be able to download the updates (and there will be updates because the title shipped will be buggy) without paying again?

Re:Hurray, you get to pay for updates

[HungryHobo]

Also- jesus christ.
They're retiring games less than a year old.

In some countries consumer laws would still put electronic good under warranty for that long.

To bring the book industry into the 21st century..

[HungryHobo]

To bring the book industry into the 21st century I propose a system whereby printed books be changed such that instead of the second half of the book you get a code which will allow you to access the end of the story through the publishers website.
The ending shall be a free add-on which you may only access through our online service.
You will be prohibited from transfering access to the ending to anyone since it's a service rather than an item.

If you want to know the ending after you've bought a book second hand you'll have to pay a 10 dollar fee to us.

Better don't lose that manual!

[mvar]

"Please enter word 15 paragraph 2 line 4 page 23 of the game manual in order to proceed"

This should be titled

[masterwit]

This article should be titled:

EA games does yet another thing to piss me off...

Re:They're all evil.

[HungryHobo]

They'll attribute any lost sales to piracy whether you pirate or not.

EA Sports

[lyinhart]

It's interesting that they're trying this experiment out with their sports video games. Sports video games released on an annual basis go down in price faster than any other genre. You can find a full boxed copy of a sports title from just a few years ago for under 5 USD. So by the time really cheap used copies hit the market, the sports season for that particular title is already over and EA is prepping for the release of the next year's edition.

Project Ten Dollar

[Clovis42]

This is just EA's "Project Ten Dollar" and it is not limited to just he sports games. It has already been featured in Dragon Age Origins and Mass Effect 2. Both games included content that you got for free with a code that came with the game, but you had to pay $10 to get if you bought it used.

I read this another way....

[pandrijeczko]

The $10 voucher allows you access to stuff that 5 years ago, before DLC existed, would have been included on the original game CD.

Sorry, but as an old man in my mid-40s with a quarter century of gaming history, modern gaming and most modern games are *CRAP*!!!

Games used to be about entertainment that lasted a lot longer than 6 hours, was actually challenging and was fun when you got a few friends round to LAN party with you.

Now it's all about leeching more money out of parents by encouraging kids to always buy some piece of DLC that they can brag about to their friends because they're the first "on the block" to get it - this is why morons queue at midnight for the latest game release, Harry Potter book or overpriced Apple gadget.

Still, I've more than enough old games to play through again, load mods into or play via an emulator, as well as few nice free/Open Source games... the rest of you rabid fanbois have brought this on yourselves by buying the crap in the first place, and you're all welcome to it.

Re:I read this another way....

[Totenglocke]

this is why morons queue at midnight for the latest game release, Harry Potter book or overpriced Apple gadget.

You're right about two of the three, but you're wrong about Harry Potter release parties - people go to those because they want to start reading the book ASAP because they love the story and can't wait to see what comes next (you also typically get a discount if you pre-ordered). I know what their reasoning is because I went to a couple midnight releases of it and talked to the people there - I've yet to ever hear anyone brag about being the first to have a book; I've only heard people who were excited to read a new book and were glad to get it the minute it went on sale so they could stay up all night reading it.

Still, I've more than enough old games to play through again, load mods into or play via an emulator

Me too - that's why I have no problem boycotting games with DRM, because out of all the games I've played, I still have stacks that I never got around to beating.

Textures and sound effects

[northernfrights]

Not to worry, textures and sound effects will always be a free download if you bought the game new.