Preface: Recently, EA has announced that all of their upcoming sports titles starting with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 will feature their EA SPORTS Online Pass. This pass allows for the use of online mutiplayer and promises bonus content. While this service is free to those who buy any of these titles new, it however will cost ten dollars to activate this functionality on any subsequent systems, ie used copies.
If you would like to know more click here. Otherwise click the jump for a discussion between Aaron Rivers and Harold Burnett about this new initiative.
What is your gut reaction in regards to the EA Sports Online Pass?
Aaron Rivers: When I first heard about EA Sports Online Pass I was immediately taken aback. Something about the whole thing just rubbed me the wrong way. It seems dishonest. While I understand that developers and their publishing partners would like to regain some of their “lost” profits from the used market, I can't help but feel like EA is punishing people who buy a used copy of one of their upcoming sports titles.
This seems dishonest after the slew of previous programs aimed at the same lost profits incentivzing customers to buy new copies such as Mass Effect 2's Cerberus Network and various other added bonuses.
Harold Burnett: My initial reaction is I became upset at EA's desire to wring more money out what are arguably their best and top selling titles. EA gets at least sixty dollars a year from millions of people, I don't understand this need to want more.
How do you think this will be received by the community/critics?
Harold: I think the gaming critics and public will have the typical reaction: frustration and outrage. However I feel, the average consumer will not be as upset by this. They are the lubricant behind the EA Sports machine, and all they want is to see the new Madden on the shelf.
Aaron: I don't know if I agree with you completely Harold. I could see this having a backlash beyond the enthusiast. Imagine one of these “Joe Sport's Gamers” go to GameStop to pick up their copy of Madden 11, sees that the used copy is a little cheaper and decides to go that route. Joe doesn't care if he has a new copy, he is not some kind of collector. Hell, I would say that he probably goes to the shop with last year's edition of the game to trade in toward the new version.
What happens when he discovers that he can't play online without paying an additional ten dollars? I think he might become upset.
How do you think this will effect the used game market?
Harold: The used game market for sports titles is a wasteland. I foresee no effect all. The people who are buying last year sports title don't want to keep up with the new ones. I am sure they are looking for some kind of couch co-op experience rather then competitive online play.
Aaron: I agree that people who are looking for last year's titles might not be buying them for more than the single player or offline versus modes. However, what about used copies of this year's EA sports titles? Used games are initially priced about five to ten dollars lower then their new counterparts. If someone is forced to pay an additional ten dollars to make a used game as feature complete as a new title I have to ask, what is the point of buying the used copy?
Knowing this will GameStop decide to reduce the used price of EA sports titles more then other titles to keep them competitive to the new versions? Or will they keep the current pricing structure and hope for the best?
Do you think other publishers/developers will adopt this model in the future?
Aaron: I am going to be blunt. I fucking hope not. I hate to use the term slippery slope to describe this type of incentive structure but that is what it is, a very slippery slope.
Harold: This may not be the best fit for most gaming publishers. Sports titles with their annual nature can fit fine within this model. EA Sports games at least have a pedigree of providing good online multiplayer. What about the BioShock 2's of the world? If EA or any other publisher thinks they can squeeze an extra ten dollars from their unproven multiplayer, they are sadly mistaken.
Aaron: I agree that I don't see this being applicable for most non-sports titles. However, I can't help but think that if EA Online Sports Pass is successful this sort of structure could be used by other types of titles and that is not a pleasant thought.
Will this ten dollar fee force EA to extend it's support of these titles longer then they have in previous iterations?
Harold: EA in theory could support these titles for as little or as long as they please. To me that is the heart of the problem. Giant corporations are really bad at keeping promises. I am sure the fine print gives EA all kinds of outs when it comes to support for these games.
Can you really expect an update to NBA live 11 when 12 is four months away?
Aaron: No, I don't expect them to provide updates that close to their next installment. I also have to ask, how is that different from what we have currently? So, this begs the question, what are we really gaining from this new Online Sports Pass?
Do you think this is an int rem step in anticipation for a yearly subscription based model?
Harold: Yearly subscriptions are the direction sports games need to head toward. I used to buy and play Madden every year. However, lately I have fallen off because of the need to really dig deep into these games in order to see what is new and what has been changed.
Sports games need to exist in a manner similar to how MMOs exist. I would be satisfied with new roster updates just like someone who plays World of Warcraft looks forward to an upcoming patch for their class.
Aaron: I hope you are right. I am not a sports fan so I find it hard to weigh in on this question. I have to wonder if these titles could make the same kind of money they are accustomed to within a subscription based model. How much would you charge? Would you need to pay this subscription in order to play single player? What about people who don't have a stable Internet connection?
I just see the subscription based model raising more questions then it solves.
Final Thoughts?
Harold: Today's gaming landscape is a fast moving constantly evolving space. The way we buy and play games has changed immensely over the last decade. Sports titles seem to be the last in line to evolve. Their tried and true method of annual releases, followed by spotty updates has to change.
The EA Sports Online Pass is a half step in that direction. I will wait until EA decides to make a full leap.
Aaron: My concern is that if the Sports Pass becomes a viable stratagem I fear what that could spell for titles that I am a fan of. I can not condone behavior that to me seems more akin to punishment rather than the incentives we have seen recently from other titles.
The whole thing seems needlessly aggressive and antagonistic to the consumer and for this I hope it fails.
-You can read this and more from Aaron and Harold at www.SophistGames.com or listen to us on Sophist Radio.
