EA Sports Online Pass redeemed by 60% of users, says EA

@arrrgh What? EA wrote the book on this stuff, not Activision. How many years in a row have they released Madden and FIFA for full price? Activision is but a young apprentice.

@arrrgh

You do realize they're running a business and have to pay their employees, correct? Why is it evil for a company to receive money for their hard-earned work instead of letting someone else (i.e, Gamestop) get money for it?

Think.

@Chilly P slapperonlyblogspotcom

Suddenly gamers hate developers. I for one love the Online Pass because that means our dev team gets a cut of the sales for used copies of Madden. Since when is the creator of the game at fault and used game stores (READ: pawn shops) the righteous hero? You wouldn't believe the number of people working on a title like Madden around the clock non-stop and how much has to be done in just a few months time. The used game market gobbles up a huge chunk of sports game sales, money the publisher never sees, which is used to fund the next installment.

You want a "better Madden?" Then start by supporting progressive movements like this. This isn't a money grabbing ploy like many of you jaded blog trolls think.

/rabblerabblerabble

@Anticrawl

Also this is my personal opinion blah blah does not reflect EA's official blah blah blah.

No wonder most studios are so out of touch with gamers, if I poured my life into a game and wasn't given a chance by my peers/customers I'd separate myself from them too. Back to work.

@whylekat Strangling someone with only 9 out of 10 fingers is the gift that keeps on giving.

@whylekat

1. I don't get it.
2. What do you do with the tenth finger?

@whylekat

You may not have realized this, but Joystiq is now owned by AOL. Are you surprised about their pro DLC, pro online gaming only, pro streaming, pro Online Pass (apparently an "extra gift") stance? The more we head in this direction, the more property rights we lose. Additionally, games will get more expensive than ever as we move towards "episodic" releases and keep buying into the BS that the publishers are feeding us about giving us "FREE" content (like multiplayer features or an item that was already programmed before game release). EA whines about used games because they dont make good games and therefore make no money. Why is Mass Effect 2 already $29.99 if its so good? The more you participate in this BS the more power you hand over to megacorps like EA and Activision, who have time and again, demonstrated their greed.

@xoxaan

Bad Form sir!
First off I don't think Joystiq reported this story in a pro/con way. Regardless who owns them and what you think about that corporation, this article is simply reporting EA's recent take on their online pass. In fact I don't ever remember reading "yes, pay to play online is such a good idea" in a Joystiq article.

Secondly, Mass Effect 2 is a fantastic game!! I highly doubt the quality of that title had any thing negative to do with the price drop.

You sir, have no taste. Or just hate games. I dunno which.

@whylekat I don't get it, people have a problem with this, but have no problem with the XBL fee, which is pretty much the same idea. Actually it's worse because with Online Pass you don't have to pay anything extra if you buy the game new, but with XBL, you have to pay someone else to use the all the features of a game you've already bought.

@Wiizer

I wouldn't call it a failure. I'm willing to bet that the 30-40% of the people that didn't use the online pass didn't really care about the online competition. Maybe they just bought it to play with buddies when they hang out.

@Grey

Don't you think EA's shown its hand quite a bit?

Now, we know that close to half of the people purchasing these sports games don't necessarily utilize the online component...

@Wiizer

I'm not following you; what's your conclusion?

@Wiizer
I don't see the problem. EA makes money on the initial purchase. (i.e. the people who pay $60 to play basically the same game with a roster update). Why does it matter how many people play online? Also the fact that 60-70 percent of the people who buy the game actually play online means that those people are forced to buy new instead of used. I don't see how EA could be losing any money from this and in fact I would think that they are gaining money from this. I really don't see how this is a failure in any way.

@Grey
"'sixty percent to seventy percent of online connected users' have redeemed a code for Online Pass"

I take that to mean 30-40% of online connected users are in the trial then and aren't opting in for the gift of online pass.

"He noted further that 'the level of online play is up' over last year"

Which has nothing to do with online pass and more to do with the expanding online gaming environment.

"as is revenue from paid downloadable content"

Wait, you mean you start charging for things and you make money?

@mbarriault

They are getting it, they are not using it.

@lobotomies4free It only comes with new copies of the game, so the numbers would not be shifted that way

@Crisco kid A lot of those people probably don't have their consoles connected.

@Mcmax3000

But wouldn't this quote from Shappert , "sixty percent to seventy percent of online connected users" mean he is referring to only those who have their system connected?

Could only have Silver accounts, or don't play multiplayer games.

I have a friend who plays sports games like a nut and never goes online with them other than to download rosters. He'll play non-sports co-op games online with me, though.

@Assassin EA's FAQ stated that it was tied to the console but I haven't gotten an EA Sports game yet this year so I don't know for sure.

It's successful at the gamer's expense. I never buy new sports games cause last year or two years ago is SO much cheaper used. So what happens in 2012 when I wanna buy a cheap 2010 sports game to play online with friends. I get charged extra. That's bogus.

@whylekat

EA is the only that I am aware of that pulls the servers on their older sports games. So if you wanted to play online, you might not be able to by then.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/04/ea-pulling-plug-on-aging-sports-games-servers/

@sigma8
Straw man much?

@Altairio
Nope. My coughing wasn't part of my argument. Clearly, you should ignore it or take it as a tangent.

People can downvote me all they want, but that's not going to keep their internet-requiring single player games running when their internet has hiccups.

I don't love the EA online pass, but it's less intrusive than requiring a one-time use activation process--essentially an "offline AND online pass"--which other games are doing.

@sigma8 I'm all about server fees but EA doesn't even keep theirs online much longer than a year anyhow. You also have to consider that they're making millions in profits from these games, they're not breaking even like websites funded by advertising or indie game developers.

If they want to charge for extended usage, I'd gladly pony up $10 for another year of full-on Tiger 2010 online support. But that's not how this works, it's just a way of screwing over the used game market, there's no other reason for it.

@jsx92
I totally agree with you. But I think making it impossible to resell a game is worse. Most game companies these days are forcing us to choose among evils. There aren't many great choices out there. A possible side-benefit is that the games have to be really good to get people to happily overlook the enforced policy/TOS crap. (maybe I can *coughStarcraf2cough* without a downvote this time, since now I'm complimenting it)

@2late2die

Nope. It is just now that these big companies and publishers can see that they are able to make more money than they do now, they are going to try. Especially with the game market getting more and more people in every year. Now I am not saying that they shouldn't be making money off their own games, but it will just deter people like me.

I DO play sports games, not hardcore in the least. Usually actually I will pick up 1 new sports game a year (be it baseball, basketball, football, hockey, or football). So, then usually I will pick up a used game of whatever is the most outdated or say the previous years version of a game I was especially interested in, but got bumped by my first choice which I purchased new. I don't play these games online all that much so they are not hurting me... I just won't play online at all. I play just whenever my friends are over and like to have all of the big sports covered so we do have a bit of variety... personally, I would just stick with Hockey and Soccer, but those people do like their madden, and I don't mind playing a game or two every couple of months.

So to wrap my thoughts up here, I am not overly offended because I can still buy those used sports games for 5-10 bucks that I really only play for maybe 10-20 hours, but with online, they have just shoved me to the side for around 4 years for all my other sports games since there is no way I am going to buy these stupid passes. I like playing with my friends in person more anyways. Thanks money grubbing corporate america!

@Oobgarm
Something crazy good that's for sure. Might also explain why our "free" VIP online service for Battlefield Bad Company 2 was a complete lagfest for two months (two months after release of the game) and not a word from EA.

If I can find something that gets me high for two months, man that would be killer.