After some level of discontent with the online pass system, gamers can breathe a sigh of relief in the general direction EA, while fearing the aftermath.
In an email to GamesBeat, EA’s senior director of communications John Reseburg stated: “Yes, we’re discontinuing Online Pass […] None of our new EA titles will include that feature.” which is fantastic news for gamers who are picking up second-hand titles for consoles. This common practice was made popular over the past two to three years by companies, forcing consumers to make up for the discounted price of used games (popular in brick and mortar stores) to shell out up to $20 for a license to play their games online, and have access to the features that a freshly bought copy would otherwise bring them.
The ongoing rivalry between publishers and game stores like EBGames and GameStop has always been fairly transparent, often at the cost of consumer satisfaction. This raises questions for the long-term health of the industry considering EA’s declared financial losses this year as well as its declining popularity among gamers. Nonetheless, this is a move in the right direction for the software giant as it no longer punishes consumers for buying their products second hand. The final price of this decision has yet to be seen though. Speculation around the internet mentions a greater focus on launch DLC for new games, some of which would most likely be on-disc (such as the Prothean for Mass Effect 3, or extra characters from Street Fighter X Tekken). Although this would be a lesser evil compared to online passes, they remain a sacrifice for the otherwise greedy practices of games publishers like Activision and EA. One way or another, only the future will tell us what will come of this decision; in the meantime, you can expect to enjoy your EA games online without shelling out $20 for a poorly printed online-pass, or for borrowing the game from your friends.
Source: VentureBeat
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