EA Access subscription service on Xbox One points towards the future

Dealspwn: "An exciting initiative, then, but one with plenty of questions still to be answered. How often will the Vault roster change? Will we see annual subscriptions roll out beyond the US? Just how long is the "limited time" period upcoming games can be played for ahead of release? As we've seen with the spluttering Games With Gold, balance will be key."

[fonger08]

This looks like a direct blow to Gamestop honestly. Not that Gamestop will lose a lot from EA offering only a hand full of titles, but with PS Now on the horizon, and possibly with Ubisoft, Activison, or Squarenix taking cue from EA with a subscription service, it's definitely going to hit hard at Gamestop.

[NeoGamer232]

This will probably be a blow to the PSN+ and GwG services as well.

I would assume that EA will probably stop offering their titles through these services. And if others follow the cue, then GwG and PSN+ will become a channel for first party games and Indie games only.

[fonger08]

I didn't really think about that, but I'm sure Sony gives EA along with all the other publishers compensation for hosting their games on the PS+ service. So if there's money to be made by having games up on both services, I'm a money hungry company like EA will take full advantage.

[jnemesh]

They are most definitely going after GameStop here...but it's very shortsighted of them. EA execs (and MS, for that matter) can't get over the fact that players to buy used games also buy new ones. They keep thinking of used game sales as "lost revenue" instead of an opportunity to engage the players who often spend the MOST money on games! Fools!

Oh, and if "EA Access" is the "future of gaming", I am gonna dust off my 3DO and PS2 and go back to just playing old, offline games! I will NEVER give EA ONE RED CENT of my money after the crap they have been pulling lately!

[andydalum]

What have they been pulling that you are referring to just curious.

[SniperControl]

@andydalum

"What have they been pulling that you are referring to just curious"

Releasing broken games, BF4 was a total farce, SimCity was a joke. Half the games they release have some sort of major issue, yet they constantly pump out DLC for these games without fixing the issue until further into the games life.

[Bigpappy]

Sony said that PS fans don't see value in the service. They seem to be correct on that sentiment with some of the users on N4G, but I would advise them to ask PS user-base before making such claims.

If you are a gamer who intends to buy your games digitally, paying $30/yr to get them all at 10% discount could be very attractive. I can see this as a first move towards offering gamers even greater bargains as UBi and Activision decide to offer competing services. If that happens, PS+ will not be able to offer games from these 3rd party at a discount. Sony will have to allow other services to run on PS.

[Clogmaster]

Yeah, they shouldn't generalize the consumer base

[DeadRabbits]

Think Netflix run by Gordon Gekko!!! Thats your future right there!

[SniperControl]

I still dont understand why people want to pay to play demos and old games? Also once you cancel your sub, you lose access to those old games.

EAA,PSN,XBL, Origin are just rip off services, many of you on here are talking about the 10% discount on new games, what you dont think about is the rip of prices these services are charging for each game in the first place. Games are at least £15 more expensive on these services than buying a hardcopy from a retailer or online store. Your 10% discount still wont match buying the hardcopy game.

[JeffGUNZ]

This is very important. Depending on how this goes, many companies could follow EA's move if it is successful.

[stuna1]

And we would all be back to square one on that faithful day the Xbox1 was unveiled! Digital distribution, no trade in value, Microsoft selecting who they would designate as as distributers/trade-in waypoints, blocking game sharing, because physical media is now digital media, more games becoming Internet extensive etc.

The subtlety is almost unnoticable, but quick quick question! Wasn't it these same two companies jostling around in the same bed that they are now in? And they haven't even given the juices time to dry up!

@Volkama

With PS+ have a total of 5 accounts across 2 PS3's, a PS4, a PS Vita and, yes a PSP, but to clarify 1 of those PS3's belongs to my youngest son, and the PSP belongs to my older son. All in all that's still 5 different outlets for gaming and they're not strictly confined to me.

[Volkama]

But this time the value proposition is front and centre. Good value is all it takes for people to go along with DRM. How often do you see people complain about Playstation Plus?

[WeAreLegion]

1) That's not DRM.

2) Go to the article about this month's PS Plus lineup. Most of them are complaining.

[MasterCornholio]

@Volkama

PlayStation plus does have DRM but its not a system that forces you to connect to the internet once every 24 hours. I'm on vacation and the router here is so badly configured that I can't connect my Vita to the internet. Even without an internet connection on my Vita I can still play all the games that I got with PlayStation plus. With a check in system I wouldn't be able to play games like Dragons Crown for example. Its a fun RPG and I highly recommend it.

[IrishSt0ner]

Yea I somewhat agree, I'm not fully on board yet... waiting to see first. I do like the idea though, you'll get to play games you'd never purchase, which in turn you may actually enjoy. 10% off and early access is also nice.

[BG11579]

People tend to forget this is EA that they are talking about.
At the beginning it will be all "huuuu... Haaaaa... Amazing...". But with time they will understand that the games will be all about Dlc and pay to win.
We see this with almost all free-to-play.

[Einhert]

lol cannot wait to see how many idiots get suckered in to this "deal"

[thrust]

It's £19.99 a year, you must be so cheap!

[jnemesh]

Well, they are targeting the right group by going after XB1 customers!

[Bigpappy]

TRUE. Xbox owners are mostly the working class.

[SpideySpeakz]

Why pay $30 a year for 5 day access to a select few of games ( that will have tons of bugs ) that are half baked? How many EA games are released yearly? 2 maybe 3 games? That's $30 down the drain. And It's not like EA has the most amazing games in the industry. It just isn't worth it.

[Mikeyy]

Gaming is going to get way to expensive in the future if all the publishers copy this. $200 a year in publisher subscriptions, might as well just game on pc.

[Volkama]

Sounds brilliant, where do I sign?

In my case that would make gaming a hell of a lot cheaper than it is today. And I would enjoy the freedom of playing whatever I fancied, without concerning myself with the worth of the content.

[Roccetarius]

I hope you're not being serious, because if you are, then i fear for the future of gaming if people follows this.

[MonstaTruk]

@Volkama

Do you think EA's putting Madden 15 in the EA Access service this August? Or NBA Live 15 in October? Seriously?

Reality Check: they're only putting games in this service that are older/can't get full price money from gamers. And it's only EA games... :-/

If I had an Xbox One, I'd think to myself: "I paid $400-$500 for the system, I'm paying $60/year for Live Gold. EA Access is a good enough value to spend another $5/month or $30/year?

[Volkama]

$200 a year is what, 3 or 4 full retail games? I'd take the subscription(s) over that in an instant.

I value playing games more than I value owning games though.

@MonsterTruck, I know EA are not offering up their new games, and I know they are not including anything other than EA games. EA early access is not $200. It is $29.99. I would expect more if I was paying more.

But $29.99 for FIFA 14 and Battlefield 4? As I have both of those games it would be pretty hypocritical of me to pretend $29.99 is not good value. I paid way more to play them.

[pompombrum]

So where is this EA Access? According to this article, it's already available for UK gamers but can't find it in the Xbox Store.

[thrust]

Beta program right now!

[pompombrum]

Is there a way to gain access into it?

[MonstaTruk]

Do you guys remember this?

http://www.dealspwn.com/ea-...

Obviously, it wasn't an accident. And "Early Access to new games" means paying for demoes. Not my cup of tea...

[WeAreLegion]

And they'll get away with it, too. :(

[MonstaTruk]

@WeAreLegion

Well, I'll tell you like this: when this and other similar nickel-and-dime subscription models gain momentum and become the norm with major publishers, I'll just save up my pennies, buy me a beefy PC, and get really comfortable with M.A.M.E., M.E.S.S., other emulators, and my 60gb PS3.

Hell, I'm almost about ready to go in that direction full-time, right now... :-/

[ScorpiusX]

Am on board and ready for the future so bring it on .

[SniperControl]

Comment deleted

[Xyconaut]

Lol while this points to the future with its selection of a whopping FOUR games, the future is here for the PS owners with PS NOW and over 100 games on board already.

[Me-Time]

haha hahaha

Screw this.