EA Access - What Are the Sneaky Bastards at EA Up To?

EA has long suffered the disapproval and scorn of the gamer community at large for some of their business tactics. While EA Access is looking like a great deal for gamers on the surface the "I don't trust them" argument has to be explored. What is EA up to and how does this make them more money?

[PONTIAC08G8GT]

How does this make them more money? Why do you think Netflix and all the other on demand services make money?

Subscription services are great for companies because people forget to cancel them or "its only $5" so no big deal. I've got friends who have Netflix and watch a movie a month but won't cancel cause they like the convenience. Right now there is no EA game I must have. But id love to try plants vs zombies. Subscriptions might lead to purchases. Oh I love playing so and so but I dont want subscription anymore let me go buy full game. Oh I get 10% off dlc, well I'll buy it now since I save 10%.

Its going to be very easy for them to make money. Its a great deal for gamers too.

[thrust]

The PSnow slayer :)

[SteamPowered]

When this EA Access falls on its face, Playstation will be there to welcome them into the PS Now fold.

[DrRobotnik]

You do understand, PS Now will have EA games as well right? It will be a back catalog of PS1-3 games. And who knows, maybe even PS4 games once the infrastructure becomes larger and able to handle it. So yeah, that's probably the reason for Sony seeing it as not a good deal when it will be on PS Now anyways.

[thrust]

It's just the opposite of what you put lol so on your logic your saying EA access has you scared? Lol

[HaveSumNuts]

PSnow slayer really? EA the publisher which releases rushed broken games and then apologizes later saying "We shouldn't have done that." The only thing it would slay would most likely be your anus if you payed full price for any of their games.

[tbone567]

Future Roster of EA games for EA Access revealed:

This year
Peggle 2
Madden 25
Battlefield 4
Fifa 14
UFC14
Titanfall
NBA Live 14
Need for Speed
NHL14

Next year
Dragon Age
Battlefield hardline
Madden 25
Fifa 15
NBA Live 15
UFC 15
Mirror's Edge 2
NHL 15

Year after that
Battlefront
Mass Effect 4
Dead Space 4
Madden 16
Fifa 16
NBA Live 16
UFC 16
NHL16

[Angels3785]

@tbone

Did you pull that out of your @$$???

Oh wait...I just saw that on misterx media's page...

You're making claims about games that dont even exist yet...or have not even been commented on by EA

[4Sh0w]

lol, no stealth involved.

Gamers get the *option to pay a fee to access EA games, early new game access, and 10% off.

EA adds revenue from the subscription fee.

Both win or if you *choose not to subscribe nothings changed for you or EA.

[uptownsoul]

How quick gamers forget…EA tried (and discontinued) this type of thing before, not 5 years ago… http://www.easports.com/sea... …Go check it out and see if it doesn't look similar

[Prime157]

@thrust, " The PSnow slayer :)"

Except downloadable games have to be ported and localised for the xbox1 and psnow doesn't as it just needs the stream from the servers on Sony's side... hence psnow being planned for tablets and other devices.

I'm still skeptical of ea access, need more information before I judge either way.

[christian hour]

I dont understand why people are comparing this to PSnow, it's nothing like it bar the fact you pay money for both services.

EA's access program is for titles you download.

PSnow is for titles you stream to compatible devices.

Theres a big difference.

If you called it a PSPlus slayer, then you'd be making a fair comaprison, but I feel PSPlus would come out on top as you get 6 games a month (Assuming you're fortunate enough to own a ps3/4/vita) and they're not all from EA (though sometimes they are).

EA Access and PSnow are apples and oranges, the comparisons are silly.

[itisallaboutps]

It makes them more money because digital copies don't cost as much to manufacture. The 6 dollars which is more than enought to raise profits from the used games they aren't getting nothing from that nobody plays.

[3-4-5]

It seems like EA puts MOST of their creativity into finding new ways to milk their games for money, instead of putting that effort into new creative ideas for the games themselves.

[Bonkerz]

Doesn't seem like they are up to anything. I signed up last night, downloaded all 4 games without a problem and now im playing them today. Paid 4.99 for this month just to see how it works and it is fantastic. With this month ill even be able to get the % off madden 15. I never bought any of these titles so this is completely fantastic for me, never played Fifa, madden 25, peggle 2, or battlefield. Awesome deal they got with MS, idk how anyone can say something bad about this honestly, especially since you will be able to play games like Dragon age 5 days early.

[choujij]

Personally, I think it's great that EA will let people try some of their games early. This way, people can experience them and avoid the mistake of buying them, like I did with NFS Rivals. :)

[mrpsychoticstalker]

This is a great deal, again and simple. Enjoy xbox fans!

[Lionalliance]

Exactly, is still EA

[lifesanrpg]

The hatred towards EA is astounding.

[BlackTar187]

Have EA ever done anything to warrant anything less?

Serious question when was the last good thing EA did for gamers in the last 10yrs?

They ruined all the games they make. They cut out Football games with the owned license. They push out insanely buggy games. They charge for everything they can.

i mean i'm more then willing to hear a solid case for why they shouldn't be hated but it needs to be of value and substance.

[MasterCornholio]

Didn't they do something evil like make a mass effect game with a terrible ending and then sell the good ending as DLC?

[cee773]

They also helped kill the dreamcast EA was always scared of 2k so they blackballed sega No EA games has ever released on DC because EA wanted sports exclusivity.

[SpiralTear]

@Cornholio

Not to promote EA's practices as "good", but I think Bioware had more to do with making Mass Effect 3 and its ending. However, the selling of the "good ending" as separate DLC, that was likely EA's doing.

[strangeaeon]

Dead Space is still one of my favorite franchises, I just ignored the micro transactions in the the 3rd installment. And yes, I loved all 3. Aside from that however, not much else.

[christian hour]

@cee773

I'm sure you also see the irony in EA "killing" the dreamcast now that Peter Moore (former sega of america president/xbox legend) is COO at EA. Funny how things turn out :)

Maybe this is a big revenge plot he's been crafting for the last 2 decades and plans to destroy EA from the inside :P haha. If only.

[Snookies12]

What do you expect, when they've screwed gamers over time and time again.

[Prime157]

Maybe it's that they do shoddy deals like money hatting, terrible consumer practices, online passes, and more.

[choujij]

You must be new. Go look up "worst company in America".

[martinezjesus1993]

Im waiting to see what games come with the subscription. I tend to buy fifa every year and if they have all the new fifas, even if they are a couple months after realese, then I would get this in a heartbeat. As much as people dont like EA, their games sell and getting 10percent off games like Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Battlefront, and Battlefield would save you money in the long run.

[jonboi24]

With the annualization of most of their franchises is there a point to to a vault? Why play an old Madden when a new one is coming. Seeing as the vault will only contain next gen games the back catalog won't be that big. I am unsure of this program right now though if they really wanted to push it they should have Titanfall on there. How long do you have to wait to play a new released game on there. Me personally, would rather buy a game like Mirror's Edge day one then wait half a year.

[Nerdmaster]

I wouldn't play EA games even if they were completely free. I don't even remember the last time I bought a game that they distributed.

[Corpser]

Sneaky bastards for offering an optional service that some consumers are willing to pay

[Enigma_2099]

What was that last thing they did... Origin?

This is the replacement.

[TimeSkipLuffy]

IF they don't replace games but add them instead and you can have access to all those games as long as you have a subscription and games will be added on a regular basis with no exception I would all be over it.

If not I would rather wait for those games on GfG and don't pay the extra.

[psuedo]

So you have to pay them 30 dollars to pay next to full price for their new games? Half the titles are sports titles I dont play? I long ago got bored of need for speed, and battlefield?

Grrreeeeat deal for gamers. Really guys just....a great deal. Paying to be indoctrinated to the drm all digital future.

Lets hope evryone gets those shortcut bundles for free, because we all like paying for things that dont exist in the real world. Bring on the faceXboxulus where I can pay for couches in my face life game, and I can pay ea to put flo progressive snitch down at the local in game brothel where she can sign me up for insurance 4rEaL life in the virtual world after giving me a happy ending.

[KarrBOMB]

I keep seeing more and more people talk about what a great deal this is, and for face value it has some. But knowing EA, this is only the first step into them raking in more money. Yes that's how every company grows and evolves, but EA has always gone about it devilishly.

On top of this, everything is digital. I'd rather pay more to have physical copies of my games. Apparently when everyone complained about DRM, they were just complaining to complain. What happened to keeping your game copies to let friends borrow or to re-sale? I would rather have the option to keep certain games and not eat my HD space up. Plus you only get early access up to 5 days early. We already know they're not going to release brand new games on day one, so the early access is just a trial. You still have to wait awhile for it to be added to the list.

So basically. when you try a game out early and decide you love it... You either wait awhile to play it after release, or you go buy it. But lucky you, because you pay for the service as well as the full game if you want it. Even if it's at a discount, you have to buy the digital copy instead of the physical media. For me, this is too much of a step towards some of M$'s early policies. I'll pass on EA's new service and settle for full prices on physical copies that I can do with as I please.

[BlackTar187]

Most of the only people saying great deal are the same people who embrace Console DRM.

[ginganinja]

For me, I don't see the value.
The games in the vault sounds good, but there's not many X1/PS4 titles out there at the minute, so it's going to either take a while for new stuff to turn up or they're planning on releasing smaller titles or re-releases?

As for 10% off... In the UK at least, new digital prices tend to be £54.99. Amazon is about £45 (closer to 20% cheaper).

And then you get the early, at least 2 hour, demo..

[Iltapalanyymi]

OY VEY good goyim!
mind if i take those shekels from ya goy?

[HmongAmerican]

There need to be a unification of all the game developers and hardware manufacture. Create one online service subscription base for all and stop coming up with their own gaming subscription base service. These kill the interest of people wanting to join. Steam should teach them a thing or two on how to no screw with people.

[Soldierone]

EXACTLY. And THAT is what irritates me about this. It's bad enough with movies. Every other movie you buy has a different streaming/digital service tied with it because movie studios all made their own service....

[Soldierone]

People want a subscription service for PS Now. Sony was probably in talks to bring EA on board, EA wanted too much money, so they "made their own service." That's what they are up to.

It's fine on Xbox because Xbox doesn't have PS Plus or PS Now. Sony probably wants EA to participate in one of those two programs, and EA wants 30 dollars to themselves.

[uth11]

What are they up to?

EA delayed many of their games until next year, they are going to be hurting this holiday, they needed to find a new revenue stream somewhere :)

in reality, companies prefer subscription models because it's a recurring revenue. They rake in money from people who might not otherwise buy or play an EA game for months.

The downside is it could make them lazy since they are getting money from you anyway, they don't have to try as hard to sell you something new. The other downside I see is if the other major publishers jump on board- suddenly you could have 5 different monthly subscriptions.

[Kingoftherodeo]

all i know is 30 bucks = madden 14,bf4,fifa14 and peggle 2. for a whole year not to mention early access to demos. add in 10% discount on future games added in and those free games to be added in. yea i feel like this is a total rip off