EA Access Is Microsoft's Third-Party Advantage

Hardcore Gamer With EA Access, Microsoft is no longer chasing the car they’ll never catch. They’re re-routing their attention and focusing on their biggest guns instead of improving their tiniest ones

[lifeisgamesok]

The momentum is swinging to Microsoft they're doing some great things and making all of the right moves

[LackTrue4K]

list from most recent, to oldest...

1.EA Access
2.updates
3.lack of PlayStation4 ® games
4. take away Kincets
5. ""TITIAN FALL""
6.remove DRM

....the 5hit you say to try and make Microsoft look like best console....

don't mind me, I'ma get a cookie my self.

[Brim]

is it me or did i miss the post of him trying to make the xbox seem like the best console? i only read him saying micro is doing great things thats all so no need to get defensive.

[Cueil]

this self defense crap doesn't hold water when you're prefered console is in the lead

[Pogmathoin]

In the lead of what exactly? What will you get from this lead personally? Great announcements being made for both consoles, yet you lot turn it in to something like an war. Your lives must be shallow if that is where you see video games at.....

[4Sh0w]

Hey how about we just enjoy the service, play some games and let the companies keep fighting for our dollars, nobody here is going to get paid either way.

[Codewow]

We're looking at this all wrong... The focus should be on EA not Microsoft and Sony... There's bound to be something devious about this new service in the works. And it's probably timed exclusive because EA is too money hungry to leave anything console specific without a good chunk of money being slid into their pocket.

[rdgneoz3]

It's not timed or anything, Sony decided they didn't want it.

From the top article atm:

“We evaluated the EA Access subscription offering and decided that it does not bring the kind of value PlayStation customers have come to expect,” a Sony representative told us via email. “PlayStation Plus memberships are up more than 200% since the launch of PlayStation 4, which shows that gamers are looking for memberships that offer a multitude of services, across various devices, for one low price. We don’t think asking our fans to pay an additional $5 a month for this EA-specific program represents good value to the PlayStation gamer.”

[Codewow]

@rdgneoz3 We'll see about that though. They may eat their own words.. They are trying to make themselves look like godsends. The PR game is getting to their head.

[Death]

Wow. PS+ subs are up 200% since they are mandatory if you want to play online? Who would a thunk it?

[Funantic1]

Sony already has PS Now where you pay $3.99 for 4 hours of gameplay. EA Access would smother PS Now.

[DigitalRaptor]

No it's not. The momentum is firmly in the PS4 park, and Sony made all the right moves from before this generation even began. That is established and isn't budging.

Microsoft is doing better than they were due to necessary changes, but that's it. Convincing yourself that the momentum will ever swing to Microsoft this generation is null and void. The case scenario is that both consoles get great games.

------

On topic: this service looks to be some good choice for Xbox gamers, but how is it a "third party advantage"? PS4 gets all the same games, and EA games will be available in PS+.

Watch this not make a dent on the performance of MS's console over the competition. And just like MS proved that every gamer should have been and dubious of their actions in this industry, they should always be dubious of EA's motives. MS & EA online service…. what is the expected catch that we've not being introduced to yet?

[Codewow]

It's definitely an advantage. Anything exclusive is an advantage going one way or the other.

[MRMagoo123]

Of course it wont make a difference to sales, I cant imagine there was anyone sitting around thinking "If only I could get a sub to the "voted" worst company ever and save a few dollars on the games I dont want anyway" , But I have to say, there will probably be a couple xbone fans that have "friends" that where waiting just for a service like this to jump in.

IMHO if Sony have had a good look at this service and turned it down , there must be something not right about it. Its EA after all and they arent known for being generous or good to consumers, they care about nothing at all but money, and they go hand in hand very well with MS, match made in hell, and I feel there will be a lot more to it than paying $30 a year and getting every game you want pretty much free.

[dcbronco]

Raptor I'm not sure if gamers are just blinded by fanboy vision, slow or just not reading anything other than sources that tell them exactly what they want to hear. First, didn't EA just delay their two of their bigger titles this year. And didn't they also just get a new CEO. If that is the case,shouldn't we wait a while to see if maybe the new CEO is trying to rebuild their reputation?

I'm not a fan of EA in general though I love Battlefield. I also love football but despise madden and haven't bought a copy since madden 2000. But I will give the new CEO a chance to change the way they have done business. Microsoft is going through the same thing but I believe the results will be opposite. EA seems to be be more appreciative of gaming and Microsoft's new CEO seems to consider it a second thought. I hope Phil Spencer gets a fair shot to prove him wrong.

[Eddie20101]

Personally I think this is going to be a disaster for gaming if this program is made successful by Xbox gamer's.

[Aceman18]

i own a PS3,4 and Wii U, i'll probably be getting an X1 later this year but i'll be damned if i give EA one red cent for this little service of theirs as the only franchise(s) i like from them are NFS and the Burnout series.

for me this isn't worth it as i don't really go back to play the older versions of these two franchises.

also i'm not paying 2 sub fees on one console. and just in case someone thinks i'm interested in PSnow i'm not since that's an extra sub fee also. now if they threw it under PS+ than i'm all good.

[Bigpappy]

I wouldn't taught momentum until I see X1's topping PS4's in N.A. But I think Sony not allowing the service to compete with their monopoly will end up biting tem in the rare. I believe that this service with be huge on X1 because many of its users buy digital and buy a lot of games from EA that weren't always EA, but are now because of acquisitions and publishing deals. So that little 10% on all NEW games, by itself is enough to make many consider pay the $30/yr upfront. Then you have the free trail periods and older games.

What Sony has done by not excepting the service, is to tell EA: If you want to build your devoted userbase, go do that on Xbox1. So now game like PVZ, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, FIFA, Madden, Star wars games, Titan Falls, UFC... all will be have special incentives on Xbox1. It will all of a sudden be very difficult to find EA game offered on PS+ which would obviously hurt its value anyway.

Now if Ubi and Activision decides that they see away to complete with this, then what in the world will Sony do?

[DigitalRaptor]

My response to you is two fold.

1) There is no indication or admission that EA games won't be on PS+. We've had them for years, and pretending that they are going away is ridiculous. It pretty obvious that a game like Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare will be a PS+ offering at some point next year, and it won't be the only EA game on offer. Likewise, Ubi and Activision will not keep their games off PS+, just because Microsoft saw the need to find a service to offer their gamers more choice.

2) What will Sony do? Continue offering value to their consumers through their services. Continue offering multiple versions of a game for one upfront cost. Basically, they will continue to dominate the competition. These services (or lack thereof) won't impact their momentum in the slightest.

[Aldous_Snow]

EA has the widest selection of games available within the industry. They have their hands dipped in every pie... sports, racers, horror, FPS's, RPG's & whatever other genre I've missed..

The catch that everyones going on about will probably be something like that they will only have 5-7 games available at any one time & they'll swap them out as & whenever they please.

Not many publishers could pull this sort of thing off. Activision couldn't as all they have is Call of Duty & movie tie in games.

Ubisoft maybe..

Does this give Microsoft an advantage? Yes, I would say so to a certain extent. Like it or not EA are massive (worse company or not) & are unmatched in the size of their library.

This is just Microsoft answer to PSNOW. Nothing to worry about

[kevnb]

ea being named the worst company in america is a complete joke, I dont care how bad their games are atleast they arent poisoning millions like monsanto.

[mcstorm]

You are right this is a good move by Microsoft if its done right by ea and pushed right by Microsoft too.

For me having more options is only a plus sign. I don't think ill sign up for it just because at this moment in time I am only really interested in the exclusives on all 3 platforms over 3rd party games but that said bf, FIFA, NHL, NBA and more have big followings and this could work out well for players of this type of game. Also not needing live could be a big plus too as I know my dad who dose not play online plays a lot of ea games but tends to buy 2nd hand older games too due to the way he plays games and for him £30 a year is a massive plus.

Its not for everyone but having a choice is better than not having a choice.

[OrangePowerz]

It's not MS answer to PS now. PS now is for previous gen only and a streaming service plus it's not limited by only one publisher.

Yes EA has their hands in many pies but a lot of their content isn't great. Need for Speed is on a steep downhill ride. Sports games people want to play the latest version and not the one from last year. Horror died with Dead Space 3. BF4 is a broken mess and Hardline is an exoansion pack it plays and looks exactly the same as BF4. Dragon Age we will see how that one turns out and they won't offer that via EA access. It doesn't make sense from a business point of view to offer new games in the EA access program because that would just loose them a ton of money.

DLC also leaves a huge question because it looks like you get the base game only. So what happens when you buy DLC and they take the game off the list? Do you just loose all the money you spent on the DLC unless you go and buy the game for even more money?

[objdadon]

Whatever. Why the hell would I wanna play madden 25 long after it's release when the new one is coming out? This is hilarious! Lmao!

[Muzikguy]

IMO all those genres you listed the games EA releases ruined them. EA games aren't great at all, I wouldn't pay a sub to play older games I think aren't that good.

@Orange I completely agree with everything you said. Nice to see someone thinking more about what could become of this. I share the same view +1for interesting

[700p]

It was a smart move from EA to Microsoft. It has me interested.

[Axios2]

I look at FIFA and BF4 and they've only dropped $10.

I've been waiting to get BF4, now I can download it for $30 and get 10% discounts and access to numerous other games as well.

[TimeSkipLuffy]

And there my hopes go I see EA titles appearing on Games for Gold... Now I need to pay extra for those games... FANTASTIC! Because I love to pay extra... Why can't we have those older games from EA just the way it is supposed to be... through GAMES FOR GOLD!

And the $5 extra for those that want early access or more games. Hell I would pay $30 a year if EA would offer me 1 game a month or two and I can play as long as I have the EXTRA subscription. And that written in stone so we get compensation if something changes.

[Xb1ps4]

Some ppl can never be pleased..

[polow got sol]

It is an extremely great value no doubt

[TheFallenAngel]

Lol

[Sm00thNinja]

As shady as EA is, this represents an amazing value...ill take a wait and see approach

[Izzy408]

I wouldn't be surprised if Sony pulled a 180 in the near future. How ironic would that be?

[EData]

It would probably be more due to EA changing price or policy, and less due to anything Sony related.

[OrangePowerz]

I think people put too much hopes in EA access. Let's look realistically what people will get. Old EA games that don't sell anymore at retail to get some money out of it. They won't put new games in the "vault". The X1 catalogue of EA games is slim. Last years sports games, a mediocre Need for Speed and a broken BF4.

It doesn't look like DLC will be included and it's only the base game, so what if I buy the BF4 DLC and they remove the game from the list and I can't play it anymore?

On top of it you get paid demos and 1 week early access, meaning most likely what will actually happen is that they just release the version for everyone else a week later than what they would actually plan.

[Bigpappy]

Why do PS users keep skipping over "10% off ALL DIGITAL DONLOADS from Xbox Store. That is a big F'ing deal for NEW games and DLC. There is a lot of money to be saved there if you plan on buying games like PVZ, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Madden, Star wars Battle Front, Titan Falls, UFC, Battle field...

[objdadon]

You definitely need to read the fine print my friend. There will be no"new" games. Only games that have been out already and they canttake them away at any time. You may get a demo early to try an upcoming game but it won't be yours, you'll still have to buy the game like everyone else on top of your subscription so.......yeah.

[HacSawJimThugin]

I love how the author states that Microsoft has a lackluster first party line up.

Scalebound
Sunset Overdrive
Forza Horizon 2
MCC
HALO 5
Gears 4
Crackdown
Project Spark

Not to mention all the games available now and unannounced titles...pretty lackluster right?

MSFT isn't conceding anything to Sony just because they made this awesome deal with EA. Keep fishing troll.

[700p]

Yeah hes a fanboy.

[HacSawJimThugin]

The stealth disagrees are an indication of how blind sided some people really are. How are those titles lackluster?

I prefer MSFT but I will openly admit titles like BloodBourne and the Order look amazing. It doesn't matter because MSFT is doing an excellent job pleasing gamers like myself. It's core customers.

[700p]

Well sony fanboys are blind. Atleast they amuse me with their constant stupidity.

[poor_cus_of_games]

Just like you amuse me with your stupid troll comments.

[DigitalRaptor]

Stupid enough to write an article admitting Microsoft has an advantage over Sony.

Yeah… that's stupid.

[thecowsaysmoo]

Don't forget Phantom Dust and Fable Legends.

[HacSawJimThugin]

You're right...and they call those lackluster. Lol.
That's an amazingly impressive 1st party line up.

[SpiralTear]

First-party and third-party exclusive are not the same thing.

[HacSawJimThugin]

Your right, I do list some 3rd party exclusives, but that doesn't diminish the fact that Microsoft's 1st party is far from lackluster.

Sony turned this deal down yet according to this article MSFT somehow "conceded" to Sony in terms of 1st party because they accepted the deal? What the deduce?!

[DEEBO]

Sorry but fuck this service.I tried to join for the year and it was nothing but a headache.

I seen the little message for early beta members so i click it to see payment options and there are 29.99,4.99 and enter code so i go to gamestop and get a code for 30 but it will not use it to pay for the service.

Call customer service and they Couldn't do it and plus tried to charge me for some crap i didn't download.The good thing is it's a pre-paid card but i know it was password block. But if some kid goes crazy with moms visa then what? sorry we can't help you.MS is full of it

[strangeaeon]

Sorry but this isn't MS "conceding first party" to Sony. Last I saw MS is focusing heavily on first party this time around, this is just icing on the cake.

[ger2396]

this will be a big deal if it helps move more xboxes and catches ps4. other than that, its a good service for xbox owners.

[SynestheticRoar]

It's a new name for DRM. Enjoy, and good luck.