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  1. #1
    The Insane Feali's Avatar
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    EA Getting Rid of Online Passes

    Online Passes – the controversial attempt by many publishers to encourage new game sales by locking online-centric content for used copies – has become engrained in gaming culture over the last several years. But according to a report on VentureBeat, one major company is doing away with them.

    Electronic Arts – the mega-publisher behind a litany of games including Madden, FIFA, Battlefield, Dead Space, Mass Effect and more – will be “discontinuing” its Online Pass initiative. In a statement provided to VentureBeat, EA’s John Reseburg said that “none of our new EA titles will include that feature.”

    Reseburg admitted that Online Passes just don’t seem to be working. “Initially launched as an effort to package a full menu of online content and services, many players didn’t respond to the format. We’ve listened to the feedback and decided to do away with it moving forward.”

    Many major publishers – including Sony and Ubisoft – continue to use Online Passes, though interestingly, Microsoft never seemed to go down that road. Will EA’s abolishment of this system coerce other publishers to follow suit?
    http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/...-online-passes
    http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/15/ea...-pass-program/

    So what do you think? Will the others follow?

  2. #2
    Never bought a single game that used that model

  3. #3
    I win for gamers, a MAJOR win second hand retailers like Gamestop.

  4. #4
    Deleted
    its EA, Evil Authority!
    They will backdoor it, advertising it as something else or part of the origin system.

    Why would they cut off a revenue stream ?

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Åmbulance View Post
    I win for gamers, a MAJOR win second hand retailers like Gamestop.
    Gamestop can rot for all I care.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Bergtau View Post
    Gamestop can rot for all I care.
    Oh I AGREE 100%. I will never use that sham of a game store again, and i feel sad for the people they rip off on a daily basis. But that's for another thread.

  7. #7
    Ignoring Gamestop,

    good I hated the whole idea of online passes with a passion.

  8. #8
    Not sure if it's that big of a deal.

    Online passes didn't cause any problem for people who bought the game new, and if someone buys a game used then the developers/publishers make no money. This was a good way for the people who made the game to get money for the purchase, instead of all the money going to whoever sold it. Helps Gamestop out a ton, helps consumers a little bit, but hurts the developers/publishers. Not sure if that's really worth it.

  9. #9
    They're up to something. EA never passes up a chance to take our money
    Bane

  10. #10
    I don't know that this is a good thing... This is EA. They can't get rid of something horrible without having something else in the works that is more horrible.

  11. #11
    surprised that it's EA leading the movement away from online passes, but happy about it nonetheless.

    Why would they cut off a revenue stream ?
    online passes don't directly generate revenue. they simply entice people to buy games new instead of pre-owned, however many games offer an "online pass" that you can buy for like $5 to allow you to play a used game online. a game like Battlefield or CoD might benefit from it, but it costs money to run that kind of a system, and single player games don't benefit from it very much.

  12. #12
    Eh, I guess it's a win for GameStop - they will save money in the end; every used game that uses an online pass that I've bought from them came with a complimentary one on my receipt.
    Signature dunked by a lame MMO Champ robot.

  13. #13
    Mechagnome
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rucati View Post
    Not sure if it's that big of a deal.

    Online passes didn't cause any problem for people who bought the game new, and if someone buys a game used then the developers/publishers make no money. This was a good way for the people who made the game to get money for the purchase, instead of all the money going to whoever sold it. Helps Gamestop out a ton, helps consumers a little bit, but hurts the developers/publishers. Not sure if that's really worth it.
    Yet it is the only industry that does it. CDs don't have online passes if you sold them on (during the 80s & 90s when people actually used them for music). DVDs don't, furniture doesn't, cars don't, hardware, etc.

    The only exception is online music/movies and they just stop you reselling it altogether.

  14. #14
    I am curious, why all the hate towards GameStop? I don't know whether to trust EA on this or not.
    Thank You Shyama for the sig again!!

  15. #15
    Maybe they're finally getting their heads out of their asses and listening to feedback.

  16. #16
    It's a step in the right direction, but I can't see them doing this, "Because we listen to feedback and players don't like it."

    I foresee all their games tied to Origin (on PC, console and mobile), with more microtransactions implemented.

    It's a greedy move where they choose the less reviled pricing structure. Because IMO microtransactions have no place outside of MMO's where they actually bother to continue working on the game rather than work on a few DLC's and then move to the sequel.

  17. #17
    If I'm reading that wording correctly, "online centric content" means all content in any games that force you to play online even in single player. This should definitely be abolished in all companies that use that enforced online mode, assuming that is the case.
    Quote Originally Posted by Aucald View Post
    Having the authority to do a thing doesn't make it just, moral, or even correct.

  18. #18
    Brewmaster Voidgazer's Avatar
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    EA: "We said (which doesn't actually mean we will) that we're going to rid of that ridiculous bullshit financial model, that shouldn't have been introduced to gaming in the first place. We're good now, see?"

    It's way too late for that.
    That's why you need me.... Need someone to punish you for your sins.

  19. #19
    Deleted
    No EA, you did this crime already. Never again.

    There are so many reasons to not buy from EA: origin, rushing content, ruining companies and franchises. No thank you. EA must disappear, not get slightly better.

  20. #20
    Immortal SirRobin's Avatar
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    Yeah, its hardly like this is the first time EA has tried to bullshit us. Just because they say it. Doesn't mean they will actually do it. And even if they do. It may only be because they've come up with something even worse.
    Sir Robin, the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot.
    Who had nearly fought the Dragon of Angnor.
    Who had almost stood up to the vicious Chicken of Bristol.
    And who had personally wet himself, at the Battle of Badon Hill.

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