EA Sports ONLINE PASS

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The Hated Chatbox Murder
16 April 2003
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WTF??????? More money for EA! Looks like now they want to make money from second hand gamers too... I guess it´s only a matter of time before they begin charging for any online mode for any game.


Five Questions with Andrew Wilson, Senior Vice President of World Wide Development, EA SPORTS

What exactly is Online Pass and when does it launch?
Online Pass launches in all EA SPORTS simulation games on the PS3 and Xbox 360 beginning in June with Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11. It’s quite simple – every game will come with a game-specific, one-time use registration code with each unit sold new at retail. With your Online Pass, you’ll have access to multiplayer online play, group features like online dynasty and leagues, user created content, and bonus downloadable content for your game including, for example, a new driver in Tiger. If the original access code has been redeemed and fans wish to get access to the online content (for example, if you pick up a used copy), you can access a free 7-day trial or additional Online Passes will be available for $10.

What do you mean by “bonus content”? What type of content will that be?
In addition to Online Team Play, Live Tournaments and other modes and features, we expect every product will include additional content as part of its Online Pass. Access to bonus content is included in the purchase of an Online Pass for a particular product. For example, in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11, an advanced driver used on the PGA TOUR for play in-game will be included with the Online Pass. Our goal is to provide value to consumers, and this is one piece of that philosophy.

We’ve seen a lot of different publishers, including EA, introduce the concept of registration codes. How is this different, or the same, from others we’ve seen in the past year?
The concept of a code isn’t new, and in fact it’s something we’ve used in recent years with Live Season in FIFA and with Dynamic DNA in NBA LIVE. The Online Pass though accelerates what we’ve done in the past and is unique in that all users will have access to the premium online services and content we provide. Customers who purchase the games new for the full retail price get access to online services and features, as well as bonus game content; other customers will have access to all the online services and content for $10. GameStop has also offered their support. Gamers will be able to purchase access to the Online Pass and additional DLC from EA at their stores and through their website.

Why charge anything for online access?
First, it’s important to be clear that all users have access to premium content. I’ve been here now for more than a decade, and the investments we’re making in developing for digital are profound, compared to even a few years ago. And it makes sense. When we see how many people are playing all of our games online, consumers are telling us that competition is endemic to sports in a way that most people don’t get just by playing a game alone on their couch. As a result, we’ve made a significant investment to offer the most immersive online experience available. We want to reserve EA SPORTS online services for people who pay EA to access them.

Is this intended to combat second sale?
We actually view the second sale market as an opportunity to develop a direct relationship with our consumers, and with Online Pass everyone has access to the same premium online services and content regardless of how and where you buy the game. In order to continue to enhance the online experiences that are attracting nearly five million connected game sessions a day, again, we think it’s fair to get paid for the services we provide and to reserve these online services for people who pay EA to access them. In return, we’ll continue to invest in creating great games and offer industry-leading online services to extend the game experience to everyone. I don’t think even the harshest cynic can argue with that and instead I think fans will see the value we’re committing to deliver when they see all the services, features and bonus content that is extending the life of their products.
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How do I unlock my Online Pass access code?
When you connect online with your new EA SPORTS game for the first time, you’ll be prompted to confirm your EA account details. If you don’t already have an EA account, you’ll be asked to accept our Online Terms and Conditions and then create an account. After confirming or creating your account, a screen will appear that enables you to redeem your Online Pass code.

If you haven’t already enabled Online Pass, when you try to access an online feature in your game, you will be prompted to enter your code. If you do not have a code, you may purchase Online Pass access from within the game. If you’re not sure online is for you, you can enjoy a temporary free trial before purchasing access.

Where do I find the Online Pass access code?
The code is on the back of the manual inside your game. When you open the package, you’ll see the game disc on the right. On the left you will find the game manual along with other printed material. Flip the manual over, and you’ll see the code at the top of the back page.

If I have a used game, how will I know if the access code that came with the game still works?
Your Online Pass code comes with the original retail purchase of the game. If the original consumer of the game did not use the Online Pass code, the second-hand consumer may use that code.

Does one Online Pass give me online access to all EA SPORTS titles?
In order to access online features and bonus content for a specific title, you need to activate or purchase Online Pass for each title. A code to activate Online Pass is found on the back of the manual of each EA SPORTS title purchased new.

How do I buy online access or get a code if I do not have a one or my code has already been used?
If you have purchased a new game, your code is printed on the back of the manual included inside your game packaging. If you have purchased a used game and the code originally included has already been activated, you will need to purchase EA SPORTS Online Pass access from within your game by choosing PURCHASE ONLINE ACCESS from the Code Redemption screen.

Can I buy my code from ea.com or is it only available via Microsoft and Sony?
An Online Pass needs to be purchased through Xbox LIVE Marketplace or PlayStation®Store. You can purchase Online Pass access from within your game by choosing PURCHASE ONLINE ACCESS from the Code Redemption screen.

How do I unlock my code once I buy it?
If you have a code for EA SPORTS Online Pass access, you will be prompted to enter the code when you access an online feature in your game. If you have purchased online access from within your game, you do not need to enter a code.

Do I still need to buy an Xbox LIVE gold subscription to use online features?
Yes, multiplayer online game modes require an Xbox LIVE Gold subscription for gamers playing on Xbox 360 consoles.

What online features will work if I don’t subscribe to Xbox LIVE Gold?
You will be able to enjoy all the offline content of your game and will be able to download other items from the in-game store. You will be unable to play multiplayer online game modes or use your downloaded content in online game modes.

Excluding multiplayer online gameplay, some online features, on a game-by-game basis may be available for use without a Gold subscription.

What happens if my console dies or is lost or stolen?
If you have already redeemed the code from your game manual or purchased Online Pass access, you will be able to access online features from any console using the same Xbox 360 gamer tag or Playstation3 persona. You may need to go to the ‘my downloaded content’ section in Xbox LIVE Marketplace or PSN Store to re-download your EA SPORTS Online Pass.

Can I still buy downloadable content without activation of an Online Pass?
Yes. If you do not have Xbox LIVE Gold access, you will only be able to use downloadable content in offline game modes.

Can I still get free downloadable game add-ons?
Yes, you may still download game add-ons such as EA Sports Ultimate Team (when applicable). However, if you do not have Xbox LIVE Gold access or EA SPORTS Online Pass access, you will only be able to use downloadable content in offline game modes.

What if I’m not connected to the Internet?
An internet connection is required to activate the Online Pass and to gain access to bonus content.

Do I need to purchase an Online Pass when I rent a game?
Each Xbox LIVE gamertag or Sony PSN ID is entitled to a free 7 day trial per title. Beyond that, users will be required to redeem or purchase Online Pass access.

Do I need an unique Online Pass for every user on my console?
No. One Online Pass will give online access to multiple users logged into the console where the Online Pass was first activated (subject to the console manufacturer’s and EA online terms of service).

Also, the user that activated the Online Pass will be allowed to access online features on other consoles (of the same manufacturer) by logging into the same account credentials that they used when they enabled the Online Pass.

What happens if I play at a friend’s console?
If you have purchased Online Pass access or redeemed a code for free access on one console, you can use your access on any other console. To do so, sign in using your Xbox LIVE gamertag or PSN ID persona on your friend’s console when playing online.
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What a load of shite! I havent bothered renewing Gold that ran out a few months back, so I'm sure as hell not going to pay more to play EA Games.
 
Great news if you play the same game online with more then one user per console. So even if you have the original game it's going to cost $10 extra per gamertag added just to play online.

I wonder how much they get for an original game sold. So after costs and retail ect would they make $20 per title sold? Or is that too much?
 
Most of you wouldn't pay more to play online anyway? What is happening here??

Having to pay for a new code per gamertag would be bad, certainly. But I'm all for devs protecting themselves from the second hand market feeding off of them.

This should also make second hand games cheaper to an extent you realise, as they become less desirable and so less saleable. We'll see if the retail stores out there are honest enough to reflect this.
 
So this is for 2nd hand games only then? Sounds like their $10 dlc plan for buying the games brand new wasn't enough.
 
I think given most games are made to have limited longevity as the companies want to bring out a new full price title every year the second hand market is inevitable...

I agree there should be a way for them to make some money-back off second hand games used to get online though...
 
romagnoli said:
Most of you wouldn't pay more to play online anyway? What is happening here??

Having to pay for a new code per gamertag would be bad, certainly. But I'm all for devs protecting themselves from the second hand market feeding off of them.

This should also make second hand games cheaper to an extent you realise, as they become less desirable and so less saleable. We'll see if the retail stores out there are honest enough to reflect this.
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In what other industry does a manufacturer get any proceeds from their products once they are in the second hand market?

Perhaps the real issue here is that games are too expensive to start with. Drop the price and more people will buy new games.
 
Jamezinho said:
In what other industry does a manufacturer get any proceeds from their products once they are in the second hand market?

Perhaps the real issue here is that games are too expensive to start with. Drop the price and more people will buy new games.
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Exactly.
 
Someday 2nd hand movies will have no extras in them, 2nd hand books will have pages missing, and you'll have to pay to get them back... :LOL:
 
airjoca said:
Someday 2nd hand movies will have no extras in them, 2nd hand books will have pages missing, and you'll have to pay to get them back... :LOL:
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They already do. I never found out what happened in the end of Harry Potter.
 
Jamezinho said:
In what other industry does a manufacturer get any proceeds from their products once they are in the second hand market?

Perhaps the real issue here is that games are too expensive to start with. Drop the price and more people will buy new games.
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Jamez, do you really believe it's as simple as either of those arguments? For a start, does the music or film industry have to maintain servers or spend money in aftersales service in any way? How many of those industries offer you as many hours of entertainment per unit of currency spent?

I'd love to see game prices drop, and they often do via retailers - who really spent the RRP for FIFA or PES this year? Has anyone ever bought a game first hand on sale? I forget the number of top class titles I've bought for £20 plus or minus £5 while still first hand but it's a decent chunk of my collection.

However the best way we could save money is through a marketwide, unilateral shift to online digital distribution (possibly cutting out 3rd party retail as well) or through the console manufacturers ceding their right to a percentage of each sale of a software title, which in turn would mean they would look to make money on their consoles rather than sell them at huge losses or well before they are functioning sufficiently for general sale.

It's a lot more complicated than 'make games cheaper' or copying other, equally suffering industries.
 
However the best way we could save money is through a marketwide, unilateral shift to online digital distribution (possibly cutting out 3rd party retail as well) or through the console manufacturers ceding their right to a percentage of each sale of a software title, which in turn would mean they would look to make money on their consoles rather than sell them at huge losses or well before they are functioning sufficiently for general sale
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So what would you propose the business model should be for console makers?! They can't increase the actual price of a console because then nobody would buy the bloody things, and then no games will be sold either. So nobody makes any money. And what "extra's" could they sell?! You can't do small upgrades as then you are basicly a pc.....
 
I'm not proposing anything TikTik. I'm pointing out what the problem is with saying the answer is making games cheaper. We'd all love that to be the case but it's not going to happen. Console makers need the money, developers need the money, publishers know they could charge more than they already do, and it wouldn't make a appreciable dent on second hand sales.

Having said that, you and I are of course talking about the 360 and PS3 there, not the Wii.

Fundamentally it does seem like everyone in here is being pretty knee-jerk about this, ignoring that PC titles have been completely banning you from playing a game without a reg key for decades. In fact, when trying to find my reg key for PES 6 recently I'm pretty sure that, before I found one online, the official answer was to get a new one for a fee.
 
romagnoli said:
I'd love to see game prices drop, and they often do via retailers - who really spent the RRP for FIFA or PES this year? Has anyone ever bought a game first hand on sale? I forget the number of top class titles I've bought for £20 plus or minus £5 while still first hand but it's a decent chunk of my collection.
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....and how many more brand new games would be sold if the RRP was £25 across the board? It makes buying new much more tempting, as you have just proven.

romagnoli said:
However the best way we could save money is through a marketwide, unilateral shift to online digital distribution (possibly cutting out 3rd party retail as well) or through the console manufacturers ceding their right to a percentage of each sale of a software title, which in turn would mean they would look to make money on their consoles rather than sell them at huge losses or well before they are functioning sufficiently for general sale.

It's a lot more complicated than 'make games cheaper' or copying other, equally suffering industries.
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Digital distribution is all well and good, but don't bet on games becoming cheaper that way. Just look at the high price of the downloadable games on PSN and Live compared to the cheaper boxed versions in shops and online stores. A download should be cheaper than a physical version of a game and at present they are not.
 
Jamezinho said:
....and how many more brand new games would be sold if the RRP was £25 across the board? It makes buying new much more tempting, as you have just proven.
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Given that game players only have a finite amount of time to actually spend on their hobby, and given the increased number of units a game would need to shift to break even, not nearly enough, otherwise one or two of the members of this multi-billion pound industry might have cottoned on to something the games buying public has been saying ever since my first allowance week.

It's a bit of a straw man argument to equate me buying a game for £20-25 in a market of £35-40 games with publishers making more profit if they retailed games at £25. The titles I've bought at that price were either supermarkets undercutting high street retailers or me genuinely not having enough time to spare to buy the game when it was at its RRP. I think one of the titles I wouldn't have otherwise 'risked' £40 on - but then I had played the demo. The price doesn't generally affect me, since I typically spend £34-36 on new titles anyway. It's time to play it that is by far more of an issue.


Digital distribution is all well and good, but don't bet on games becoming cheaper that way. Just look at the high price of the downloadable games on PSN and Live compared to the cheaper boxed versions in shops and online stores. A download should be cheaper than a physical version of a game and at present they are not.
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Sure, if you judge it now, in DD's relatively early days, then you will get a distorted picture of things and doubt that it will have any impact on prices. While online prices are still subsidizing trade-ins, greater levels of piracy, offline distribution of games to high streets, server and bandwidth costs (which are a lot higher now than they will be) etc etc, there won't be a significant difference between offline and online costs. It is very unlikely though that this will still be the case once online distribution is the #1 source of game sales (or is a very respectable #2 and rising). In fact publishers will want online to be cheaper so that people move away from offline.
 
Online gaming will be harmed in the long run. I can't imagine many people wanting to pay £35 per year for XBL and then £10 extra for each game they buy second hand.

I buy nearly all of my games second hand (AVForums and eBay mainly) and if I buy a game for £10, I'm not going to spend the same amount just to play that game online. If this becomes a trend, online gaming is pretty much dead to me.
 
DagsJT said:
Online gaming will be harmed in the long run. I can't imagine many people wanting to pay £35 per year for XBL and then £10 extra for each game they buy second hand.

I buy nearly all of my games second hand (AVForums and eBay mainly) and if I buy a game for £10, I'm not going to spend the same amount just to play that game online. If this becomes a trend, online gaming is pretty much dead to me.
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Luckily it won't be £10 extra.
 
From what I have read so far, no mention of FIFA in this. Tiger, NCAA Football, Madden, NHL, Fight Night and EA MMA. Thus NBA Live and FIFA may have a redeemable code, but wont have an online limited play thing.

Some good points raised in this thread so far.
 
Holio said:
From what I have read so far, no mention of FIFA in this. Tiger, NCAA Football, Madden, NHL, Fight Night and EA MMA. Thus NBA Live and FIFA may have a redeemable code, but wont have an online limited play thing.

Some good points raised in this thread so far.
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I really doubt that will be out of their most selling game all over the world. I am sure it will be on Fifa 11. Too bad! I also like buying second hand games and having to spend 10 more bucks on it just to play online is ridiculous.
 
romagnoli said:
Luckily it won't be £10 extra.
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Eh? If you buy a used game and the code has been used, you need to buy an Online Pass to go online with it, costing $10 ... so £10 or whatever. So the game is costing me twice as much just to play online.
 
What would be interesting though, if you did buy the pass, surely you are then entering a contract with EA, and as it would be a paid feature, how could they then remove that side of the game in the future without you getting refunded? I'm sure they will cover themselves in some small print somewhere, but the fact they turned the servers off for older games, making certain Achievements impossible to get has really stuck in my throat. Exactly how many servers would it take to allow someone to play a certain game. Surely they have 'free' servers as such that when a game gets a hammering they help to deal with the swell? To removed functionality completely is kinda kick in the teeth for gamers.
 
DagsJT said:
Eh? If you buy a used game and the code has been used, you need to buy an Online Pass to go online with it, costing $10 ... so £10 or whatever. So the game is costing me twice as much just to play online.
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1 U.S. dollar = 0.67691058 British pounds

If £6-£10 is enough to stop you playing a game online for the majority of a year then that's your choice.
 
Nick Cave said:
I don't mind the idea TBH as long as it's not a large amount, they are providing a service after all...
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Agree, what I do find wrong is the gamertag nonsense.

It won't effect me anyway as I never play online, but I can imagine it being pretty shit to have 2 or 3 kids that want to play fifa online and having to spend another 20 whatevers just so they can all play the game.

And we can be pretty sure that there will be a market on ebay for codes for less money for those who don't play online.
 
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