A Reaction to Online Pass

Two days ago, EA had announced the next step of its “Project 10 Dollar”. This is the code name for the marketing strategy used by EA including one-time use codes in all new copies of games like Mass Effect 2 and Battlefield Bad Company 2. These codes would allow the player to download certain downloadable content for free, such as new map packs for Battlefield Bad Company 2 and new missions for Mass Effect 2. However, if you bought a used copy of either of the two games, you missed out on the free DLC, and if you wanted to still get the DLC, you would have to spend $15 on the “code”. Many believe this is EA’s way of combating used game sales. For example, most used game retailers sell a used copy of the game for $5 less than a new copy. By EA charging more than $5 for the content, an educated consumer will opt for the new copy. However, the content included with the code wasn’t “essential”, nor was it by any means groundbreaking. It was simply a small little bonus EA gave to consumers who bought new instead of used; therefore packing EA’s pockets instead of GameStop’s, the nation’s #1 used game retailer. Many gamers who bought used simply did without the content, and that leads to the next step in their strategy: Online Pass.

EA Sports announced that their online games would include a one-time use code, called an Online Pass, which would allow the player to play in online game types. These would be included in new copies of their games, starting with the release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, set to be released June 8th. Without these codes, the player is allowed a “7 day free trial” to online game types. After this expires, the player cannot play online. They will have to purchase a code from either the Xbox Live Marketplace or the Playstation Network for $10. This news came highly upsetting, especially to those who play on the 360, already paying up to $8 a month to have access to online play. All asking, “Is it fair?”

No. It is not.

This isn’t like the incentives included with Mass Effect 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. If you wanted to pass on the extra content, you could still experience the full game. EA is now forcing the player to pay an extra 10 dollars if you were unable to buy the game brand new in order to access the online mode, a mode in which many of Madden players play competitively. These new form of micro-transactions seems to be EA’s new form of income, with a popular free-to-play game called Battlefield Heroes offering new weapons that are by far more powerful, only to be purchased by real money. This grand imbalance gives paying players more of an advantage over someone who plays for free entirely.