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EA announces Subscription Service for Xbox One ($5/month or $30/year, get game vault)
- Thread starter jbug617
- Start date
check your messages now, mine was there this morning.
You know you can still buy those games individually without subscribing to anything.
ferrasvansen
Member
Nobody ofc, but knowing EA all too well its only a matter of time before this subscription ends up being tied to the multiplayer. I hope I'm wrong ofc, but Sony saying no sets alarm bells ringing for me.
if you're a fan of Fifa or the yearly franchises, you'll want it day one (or at launch). So it'll still cost you £50 on the store (£55 - 10%). Still more expensive than buying physical at retail, but I guess a discount is a discount.
The vault isn't that valuable to those that like to keep up with the franchises as it'll be 9-12 month old games just as the new ones are coming out.
For those that like a bargain, and aren't too fussed about playing the absolute latest version though, this seems a great deal. Maybe EA see it as a way to bring more people into their franchises, and some of those will then start to buy their games when they are new?
For core gamers, I think the 5 day early access is the kicker - many people will consider £20 pretty good value to play a few of their anticipated games a few days early
Daffy Duck
Member
Says the people that Price PSNow at a stupid level?
I think we know which product represents better value for gamers.
Shyakugaun
Banned
That makes no sense.
I think your giving Sony a bit too much credit that statement reeked of not getting invited to the party in the first place. I thought we gamers were all about options?
You forgot the best part. Paid demos,
FlyingSaucer
Banned
For the time being.
Head.spawn
Junior Member
So should I assume that Sony is going to shutdown all of their games and deny access to content since they shutdown MAG, Resistance, Vangaurd etc etc? I mean, that is pretty damned immediate history.
I'd be more inclined to not jump to conclusions, yet you are on a one man crusade to vilify them and paint a picture of some evil company out to kick babies and such.
hmmmmmmm
given that I already have bought battlefield 4, peggle 2 and got fifa with the day1 bone,
thats 3 out of the 4 games that they initially offer, plus the fact that I dont play american football that 4/4 out.
and even to go further down, I already have also bought nfs, garden warfare and titanfall plus season pass, which seem to be the games that could enter the vault bucket later on..
so, given all the above, the fact that I just subscribed for a year on the service, this practically means that there is a whole lotta distance with the way I see things, and the way that that sony spokesperson sees things.
Show me a demo where you can play any of the game you want for as long as you want for 5 days prior to it coming out ?
Officerrob
Banned
My opinion? They see it as a competitor to PS Now, and their insane prices (profit margins)
Me? Personally? No, fuck right off EA.
From Sony's point of view, their service is taking off right now. Things are working for them. Adding another layer to the service, one dictated by an outside entity would be a concern. Then factor in EA's rep, and just how important the net / word of mouth has been so far, and none of it seems like a good idea when the inevitable other 'fuckdacustomer' shoe drops.
If people think its a good value, and like it. More power to them. But this "omg y u no trust EA!!!!!!' attitude aimed at others, or even at companies in Sony's case, is pretty silly.
What are you even going on about? Sony shutting down servers for online games with low populations is in no way equal to the sort of shit EA has been pulling the past few years.
Let's see there was Sim City online DRM, there was reveal of mandated microtransactions, there was the excised content from retail games to be sold as DLC (ME3, DA2) and then there was Dungeon Keeper. This is not even mentioning all their rediculous season pass bullshit and extensive DRM schemes. Then when people call them out on all of this their response is that gamers just aren't accepting the changing tides of the industry and that their efforts are the future. That's not apologetic. That doesn't sound like a company changing it's ways.
EA has consistently shat on it's own reputation for the last two years. So, yes, I would say a heap of skepticism is in order here.
Daffy Duck
Member
I do think it's a little early to start calling this service poor value for money, there is only a limited amount of titles available for xbox one that could be put into this beta.
Yes we are nearing the end of Fifa/Madden being the current titles, but we have no idea what games will be in the vault.
For £20 for a year I think it represents good value at the moment, whether that remains into year 2 and beyond is anyones guess.
At least they are innovating ideas and trying new ways to engage with customers.
Sony shutting down GT5 servers........
Yes we are nearing the end of Fifa/Madden being the current titles, but we have no idea what games will be in the vault.
For £20 for a year I think it represents good value at the moment, whether that remains into year 2 and beyond is anyones guess.
At least they are innovating ideas and trying new ways to engage with customers.
Sony shutting down GT5 servers........
Steverulez
Member
Sony already allowed paid demos on PS3 though, so if anything this represents a much better evolution of what EA were doing on last-gen generation consoles
DagnastyEp
Member
Just got my Beta access to the program. Will check it out after work today. May pay $5 for a month to check out BF4 (as I've never really played a Battlefield game other than 1942).
Templar Wizard
Member
where is the subscription option??? I thought it was in beta.
Camp Freddie
Member
I'm generally for opening up platforms to anyone that wants to sell stuff, but I think this is a good call by Sony.
I think Sony want PS+ to be a good value 'obvious choice' for all gamers. It's about building brand loyalty and trust - that will hopefully keep their owners on team Sony when the PS5 launches.
I trust PS+ to give me good games, because it's in Sony's financial interest to offer good value (because of their brand strategy, not because Sony are nice guys).
EA on the other hand are probably going for the gym membership approach. Getting people to pay for something that looks worthwhile but isn't actually used much (essentially people pay for the idea of being able to do something, rather than actually doing it). No-one is going to give brand loyalty to a publisher (witness the lack of EA vs Ubi fanboy threads) so it's just about extracting as much money as possible for the worst product that the customer will accept.
If Sony let EA wall off their games behind a separate paywall, then Ubisoft will do the same with Uplay, then Activision and others will probably follow.
Then you end up paying for PS+ and only getting games from small developers. If you want AAA games, you'll be paying for 2 or 3 separate additional subscriptions, which is just too much annoying micromanagement for the average Playstation owner.
Looking at the initial offering, it's all games that have high MSRP values, but that no-one would actually buy at that price.
FIFA 15 is due in a couple of months (I suspect the same is true of Madden). And BF4 sales must've fallen off a cliff due to all the bad PR abut the bugs. Not to mention that Hardline is due out soon (hell, people have already been playing the beta).
I think Sony want PS+ to be a good value 'obvious choice' for all gamers. It's about building brand loyalty and trust - that will hopefully keep their owners on team Sony when the PS5 launches.
I trust PS+ to give me good games, because it's in Sony's financial interest to offer good value (because of their brand strategy, not because Sony are nice guys).
EA on the other hand are probably going for the gym membership approach. Getting people to pay for something that looks worthwhile but isn't actually used much (essentially people pay for the idea of being able to do something, rather than actually doing it). No-one is going to give brand loyalty to a publisher (witness the lack of EA vs Ubi fanboy threads) so it's just about extracting as much money as possible for the worst product that the customer will accept.
If Sony let EA wall off their games behind a separate paywall, then Ubisoft will do the same with Uplay, then Activision and others will probably follow.
Then you end up paying for PS+ and only getting games from small developers. If you want AAA games, you'll be paying for 2 or 3 separate additional subscriptions, which is just too much annoying micromanagement for the average Playstation owner.
Looking at the initial offering, it's all games that have high MSRP values, but that no-one would actually buy at that price.
FIFA 15 is due in a couple of months (I suspect the same is true of Madden). And BF4 sales must've fallen off a cliff due to all the bad PR abut the bugs. Not to mention that Hardline is due out soon (hell, people have already been playing the beta).
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
Neither of them do.
TheLegendary
Member
That's a butthurt statement if I've ever heard one
I dont get it, I just got Fifa 2014 and BF4 for £20 and that's not good value?
Lol at this, so now the only way to get monthly deals or discount on ea games will be to pay them for access rather then just offering a weekly Xbox live or PS sale like they use to. I guess if all you play is ea games it could be worth it...5 dollars a month is not worth it unless you are making multiple purchases a month to justify the 10% off
For how much longer? This "software as a subscription service" model has a very customer-unfriendly end game if these companies are allowed to play it out to its logical conclusion. Amazon is doing something similar with their ebooks now, too. Publishers, corporations, investors all have a vested interest in turning you into a "recurring revenue stream." In a few years, if this model proves successful, I guarantee we'll start to see companies try to discourage, if not flat-out deny, individual purchases.
That's not a future I want to participate in. I like the fact that all my games from out of business studios still work and that I can share them with my kids easily.
jimbobsmells
Member
This man. This man gets it.
Totally ignoring that PS+ is basically the same service.
Anyone buying monthly is asking to be bent over imo. Yearly is the good plan.
Here in UK land I've just paid £19.99 for 1 years access to Battlefield 4, Fifa 14, NFL 25 and Peggle 2.
If I'd bought those games digitally I'd be looking at way over £150.
If I bought them preowned, right now from GAME, I'd be looking at £34.99 (Fifa) £29.99 (BF4) and £32.99 (NFL 25) so £97.97 without a copy of the digital only Peggle. Even if I traded them all back in, chances are I'd be down more than £20.
I refuse to see how ANYONE can admit that ISN'T a good value proposition, excluding the possible additional games that MAY turn up in the vault, the 10% off all games/DLC for a year and some early access looks at titles.
Everyone is going this router, Valve, Sony, then Microsoft, EA, ...
Seems like a good value and service while you are paying and the company is still keeping servers alive, but in the end, you are renting software and it will disappear.
In 30-40 years, my kids or grandkids will not be able to play this games, so I will have them play NES, SNES, Genesis, Gameboy... better for them.
That said, I think this new EA service looks good, I started my PS+ sub last month and it's a shame that I missed a lot of games from previous months, having the full collection no matter when you start the sub is fantastic.
thats some very bad end game you got in your mind.
but if things where that ..automatic, then for example the xbone would still be the bad drm spying machine that could have been.
you see, you are missing a small point there... if people do not see value, they do not easily herd/buy/subscribe/etc.
and while every big company has figured out that the best revenue is the fixed, guaranteed revenue, still they got to be on their toes, as a small crack in the dam can always make the valley flood. isnt it so?
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
Forreal! I was just thinking of that it was much worse
The math obviously works a little different for the UK. While not a terrible deal for US consumers, it is not as great of a deal for them. The sports titles and BF4 have sequels due in a couple of months. It is not impossible to find those three titles for $30 or so today. In a couple of months when they are outdated you can probably get them for $20-$25 easy.
This is assuming you are only paying $30 yearly and not $5 a month, and also assumes that you do not already own their current offerings and will not already have whatever it is they offer in the future.
Of course this excludes any titles that they will be adding in the future. But realistically there isn't a huge library of EA games for them to be able to give out. Outside of PVZ and Titanfall, they only have Dragon Age, BF Hardline, and the new sports game which they simply aren't going to give away so soon after release. I think that by the time they are offered it would be time to renew again.
TechnicPuppet
Nothing! I said nothing!
They have other games UFC, NHL, NBA, PGA, Need for Speed etc. The consoles aren't out a year, they will build up a bigger library.
Yeah I wasn't too familiar with their entire lineup particularly because I do not like sports titles. I can see this being a much better deal for those who like sports games a lot. However, personally I don't see much value due to a lack of variety of titles. The couple of EA held franchises that I care about I am likely to own on my own. I am not going to hold off from purchasing Dragon Age in hopes that they put that game in the vault somewhere down the line.
Interestingly, it wouldn't allow me to subscribe to the service (annually or monthly) using the credit I have on my US account - it would only let me use a "proper" payment method like a card or PayPal. I suppose it has something to do with auto-renewals but thought I'd give people a head's up all the same.
ElRenoRaven
Member
So yea. I've got the 3 games I didn't own downloaded and they are complete games. Well as complete as EA's DLC filled games are. They function like any other game I own. I have to say that if EA can keep a steady stream of games coming through they have a winner here at the 30 buck price point.
That said it's EA and I don't see them keeping it at $30 beyond the first year. I predict that come the 2 year it will get a price increase. I wouldn't be surprised to see it at about 60 bucks a year all said and done. That said even at $60 bucks a year it wouldn't be a bad deal if it indeed does work like PSN Plus or Games for Gold. Hell if that is the case then I'd actually not mind if more publishers followed suit. I'd not mind paying 30 to 60 bucks a year per publisher to get their games. I'd save a fortune.
That said it's EA and I don't see them keeping it at $30 beyond the first year. I predict that come the 2 year it will get a price increase. I wouldn't be surprised to see it at about 60 bucks a year all said and done. That said even at $60 bucks a year it wouldn't be a bad deal if it indeed does work like PSN Plus or Games for Gold. Hell if that is the case then I'd actually not mind if more publishers followed suit. I'd not mind paying 30 to 60 bucks a year per publisher to get their games. I'd save a fortune.
If you're a member of the Xbox beta program then you should have a message on Xbox Live with your download code for the EA Access Hub app. Once downloaded, you can subscribe monthly or annually - if you're in the UK it's £19.99/a or £3.99/m.
Yes, it's a short term value for a long term loss.
LowerLevel
Member
Downloaded Madden. I have been trying to find a way back into football after 2K5 and have something my nephews play when they come over. $30 just got me madden, bf4 digitally and whatever comes next week/month as I don't own Need for Speed and I bet that will come up soon. I can probably trade in the bf4 disk for MS credits because I love having these titles digitally and switching through Kinect.
Real talk, it would be amazing if Dragon Age comes to this service next spring because I personally can wait to buy it. $30 is the probably the right price too... ($25 would have been better!)
Real talk, it would be amazing if Dragon Age comes to this service next spring because I personally can wait to buy it. $30 is the probably the right price too... ($25 would have been better!)