Electronic Arts has revealed its latest get-rich-quick scheme, with EA Sports unleashing the "Season Ticket" subscription service. It launches today on both PS3 and Xbox 360, and will offer 20% DLC discounts, early digital access to games, and extra Web content for $24.99 (or 2000 MS Points) a year.
The benefits kick off with Madden NFL 12 and will eventually include other major franchises. This announcement comes hot off the heels of EA stating that it will charge subscription fees in the future. That was a pretty swift future!
This is a very bold move on the part of EA, though with only discounted DLC and game demos on offer, I can't see the great lasting benefit in being subscribed to this thing. In any case, check out the fully detailed benefits below ...
Early Full-Game Digital Access: Three days before a game’s scheduled release, fans will be able to download and play the full version of all five participating titles on Xbox 360 and PS3™**. The digitally downloaded game will time out when the game is available at retail and consumers have the option to purchase the same full game on disc at retail. EA SPORTS Season Ticket subscribers can transfer all achievements earned during the three-day download period to the purchased disc, resulting in an early edge over the competition.
Discounted Downloadable Content: Subscribers will get a 20-percent discount on all available downloadable content for participating EA SPORTS titles. Downloadable content, which enhances and refreshes the core game experience, includes such items as Ultimate Team packs, accelerator packs and gear upgrades.
Free Premium Web Content: Premium web content extends the game experience beyond the console to a web browser. All participating titles will feature premium web content that will be free to EA SPORTS Season Ticket members beginning with the premium Creation Center packs for FIFA Soccer 12. These packs provide a deeper set of customization tools and abilities within Creation Center to build your own teams and tournaments, and will be available to the consumer until the membership to the program has expired.
Membership Recognition: Subscribers are easily identifiable with an exclusive membership recognition badge displayed both in-game and on their EASPORTS.com profile.
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Contest:
7:45 AM on 08.02.2011 | 
Good thing they rush-jobbed it in time for the new Madden!
The "early access" thing is just so weird. So you get the game digitally three days early, then you have to delete it, then buy the disc at a retailer? Why not just...GIVE you the game early - not a three day preview.
Wait, what?
This is a little bit disgusting (or stupid). You're literally paying EA for them to sell you things. It'd be as if Steam charged you monthly to take part in Steam sales, and the cost of the subscription was equal to the amount of money you saved in the sales plus 50%...
Maybe 2 or 3 people out of 10 actually get as much, or more, than they have actually spent on the subscription, while the rest are simply paying more to be in an exclusive club or some shit. These things only work if most of the people buying them are screwing themselves out of money, or just want to pay more for little extras that mean mostly nothing. In either case, everyone ends up happy.
Oh fuck yes. The three people in the world who buy every item of DLC for every EA Sports game are fistpumping hardcore at this news. Good for them.
Oh, and:
<i>Membership Recognition: Subscribers are easily identifiable with an exclusive membership recognition badge displayed both in-game and on their EASPORTS.com profile.</i>
Now we can easily tell who those people are.
Oh, and:
"Membership Recognition: Subscribers are easily identifiable with an exclusive membership recognition badge displayed both in-game and on their EASPORTS.com profile."
Now we can easily tell who those people are.
@Magnalon
Essentially that essentially be breaking street date and they would piss off the physical retailers, that until the shining launch of that pure nugget of awesome that is Origin /sarcasm (also, Hallowed are the Ori), they are still heavily dependent on.
"What the hell? You'd have to buy 125 dollars' worth of DLC EVERY YEAR to make your money back on this crap. Do EA Sports even *release* that much DLC?"
I have a sneaking suspicion they do now......
Right :D - then wait until they are not dependent on retailers, THEN launch this shit!
Yup if consumers keep letting publishers like EA walk all over them then that is exactly where we are headed. They will keep pushing it until they reach a point that the market is not willing to Bear.
Then they will continue to push it farther all the while blaming any notable loss in sales on pirates....
Fuckers.
So people are calling up your comic book store asking if you know of any places that will break the street date on EA SPORTS titles?
????????
Yeah, that is pretty friggin lulzy.
This wouldn't happen though because it would reduce sales on Madden 13.
I thought this is what they meant when they talked about it. This isn't for me...
well they're mental either way if 25$ gives you only early access to game demos and discount on DLC.
i would understand if those 25$ subscription would mean all DLC being free for all EA Sports game released in that 12 month period - i actually would be interested in this type of subscription, if their DLC offering would be good of course.
but usually EA offers content cut from main game for more money than actual price of the game. i remember Tiger Woods shennanigans when Tiger Woods games on HD platforms(and pc i think) had maybe 30% of content of Tiger Woods wii game and additional 70+$ in paid DLC that still made it look dumbed down compared to Wii version - even after paying over 120$ for game and DLC on ps3/360, wii version still had more content and additional exclusive game modes already on the disc(since there was no DLC) for just 50$. ps360 version had like 2/3 of the courses WITH DLC that the wii version already had on a disc.
Fuck off, EA.
ive said once this DLC things starts to happen, its the end of video games. internet ruins everything. subscriptions, passes,worthless dlc, pre-order bonuses that you are forced to pay for if you dont "buy early". hubba hubba hubba money money money who do you trust?
So that's like getting the full game as a demo before it hits streetdate? I dunno, that's pretty cool. If you really dig sports games.
But for the absolutely everyone else, no incentive in this, not really. Not going to bother, didn't even consider it.
What's with EA and the stringently on-or-sub par services as of late?
Just wait for the Cerberus Space Special that gives you 5% off all Mass Effect DLC for $5 a month. And you get to play Mass Effect 3 three days early 2 avoid spoilerz ....
You also get a cool badge just so we know you're one of the muppets who've paid for this shit, & some people that say Playstation+ isn't good value. Compared to this, it's like Sony is running a charity.
I'm in the same position. All the bullshit day dlc, drm, now these undeletable saves...games that end up costing over 1oo if you figure in dlc...there was none of this bullshit with the snes, or even last gen. The greed and consumer ass raping is getting totally out of control.
agreed this is bull. I'm a struggling uni student who has a love for games and this DRM crap isn't going to help with my dodgy internet connection, factor in all these subscriptions non-deleteable games, online passes and the fact I live in Australia and the games cost twice as much as they do in the States then you've got to be effing rich to afford videogames.
They're calling my comic store on the off chance that we might carry video games (I guess the yellow pages has us listed under toys) in case we're breaking street date. :)
Seriously, who were the marketing geniuses that thought "Surely people spend $125 or more a year on our great DLC packages! This can't help but be successful!"?
I will admit that 3 day's early access is interesting incentive, but I don't think that's going to bring in enough subscribers. We'll see......
I'm with Fetusmilk on this one. I have such a ridiculous backlog that I can completely ignore new games these days, unless it has zombies! But yeah, all this nickel-and-diming bullshit has me keeping my money rather than spending it.