Electronic Arts has the dubious honor of introducing online passes to the world, a scheme whereby those who purchase used games have to pay $10 to unlock the title’s online mode. THQ has jumped on the idea, while Ubisoft and Sony are getting hot for it. Now, after starting the fire, EA is defending it.
“… digital delivery, maintaining servers able to support that volume of people every 24 hours, a solid billing infrastructure and customer support — it all takes time, effort and money and we’re at the cutting edge of that,” says cat-like EA Sports chief Peter Moore. “Online Pass is a way of bringing more digital experiences quicker from day one, getting people new content.
“It will start with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, roll into NCAA Football and then probably Madden. It’s up to us to create compelling fresh content 365 days a year if it’s gonna be successful…There’s a cost to serve that. [Developers] deserve to get compensated for their work, and Online Pass will help us achieve that.”
As I stated in the last Jimquisition, I really think online passes are a bad idea. It also seems pretty redundant in EA Sports games, where each game becomes obsolete after a year anyway. Still, we’ll see how it goes. I don’t expect good things from it.
EA Defends Online Pass [Edge]
