EA Sports’ Online Pass system hasn’t even hit stores yet, but it’s already making big waves in the industry for consumers and publishers. Starting with Tiger Woods 11 next month, the system will force players who purchased a title used to pay $10 to play the game online. Peter Moore, President of EA Sports, says the Online Pass will allow the company to deliver more robust digital content.
Moore notes that the cost of maintaining EA Sports’ online infrastructure is not cheap with the volume of traffic passing through the service. “I remember getting very excited when 1,000 people came online to play NBA 2K on Dreamcast – that was a red letter day for us,” said Moore. “Now we are looking at five million people a day on the EA Sports servers, so we have come a long way.”
“I look at the investment that we make in bringing digital experiences – building solid infrastructure, making sure servers stay up and offering customer support when needed. It all takes time, money and effort and we are at the cutting edge of that.”
“Online Pass is a way for us to frankly bring more digital experiences quicker. If it is going to be successful, it is up to us to create compelling, fresh, 365-days a year, digital experiences. And there is a cost to serve that we deserve to get paid for.”
EA Sports has also said that gamers are buying fewer games, and the online pass allows the company the ability to monetize those secondhand sales. “We used to do catalogue business, but that has diminished greatly and you can imagine why. $10 feels like a reasonable price for a game that will go on for months and months,” said Moore.
“What our consumers are telling us, and the growth that we are seeing, is that the preference now is not to buy lots and lots of games, but to spend more money on fewer games,” added EA Sports SVP of Worldwide Development Andrew Wilson on gamers deciding to buy more DLC instead of separate titles. “In fiscally challenging times, maybe a gamer won’t buy three games anymore, maybe they’ll buy two and spend the other $60 or £30 on extendable content, on experiences they know they love, rather than taking the risk on another product.”
Moore concluded the talk by relating the success they’ve had with FIFA 10’s new downloadable mode, Ultimate Team. “FIFA has become the jewel in the crown from the perspective of being able to deliver digital experiences; it broke a lot of ground with Ultimate Team. Refreshing the experience through post-launch content will become more and more important to us.”
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June 6, 2010
In other news, Ford have revealed that they are going to force everyone who buys a second hand car to purchase four brand new tyres before they can drive it. A spokesperson for Ford said "this initiative will enable us to ensure that all Ford owners will enjoy the best driving experience possible". He then fell over due to the weight of his own wallet.