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EA announces Subscription Service for Xbox One ($5/month or $30/year, get game vault)

IMO it's good. I don't have a huge desire to play ufc( probably out by end of year maybe early next year)FIFA or madden. But for $5 I would play the hell out of both of them. It's cheaper than me paying $16 a month to game fly to rent out 1 game.
 
This strikes me as a terrible deal. I can't remember the last year in which I purchased enough EA product to make my money back.

I'd bet that the 5 day early access is identical to the PS+ "Trials", where you get 1 hour to play and then have to buy full game or stop.

For those talking about paying 5$ and making all the purchases in December, by December most of the retail titles will have dropped by more than 10% so you are still wasting money, although I guess people going all digital are used to wasting money anyway.
 
It's hilarious and pathetic how EA keeps favoring X1. They got Titanfall exclusive, Plants vs Zombies: GW, a ton of early and exclusive DLC, and now EA access. This, despite every EA multiplatform game selling better on PS4. Not only that, but the online communities are much larger on PS4 for their games as well. They really cater to their fans don't they. Seriously, EA are the biggest MS shills I've ever seen. I think only last gen activision rivals them.

This is cute.

I like that you think the reason EA have decided to make this an Microsoft exclusive is because they like MS better than Sony.

Awwwwwwww.
 
What?

You can get a limited trial 5 days before release. It's probably not the full 5 days, since you could beat certain games in that time.

Then you buy it for 10% off.

This is what I'm saying. The other guy is saying that EA would let people play full games for 5 days. What kind if madness is that.
 
I'm still processing this all but another subscription on top of XBL makes this niche given the current conditions. I'x rather they just offer some games for Gold instead of creating another layer.
 
Coming from EA I doubt it will result in consumers paying less money and getting more games. This will probably translate in more content being moved over to DLCs.

EA is really committed to the Xbox One since the beginning, I wonder why. If the Xbox One is able to drag down EA with it, it will gain my respect.

The better deal for me is to just get an old version of Fifa used and be done with it for a while.

Yup, it will make it the greatest console in the history of consoles for me.
 
They struck a deal with Microsoft before these consoles even launched. This is probably just part of that deal.

Oh come on now, stop using that same excuse for everything. They're favoring Microsoft for pretty much every unreleased game as well.
 
When you break it down, it's not a good deal if you're trying to game the system financially.

-If you buy the $30 membership, you need to buy at least 6 EA retail games within that year to come out ahead, or buy over $300 in EA digital content and DLC.

-Buying a $5 subscription for one month only requires you to buy one retail game or $50 worth of EA DLC, so that theoretically you could wait till December, buy a one month membership, and buy all the EA games and content you wanted to save money. But it's highly unlikely anyone would do that.

-So in regards of discounts, no, it isn't worth it for this membership unless you feel that the extra features make up for it. You get to dip into an "EA Vault" that has old titles that are either bringing in less revenue or are reaching the end of their shelf life (essentially all of last year's sports titles), games that depend less on making that initial $60 sale and more on keeping the player count high and offering premium DLC and subscriptions (Battlefield), and the occasional "goodwill" game that can be considered a small loss to EA (Peggle 2, though I think that got some DLC if I'm not mistaken?). You also get limited early play time for games up to a few days beforehand, which is neat.

-EA doesn't mind taking the hit for all this because their revenue for digital is higher than retail anyways, and allows for less used games on the market. Total win for EA.


EA doesn't really need to keep updating their "EA Vault" because they aren't going to be dependent on making sure they get that $5/month from players. The $5 is just a way to make the $30 even more appealing to new subscribers. As soon as you pay that money, you're essentially locked in to a new digital-only store with benefits that won't cost EA much money at all.

A really, really smart play by EA that could be worth it for players who love both sports and EA developed franchises. But there's not gonna be much here for someone like myself who has zero interest in sports.




See, this is what I mean. If you bought Battlefield and Titanfall ($120) and their season passes (I dunno how much this is, so lets say $20 for each so another $40), and Peggle (I think it was $20?). That's $180, which means you saved $18, and did not cover the cost of your subscription. You'd have to make the call whether or not free access to last year's FIFA and Madden is worth the extra $12, or any future potential EA Vault games.

Like I said, easy to make that call if you love sports and videa'games, maybe not so much if you don't.

great post. really breaks it all down nicely
 
Stop over-complicating it. It's psplus for EA, period.

-Library of games which will grow over time

-Game trails for new games

-Discounts

-Further exclusive stuff in the future (beta access being a gaurantee)
 
When you break it down, it's not a good deal if you're trying to game the system financially.

-If you buy the $30 membership, you need to buy at least 6 EA retail games within that year to come out ahead, or buy over $300 in EA digital content and DLC.

-Buying a $5 subscription for one month only requires you to buy one retail game or $50 worth of EA DLC, so that theoretically you could wait till December, buy a one month membership, and buy all the EA games and content you wanted to save money. But it's highly unlikely anyone would do that.

-So in regards of discounts, no, it isn't worth it for this membership unless you feel that the extra features make up for it. You get to dip into an "EA Vault" that has old titles that are either bringing in less revenue or are reaching the end of their shelf life (essentially all of last year's sports titles), games that depend less on making that initial $60 sale and more on keeping the player count high and offering premium DLC and subscriptions (Battlefield), and the occasional "goodwill" game that can be considered a small loss to EA (Peggle 2, though I think that got some DLC if I'm not mistaken?). You also get limited early play time for games up to a few days beforehand, which is neat.

-EA doesn't mind taking the hit for all this because their revenue for digital is higher than retail anyways, and allows for less used games on the market. Total win for EA.


EA doesn't really need to keep updating their "EA Vault" because they aren't going to be dependent on making sure they get that $5/month from players. The $5 is just a way to make the $30 even more appealing to new subscribers. As soon as you pay that money, you're essentially locked in to a new digital-only store with benefits that won't cost EA much money at all.

A really, really smart play by EA that could be worth it for players who love both sports and EA developed franchises. But there's not gonna be much here for someone like myself who has zero interest in sports.



See, this is what I mean. If you bought Battlefield and Titanfall ($120) and their season passes (I dunno how much this is, so lets say $20 for each so another $40), and Peggle (I think it was $20?). That's $180, which means you saved $18, and did not cover the cost of your subscription. You'd have to make the call whether or not free access to last year's FIFA and Madden is worth the extra $12, or any future potential EA Vault games.

Like I said, easy to make that call if you love sports and videa'games, maybe not so much if you don't.

And this is a great post sums up why it's fishy and why there not getting any of my money because well this. Just buy games you really want it's nothing like PS+ at all.
 
So for demos and 10% discount, they want 30$ for a year ? If i buy 6 EA Games in a year it will be 6$ profit ?
 
Love the access to the 4 older EA games. Plus I plan on getting Fifa 15, Madden 15, and Dragon Age anyways. So %10 off those is almost $20 in savings plus i get to play them a few days early. Im in
 
I would imagine it is Xbox only because Microsoft worked with them on this or they are the only ones to have completed the front and back end stuff to make this all possible.

Its not like you're buying the games from EA, the store needs to support all of this.
 
We have no clue of the business model of PS Now to even evaluate that.

Which brings me to, how is PS Now even considered bad when this is only for EA games, as PS Now is for all games from all publishers, which can be played on (TV's, Consoles, Smartphones and Tablets) besides a PC?
Yeah, I'm not following the PS Now comparison. PS Now is streaming last-gen games to your system, and I'm pretty sure it cost money for each game you "own" on the service.
So for demos and 10% discount, they want 30$ for a year ? If i buy 6 EA Games in a year it will be 6$ profit ?
I think trial or early access is a better descriptor than demo, but there is also the "game vault." If you want Battlefield 4 and FIFA 14, it already pays for itself.

I just personally don't see value in it since I both do not buy games digitially and generally like to buy the newest sports games rather than the year old ones.
 
Based on the information available in the OP I honestly have little understanding of how this works. The subscription gives you access to streaming games? Early access to new games? The subscription gives you access to NEW games for a monthly fee? Also gives you access to legacy titles in the vault? WTF
 
This is cute.

I like that you think the reason EA have decided to make this an Microsoft exclusive is because they like MS better than Sony.

Awwwwwwww.

Yeah, not like I didn't post factual information supporting my claim. Cute how the xbots don't post any of their own.
 
I'm in for 30 bucks to support a company doing something really innovative in this industry.

I'll be curious to see how quickly a title like Titanfall or BF4 hits the vault.
 
A backlog of games to play from the previous year.

and access to the game vault lol

and access to older EA games

Er...the games in their back catalogue (FIFA, Madden, Battlefield, etc.)

You get access to the new games "for a limmited time", up to 5 days before they are released. They will probably use that same offer like with Origin, countdown timer from the moment you start playing that new game.

As for older games, they will have no restrictions, they can be played as long as you want.

I forgot to say the free games in the post. My bad.

Since there is no backward compatibility that list is very small. Just how long will it take to be added to free to the vault?
 
I don't understand the point in comparing prices of renting PS3 games that are streaming to paying a subscription to access old EA games that are not streamed.

its apples to oranges no?

Well, offline > streaming. $5/mo > PS Now prices.

EA is offering a better package via a (generally) more prefered way. I get that Sony wants to do streaming so they can get non-core gamers on board via tablets, tvs, etc but EA's package is very core-gamer focused imo and thus why it resonates better, at least with me.
 
EA and MS
sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
First comes love,
then comes marriage,
then comes baby
in a baby carriage!
Sucking his thumb,
peeing his pants,
doing the hokey-pokey dance!

Jokes aside, I wonder if this is going to be a (timed) exclusive service for the XB1?
EDIT: Yep, says so in the OP.
 
I forgot to say that in the post. My bad.

Since there is no backward compatibility that list is very small. Just how long will it take to be added to free to the vault?

One assumes that this time next year you'll be playing FIFA/Madden/NHL 15 along with Battlefield Hardline and perhaps Titanfall...
 
So confused. Are FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2, and Battlefield 4 "free" and you get to play the entirety of the game if you subscribe? Or are they also trials?
 
I'm still processing this all but another subscription on top of XBL makes this niche given the current conditions. I'x rather they just offer some games for Gold instead of creating another layer.

Crappy business decision since EA would make more money off of this plus as a consumer you're getting more games through this.

5 bucks a month or 30 bucks a year is fantastic really.
 
I wonder how many of these services the market can sustain. There's no way people can afford this and one from Activision, Ubi, and so on.
 
Okay Xbox, just include the 2 other biggies, Activision and Ubisoft, and bundle the whole thing and sell me an Xbox Platinum membership for $100.
 
So confused. Are FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2, and Battlefield 4 "free" and you get to play the entirety of the game if you subscribe? Or are they also trials?

The games in the vault are entirely free w/ the subscription and won't be removed from the vault, new games will be continually added

Upcoming ea games have a trial before their launch

All EA content on the Xbox store is 10% off
 
I'll see what games EA actually offers before I consider this a good deal.

My gut feeling is that games will have to be at least old before appearing on this.
 
This is the same company that's shoving ridiculous microtransactions into all their games. How are people just taking this at face value and not questioning it? EA has proven over and over that their priority is squeezing as much money as possible from their customers. This is just yet another way to bleed everyone dry cleverly disguised as a "good value."

If you think they are going to be adding new titles to this on a regular basis you are kidding yourselves. The fact that Titanfall is not included speaks volumes. Don't fall for this crap guys.
 
When you break it down, it's not a good deal if you're trying to game the system financially.

-If you buy the $30 membership, you need to buy at least 6 EA retail games within that year to come out ahead, or buy over $300 in EA digital content and DLC.

-Buying a $5 subscription for one month only requires you to buy one retail game or $50 worth of EA DLC, so that theoretically you could wait till December, buy a one month membership, and buy all the EA games and content you wanted to save money. But it's highly unlikely anyone would do that.

-So in regards of discounts, no, it isn't worth it for this membership unless you feel that the extra features make up for it. You get to dip into an "EA Vault" that has old titles that are either bringing in less revenue or are reaching the end of their shelf life (essentially all of last year's sports titles), games that depend less on making that initial $60 sale and more on keeping the player count high and offering premium DLC and subscriptions (Battlefield), and the occasional "goodwill" game that can be considered a small loss to EA (Peggle 2, though I think that got some DLC if I'm not mistaken?). You also get limited early play time for games up to a few days beforehand, which is neat.

-EA doesn't mind taking the hit for all this because their revenue for digital is higher than retail anyways, and allows for less used games on the market. Total win for EA.


EA doesn't really need to keep updating their "EA Vault" because they aren't going to be dependent on making sure they get that $5/month from players. The $5 is just a way to make the $30 even more appealing to new subscribers. As soon as you pay that money, you're essentially locked in to a new digital-only store with benefits that won't cost EA much money at all.

A really, really smart play by EA that could be worth it for players who love both sports and EA developed franchises. But there's not gonna be much here for someone like myself who has zero interest in sports.




See, this is what I mean. If you bought Battlefield and Titanfall ($120) and their season passes (I dunno how much this is, so lets say $20 for each so another $40), and Peggle (I think it was $20?). That's $180, which means you saved $18, and did not cover the cost of your subscription. You'd have to make the call whether or not free access to last year's FIFA and Madden is worth the extra $12, or any future potential EA Vault games.

Like I said, easy to make that call if you love sports and videa'games, maybe not so much if you don't.



How come you ignore the value of one full year of access to (at minimum) 4 EA games?
 
I honestly get the feeling that this is where the older EA services will go to live on as subscription content. I don't see new FIFA / Madden / Battlefield being on a service like this at their retail launch dates. Considering how annualised / service based EA's games already are, is $5 still a tempting proposition for games that aren't new?
 
Crappy business decision since EA would make more money off of this plus as a consumer you're getting more games through this.

5 bucks a month or 30 bucks a year is fantastic really.
This really hinges on what games are added to the service. If someone can avoid buying at least $30 of games because they are on the service, then I agree.
 
Yeah, I'm not following the PS Now comparison. PS Now is streaming last-gen games to your system, and I'm pretty sure it cost money for each game you "own" on the service.

Right. The library of games that will come with PS Now is far greater in value than EA library. And besides, we don't know if Sony can also allow publishers to have their own marketplace within PS Now which allows this very same model. The exposure for what PS Now is trying to achieve is far greater than this exclusive deal EA has with the Xbox One. If Microsoft wished to expand it beyond the Xbox one, then this would make sense but the comparison is so moot. Its baseless and holds no weight.
 
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