EAs Online Pass is too cheap

All publishers will eventually adopt the model being pioneered by EA that sees those who either buy pre-owned versions of its games or pirate them punished by locking them away from key features.

That’s the belief of MCV readers’ favourite Michael Pachter, who added that in his mind the $10 EA intends to charge pre-owned buyers to access the online features of titles such as FIFA 11 and Tiger Woods 11 is too cheap.

I think it’s brilliant and yes, I think it will become the norm at the major publishers,” he told IndustryGamers. And I think that EA is charging too little.

If the gamer is the original purchaser, the publisher gets paid when the user buys the game. If the gamer is a second-hand purchaser, the publisher currently does not get paid.

With Online Pass, EA is ensuringthat second-hand purchasers will pay something for the maintenance of the server network and for access to premium content, since they extend the costs of providing these services.”