EA Sports President Defends Online Pass

[Andy Chalk]

EA Sports President Defends Online Pass

EA Sports [http://www.easports.com] President Peter Moore says most gamers actually support bonus DLC programs like Online Pass because they recognize how damaging the used game trade really is.

Madden NFL [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/100582-EA-Sports-Unveils-Launch-Day-DLC-Program-Online-Pass] once and never returned, and that's a figure he'd dearly like to change.

"One thing I have to do, and it's my job, and my development team's job, and my marketing team's job, is make you not want to trade the game in," he told Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5573538/he-doesnt-mind-what-you-call-them-+-unless-its-monopoly]. "From our perspective, [it's] conditioning you to punch a code in, to get you going, get some digital content, and conditioning you to look at digital content as a value-add to the game experience itself."

He also pointed out that providing support for online play is an expensive proposition, adding, "It's not something I want to focus on, but it's still a factor that the cost of a million people playing Madden 10 online is not inconsequential."

But Moore also believes that in spite of some vocal opposition to Online Pass, most gamers get it. "I read everything you write, and then I read everything that they write about what you write underneath, and I will say you have the overwhelming majority of people that are buying new," he said. "And those guys are actually vocal - this is me just saying what I read - against people who buy used. They recognize the business model implications of new versus used. Whilst I'm not sure they're angry, they absolutely look at what's going on in the marketplace and understand totally what it is we're doing."

It's a tricky line to walk: I thought the Project Ten Dollar approach in Mass Effect 2 [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dvideogames&field-keywords=%22dragon+age%3A+origins%22&x=20&y=17] was fantastic, but Online Pass does feel a bit like EA has switched from rewarding good behavior to punishing bad. Is EA Sports going too far?



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[angel34]

Honestly I think this might be a good idea. The second hand game industry is crippling the new game industry and this can't just be ignored.

 

[KeyMaster45]

In all seriousness, why is it that second-hand sales hurts this industry more than any other?

 

[Sebenko]

In all seriousness, why is it that second-hand sales hurts this industry more than any other?

Because most new games cost more than people are willing to pay?

 

[Soviet Heavy]

how the fuck can they extend the lifespan of a sports game when they release a new one every goddamn year?

 

[Eruanno]

...roughly 350,000 people have logged in to Madden NFL once and never returned, and that's a figure he'd dearly like to change.

This sounds like a completely different problem to me. Namely, that their online play seems to be lacking. How about fixing that, eh? (Honestly, I've no idea if it is good or not, I've never played any Madden game, as sports games makes me want to switch the channel and...oh right, I'm not watching TV, am I...)

 

[GamingAwesome1]

I'm dubbing this the "Ubisoft effect".

When a company does something that is an incredibly stupid idea to EVERYONE involved but they'll still back it all the way.

 

[Booze Zombie]

"Conditioning"?

No, I want to support your good games.
Which is why I don't buy your sports games, let them die, horribly.

If you like playing sports, that's fine... but a game about a game which is really only fun with physical interaction? WHERE DO I SIGN UP?!

 

[Dorkmaster Flek]

Hey Peter, I'm a gamer and I don't support it. Stop speaking for me!

Here, let me explain what's actually going to happen with this system. I buy your game new for the same price as usual, then I go to trade it in when the next year's version comes out. Now because of the online pass system, the store is going to give me less money for a trade-in, because it's simply not worth as much. They will turn around and sell it to someone for less than before, because they're going to have to pay the extra $10 to get online. Now say for the sake of argument that the trade-in value and used sale price both go down by $10 across the board, just for consistency. The end result is that used gamer has paid exactly what he would have before, and the game store has made exactly the same amount of profit, but you (EA) pocketed an extra $10. Where did that money come from? The answer is me, the guy who bought your game new like always and gave you the full price, because I got less money for trading it in than I normally would have. This isn't going to hurt the used market; it's going to hurt the very people you're trying to keep!

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

EA Sports [http://www.easports.com] President Peter Moore says most gamers actually support bonus DLC programs like Online Pass because they recognize how damaging the used game trade really is.

Tell you what Peter. Find me ten gamers that don't work for EA that say that.

Any ten, in the billion odd game playing public.

Go on. Try.

Because it seems to me that gamers support bonus DLC because they get free stuff. And they don't give a second thought about how bad the used game trade is as it's the only way they can legally get hold of certain games.

 

[SamElliot'sMustache]

Is EA Sports going too far?

In a word: yes.

A friend of mine had brought up this subject just the other day, and pointed out that with this, and certain other practices, the gaming industry's fight against the used games market is actually in direct violation of the first-sale (or exhaustion) doctrine found in copyright law (the example I'm using is American, but can generally be found in every country where copyright laws apply). It's something that usually doesn't come up in these sorts of discussions, so I thought I'd post it here. (Link: http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#109)

Essentially, once any book/software/tape/etc. is sold, the person who purchases it is free to sell or lend it to others. So, while DLC might be extra content that you still have to pay for (though Project Ten Dollar has a couple of faults of its own), any online component that comes with the game is not subject to any extra charges just because it's a used copy, and EA is, in fact, breaking the law.

On a curious note: all those FBI Warnings at the start of movies on VHS or DVDs that say you're not allowed to resell, rent, or loan your legally purchased copy of a film, and that doing so is punishable by fines or jail time? Not enforcable.

 

[TheDukester]

how the fuck can they extend the lifespan of a sports game when they release a new one every goddamn year?

This. This is the problem with EA. It's like EA is an Alzheimer's patient and forgets it publishes the same games year after year. The sports don't change, and while some sports series add some nice editions each year (FIFA 10 comes to mind), a lot of it is the same rehashing with "updated" graphics. They're not worth $60. Thus, people buy used or wait until the game comes down to a reasonable price.

It's like the game industry doesn't think the rules of supply and demand apply to it. Economics are economics; price your product accordingly and people will buy it.

 

[Psydney]

Yeah, that creepy "conditioning" word jumped out at me too.

Seems like game industry execs have been throwing some variant of the phrase "majority of gamers" around a lot these days. Because, you know, if the sheeples realize they're straying too far from opinions of the mysterious rest of the herd, pay-for-what-used-to-be-free-content and oppressive-DRM-that-breaks-your-games will look like tasty blackberry bushes instead of barbed wire...

 

[yourbeliefs]

It's a tricky line to walk: I thought the Project Ten Dollar approach in Mass Effect 2 [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dvideogames&field-keywords=%22dragon+age%3A+origins%22&x=20&y=17] was fantastic, but Online Pass does feel a bit like EA has switched from rewarding good behavior to punishing bad. Is EA Sports going too far?

I fully agree with this statement. The PROPER way to do this thing is to REWARD people for buying the game new, such as with free DLC or some other included product. You don't PUNISH people who don't have $60 available or don't feel like scouring slickdeals to find the game on discount. Also, with this deal, you can't lend your game to friends if they want to play online as well. As they say, you attract more bees with honey than you do vinegar.