Well, here’s an interesting way for a publisher to deliver games – EA have just announced a partnership with Microsoft which will give Xbox One owners access to subscription-based service named EA Access offering many of EA’s games for a monthly or annual fee.
It’s something akin to PlayStation Plus, though with EA games, and subscriptions start from £3.99, with an annual membership for the low cost of £19.99. The beta will be rolling out very soon, and then it’ll be available for all Xbox One owners in the near future.
FIFA 14, Madden NFL 14, Peggle 2, and Battlefield 4 are the first four games available in the beta phase, and these can be played “with the click of a button” (though presumably after a download, rather than streaming). Subscribers will also be able to save 10% on EA games purchased through the Xbox Games Store.
Furthermore, trials for games such as Madden NFL 15, NHL 15, FIFA 15, NBA Live 15, and Dragon Age: Inquisition will be available five days before general release. These trials will be more substantial than demos it seems, with your progress carrying over to the full game upon purchase.
This seems like a really good idea, and hopefully it’ll make its way to PlayStation platforms, though perhaps due to the similarities to Sony’s own service, we won’t be seeing it any time soon. Also, does this perhaps mean that we won’t be seeing EA games on PS+ in the future? Only time will tell.
PILLAI7
There is something similar to the last paragraph regarding playing games 5 days before release and that’s the EA Sports Season Ticket although it’s only for their sports games
Nocure-fd
It seems like good value, but I want a few more details before coming to that conclusion.
EA have finally done enough that I’m not likely to buy any of their franchises in the near future. I might look into Mass effect 4 (or whatever it ends up being called). But no way will I pre-order. And I’ll wait for reviews I can trust (thanks TSA!) before going for a purchase.