If you’ve purchased an EA title recently, you’re probably familiar with their very unpopular Online Pass system. Players require an Online Pass to access certain game features, like online multiplayer. That’s fine if you purchase a new copy of the game (which includes a pass), but if you purchase a secondhand copy or borrow the game from a friend, you’re forced to buy a new pass before you can play online. Gamers obviously weren’t happy with this arrangement, with many viewing it as a way for EA to still profit from used game sales. Well, EA has listened and according to VentureBeat, they are nixing the Online Pass system:
“We’re discontinuing Online Pass,” EA senior director of corporate communications John Reseburg confirmed to VentureBeat in an email. “None of our new EA titles will include that feature.”
Games like Battlefield 3 that currently use the Online Pass system will continue to do so, but no future EA titles will include it. Maybe EA is trying to change gamers’ view of their business practices, or perhaps they’re just trying to stand out from competitors like Ubisoft and Activision who continue to make use of similar systems. Either way, I think this is good news.
Breanna has been gaming since infancy, if gnawing on an unattended controller counts as playing a game. One of the younger members of the Gaming Trend family, she dabbled in PC games as a kid but wasn't fully consumed by the hobby until the sixth generation of consoles. Now an avid PC and console gamer, she looks forward to the day when she can scape together enough cash to join the next gen club.
In the last week of middle school, a math teacher taught her how to program a calculator; she was pretty much hooked then and there. Currently working towards a degree in Computer Science and Applied Math, Breanna hope to someday make games instead of just writing about them. Other hobbies include playing guitar, binge-watching Netflix, and cooking delicious food.
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