Brendon Fredin - Why the EA Online Pass Hurts More Than It Helps

Source Article - http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/16/hitman-absolution-contracts-mode-wont-require-online-pass-in/ - Joystiq – Xav de Matos

 

                With the recent announcement that the upcoming Hitman: Absolution will be having free online multiplayer in the form of it's Contracts game mode and is ditching the EA Online Pass for North American gamers, it got me thinking, why do we have this pass? What purpose does it serve?

                In my honest opinion, this pass is completely redundant. It hurts more then it helps. Time for a weird analogy. The EA Online Pass is like Communism. Both sounded great on paper, and then proceeded to become hated and unpopular in practice. It not only increases the cost of games in general, but hurts the used game market. Yes, used games hurt companies in terms of profits but they help the consumer out greatly. Not everyone has $50 to spend on a game and some are willing to wait for a used version to come in. With games coming close to $60-70 now because of this Online Pass, this only hurts those who want to purchase used games. Having to buy the game, and then head to the online store to purchase an online pass seems to be less user-friendly. What happened to the days where you bought a game and you didn't have to pay extra money to unlock anything?

                Another weird fact is that the EA Online Pass can expire. Really? So you will make us purchase a BRAND NEW GAME THAT HAS NEVER BEEN OPENED EVEN THOUGH IT'S BEEN OUT FOR A FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME with the off chance that even though they paid $60-70 for that game, they have a chance they now they have to pay an extra $10 on top of that to be able to play the multiplayer? That's completely insane. EA shuts down servers that have less than 1% of peak players for that particular game. Imagine a gamer buying a used game, buying the online pass, and the learning that the pass they just bought won't work in 2 months when the servers shut down.

                EA is taking a step backwards here. The online pass serves no purpose other than to line EA's already lined pockets. Gamers hate DRM, and consoles were the last safe haven. I hope other game companies and developers stay away from this style of restriction. I paid $60 for the game, I shouldn't have to worry about weather the pass is expired or not.