EA will offer Season Pass to PS3/Xbox 360 owners

[MrBill]

It looks as if only PS4 owners will be left without the chance to get early access to EA's flagship titles. EA Season Pass will be available for one last cycle of titles for PS3 and Xbox 360 owners. With EA Access now available for Xbox One owners, the only gamers left in the cold are the PS4 owners.

It is doubtful this was an oversight on EA's behalf. I would speculate there are two reasons to choose from as to why the PS4 was excluded. Either EA offered EA Access to Sony and Sony refused due to their focus on PS Now or Microsoft paid EA for an exclusive to help drive additional console sales. Both are solid reasons from a business perspective depending on your vantage point.

There are some noticeable differences in EA's Season Pass and Access offers, most noticeably the 10% discount on DLC purchases for Access as opposed to the 20% discount on DLC for Season Pass. That doesn't sound like a lot but for hardcore UT gamers, it could represent a non-trivial amount of money. You do get a 10% discount on digital game purchases via the Access program that is missing on Season Pass which could help offset those concerns for Xbox One owners. Also to be considered is the lack of MUT features within the Season Pass offering though it will be available in Access. Lastly, there appears to be a difference in the days of early access that will be available to gamers. On PS3 and 360, it appears it will just be 3 days and for Xbox One owners it will be 5 days.

The only real loser here is the PS4 gamer, who felt great about his or her access to the best sports titles before this situation emerged over the past few days.

Details on the latest Season Pass for PS3 and Xbox 360 owners-

EA SPORTS SEASON TICKET

Benefits of EA SPORTS Season Ticket

PLAY EARLY. PLAY MORE. PLAY BETTER

EA SPORTS Season Ticket is for our biggest and most loyal fans who can’t wait for EA SPORTS games to hit shelves each year. The benefits for EA SPORTS Season Ticket for this year include:

Early Access to Madden NFL 15, NHL 15, and FIFA 15.
24 Weeks of Ultimate Team Packs
20% discount on additional DLC
EARLY ACCESS to Madden NFL 15, NHL 15, and FIFA 15

Download your favorite EA SPORTS titles three days early and get into the action while your friends are still dreaming of throwing 40-yard bombs or ripping the back of the net. Carry forward your progress and achievements when you buy on launch day to stay ahead of the game.

24 WEEKS OF Ultimate Team Packs

Across all participating Titles

Don’t wait to build your club in Ultimate Team, compete against your friends, or test your skills in weekly global tournaments. With EA SPORTS Season Ticket, get a leg-up on your opponents with access to the following PDLC across all participating titles:

24 Pro Madden Packs (over $35 in value)
24 NHL Premium Gold Packs (over $35 in value)
24 FIFA Premium Gold Packs (over $35 in value)
Access to the above PDLC begins with Madden NFL 15. The packs listed are distributed and expire on a weekly basis.

For more information on Ultimate Team modes, check out their specific franchise sites.

20% DISCOUNT ON ADDITIONAL DLC

Want to save even more? With EA SPORTS Season Ticket you get 20% off all DLC available in all participating titles. Get more Ultimate Team packs, more players and more boosts for your money. If it’s available for purchase, you get 20% off. It’s that easy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is EA SPORTS Season Ticket*?

EA SPORTS Season Ticket is for our biggest and most loyal fans who can’t wait for EA SPORTS games to hit shelves each year.

I've bought my EA SPORTS Season Ticket. Now, how do I get Early Access?

If you have an Xbox 360, you must manually trigger the Early Access download from within EA SPORTS Central.

If you have a PS3, you must manually trigger the Early Access download from:
PlayStation® Store » View All By Title » 'letter of the game title'.

Through Early Access, do I have all of the functionality I have with the retail game?

Through Early Access you will have full functionality - including online play - with the exception of purchasing additional content and access to the Ultimate Team modes in Madden NFL 15 and NHL 15. FIFA 15 Early Access will include FIFA Ultimate Team with the ability to play and trade but the ability to purchase packs with FIFA Points will not be available.

How long does my membership last?
12 consecutive months starting on the day you subscribe. We will stop selling Season Ticket Subscriptions in March of 2015, and then all Season Ticket benefits will expire in March, 2016.

How do I renew my membership?

XBOX Live:
Are you an existing XBOX Live Gold Member? If so, login to your Xbox Live profile. Otherwise, go to XBOX Live to create an account.
Go to XBOX Live Game Library and click on EA SPORTS.
Re-purchase a 12-month Subscription.

PSN:
Sign in to your PlayStation®Network account.
Go to PlayStation®Store and search for EA SPORTS Season Ticket.
Select and purchase EA SPORTS Season Ticket for $19.99.
How do I cancel my subscription?

The subscription will automatically time-out at the end of the subscription period. There are no refunds available for the program.

With Early Release do I have all of the functionality I have with the retail game?

Yes. The early release of each game will offer full functionality – including online play – with the exception of purchasing additional downloadable content. FIFA 15 includes access to Ultimate Team modes in the Early Release, but Ultimate Team is not available in NHL 15 and Madden NFL 15 Early Release.

How do I cancel my subscription?

The subscription will automatically time-out at the end of the subscription period. There are no refunds available for the program.

With Early Release do I have all of the functionality I have with the retail game?

Yes. The early release of each game will offer full functionality – including online play – with the exception of purchasing additional downloadable content. FIFA 15 includes access to Ultimate Team modes in the Early Release, but Ultimate Team is not available in NHL 15 and Madden NFL 15 Early Release.

Are Ultimate Team games also available during the early release?

FIFA 15 includes access to Ultimate Team modes in the Early Release, but Ultimate Team is not available in NHL 15 and Madden NFL 15 Early Release.

Do all of my achievements during Early Release follow me to my retail version of the game when I purchase it?

Yes. EA SPORTS Season Ticket subscribers will keep all achievements and progress gained within the early release of each game when you purchase the title at retail.

If I buy the subscription in the middle of the year, will I get a discount off PDLC?

The EA SPORTS Season Ticket subscription will give you 12 months membership starting from the date that you purchased the program. PDLC will be available at a 20% discount and would be backwards compatible with participating titles.

What does my 20% discount on downloadable content cover?

EA SPORTS Season Ticket subscribers will receive a 20% off all paid downloadable EA SPORTS content for participating titles only.

 

[CCBrink]

:walker:

 

[Champ]

Bought a year of Season Pass yesterday. Downloaded Madden to give it a try. Wow what a horrible game.

 

[windy city]

what The Bleep.....This just the Dumbest thing i ever heard.....Time to dust off my Ps3 for a few days..Sike!!!!!

 

[buckeye]

Bought a year of Season Pass yesterday. Downloaded Madden to give it a try. Wow what a horrible game.

Lol nice try... Game isn't out yet

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[Champ]

Madden 25 schmuck

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[buckeye]

Madden 25 schmuck

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Carry on schmo

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[Cutler23]

So the PS4 got hosed on this one for madden 15

 

[ThomasTomasz]

So the PS4 got hosed on this one for madden 15

Unless Sony turned them down.....chances are we won't find out

 

[dave]

No chance I'd pay for this on last-gen.

 

[MrBill]

No chance I'd pay for this on last-gen.

Neither would I but we are older with more control over our spending. There is still a huge embedded base of PS3 and Xbox 360 owners, I would speculate that it is as high as 5:1 vs next gen in North America. It makes sense if you are trying to sell games to as many gamers as possible.

 

[Epidemik]

Sony said that they turned them down, because they felt that it does not represent a "great deal of value" to the Playstation consumer.

My take is that this keeps in line with what their message for the PS4 has been, and Microsoft offering EA Access is in line with their message of what the Xbox One has been. Don't forget, originally for the Xbox One, reselling or lending out games was difficult at the very least.

IMO a big effect of EA Season Pass/Access is to help eliminate a portion of the second hand sales, keeping more of the pie for EA in and of itself. It's an incentive to purchase more games, DLC, Ultimate Team Packs, etc same way they have rewards programs that you have to pay to be a part of (AMC Theaters, etc) and the same "deals" that PSN Plus and Xbox Live offer, except this time it is directly through EA. "If I'm already $30 dollars into this, I'm going to want to get my money's worth" and spend more in the process. If you can only download the game digitally, you can not resell the game, lend the game to a friend, etc. With the shrinking of the EA catalog in the second hand market, perhaps this will (in the future) push the prices of those second hand games upwards (as there is a distinct probability that the prices will go up as the supply goes down, as far as hard copies go).

Hasn't the argument always been shouldn't the digital games be cheaper anyway? Instead they are the same price. But if you are an EA Subscriber you get a discount and "early access."

Now there are gamers out there who don't resell their games anyway, buy all of their games digitally if they can, and buy all the DLC anyway, EA Access is without a doubt a plus for them.

IF EA Access proves to be a success, you will definitely see other studios/developers/etc doing the same.

 

[dave]

IMO, as a PS4 owner, if I want to spend my money on EA Season Pass, let me make that choice. I want to be given that choice.

 

[MrBill]

I can't help but believe that Sony's position is based largely on their focus for PS Now and their growing arrogance over their early lead in the console sales for next gen. If this gets big, it forces Sony to the table next year.

 

[dave]

I can't help but believe that Sony's position is based largely on their focus for PS Now and their growing arrogance over their early lead in the console sales for next gen. If this gets big, it forces Sony to the table next year.

PS Now completely doesn't interest me. Too expensive and I still have my PS3.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

I don't understand how it isn't a deal of great value, but that's just me. Getting access a few days early for just $5, many gamers love to get ahead. Even Call of Duty is having 24 hour early access. Like Dave said, I would have let gamers decide that, but I also understand that they have to set everything up on their network, split the cut with EA, but it's not like we are talking a middling gaming title, it's Madden. Give it all of the crap you want about the final product, but Madden is a premier title that always has high sales.

Also epidemik, I agree with all you are saying as well. The gaming companies are trying to drive digital sales, because it not only cuts out the middleman for new games, but it also cuts out the profits from used copies. Gamestop isn't the only company doing used games anymore, Best Buy and Amazon are getting involved. The game companies don't want to see that. Their line is that it would be cheaper, but that's not going to be the case. They want to pocket the money they would be paying Best Buy, Amazon, Gamestop, etc for selling the new copy, hence why it is still full-price for many games to buy digitally.

It sucks, but that's what it is. I never sell my games, and wouldn't mind a digital turn in the end, but I still prefer my physical copy, especially if it's not going to be cheaper.

 

[MrBill]

EA has just posted on their EA Access facebook page that Madden 15 will have a timed game play limit of 6 hours over the 5 days you have access to the game. It makes it a lot less of a sure thing for the hard core sports gaming crowd as that equates to about 3-4 games tops before time expires. I think it will make a lot of people go to the $4.99 subscription for one month to get Madden 15 for 6 hours rather than just sign up for $29.99 on the annual plan to get all of the games early.

 

[Glenbino]

Will people who signed up for the $30 EA Access be able to amend their purchase since this was just revealed today?

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[MrBill]

Will people who signed up for the $30 EA Access be able to amend their purchase since this was just revealed today?

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I would certainly hope so. That's the kind of issue that was caused by not spelling out the terms and conditions up front.