Sony's Not a Huge Fan of EA Access

Sounds like someone is upset because they don't have that service as well. Thanks for deciding for me Sony. I couldn't have dealt with that decision myself.

Well Crysis 3 is one of the August game on PS3 for PS+ members.

Also I think it's a dumb reasoning from Sony if that's really the reason they are not offering the service (I doubt it's just that). The customers are smart enough to decide themselves if a service is a good value or not.

I don't think their jealous. its more a competition thing. also that service kinda seems like a joke unless you want out of sports games. but sure i agree give people a chance to make their own choice. i see their reasoning though.

Yeah, I don't understand how it's good for consumers to give them less options. Whether EA Access ends up actually being a good deal or not, I'd like the opportunity to make that decision for myself.

I'm happy Sony is at least attempting to limit the number of pay-us-for-these-games-monthly services that are out there. The PS+ thing is already kind of crazy and I can easily see a dystopian future (in about 2 years) where every publisher has one of these programs to get their DLC and new games. It sure would be nice if they were all under one subscription instead of 15 different ones, but I have no faith that will ever happen.

That makes no sense, if they passed on it.

I suspect this decision is one part "EA Access" being a potential future competitor to PS Now, and to some far lesser percentage, them having real concerns about it being a rip-off. I suspect, like Patrick says, they also know EA won't make a big enough deal about this, to back out of putting their games on PS Now - so they snuff out a potential competitor, and there's no real downside for them.

Personally, while I think EA Access sounds like a waste of money, I really hate when companies don't let me make these choices myself. If Sony were really that concerned with maximizing value for their consumers, multiplayer gaming would still be out from behind the PS Plus paywall (and I think PS Plus is otherwise a pretty good deal).

Give consumers choices. Let them spend money or save money as they see fit, not as you do.

Wow that Sony statement sounds real bitchy. Someone at PR must have decided it was an opportune time to pitch PS Plus. Spin spin spin!

"We think it's a bad idea... because we're already trying to sell the same sort of thing."

If EA was putting out quality titles that I wanted to play then this offer would be enticing. But most of the games they release are PC only and/or pretty bad.

The biggest scare for me is that I feel like this would further encourage EA to a free-to-play/pay-to win model because even if the games are included in subscription they are going to encourage the extra revenue. Lets not forget that this is EA we are talking about.

Their reasoning is dumb...but EA Access just seems like a bad use of $5/month unless you buy enough games to justify the 10% discount.

I said the same thing about PS+, but Sony offers a much better selection for the same price, including a lot of games i'm happy to try or that I skipped a year ago. I don't think EA has the library to match it, especially on PS4 or Xbox One.

If they're worried about Access as a competitor to PS+ then that's completely understandable but just coming out like this and saying "We think it's a bad idea" before the service even has a chance to get going seems a little premature. Rude, even.

Competition. Not to say EA's initiative will be good (because EA), but if subscription models start being served up per-publisher it means there will be less of an incentive to subscribe per-console manufacturer. It's the cable company/cable channel dynamic again.

I am completely indifferent to the decision if only for the fact that EA's recent titles leave much to be desired. I have to agree with Sony's assessment that the service doesn't bring much value. At least, it brings 0 value for me.

Well, that seems a tad uncalled for.

This service would be confusing to layer onto PS+. (And I think it's a confusing addition to GWG as well).

The suggestion I heard this a.m. was that perhaps Sony didn't want to partner b/c it would make it hard/weird to include EA games in PS+ if they might also (or instead) show up in EA's service.

I think this is really a replacement for EA's season ticket (which did not carry over to current gen consoles)- and the free games are just an add-on to make it seem more worth it or to let them charge a bit more....

Ouch. That's harsh. Guess Sony didn't want anything to compete with PS+. Interesting

While I see the argument of sony deciding for consumers, I kinda love the idea of sony giving EA the finger. Something about how ballsy it is. Besides if a year from now access ends up being successful it's not like EA would say no and putting it on sony platforms. It probably helps for me that the only games in access's first wave that really interests me is Peggle 2, with BF 4 being a distant second after the debacle it's launch was.

The issue is that "EA Access" kind of interferes any other digital stores unless they give up a lot of control to EA. I'm not surprise if Sony is a bit protective. I am not sure how "EA Access" would work at all with Steam or Gog or Amazon either. This would effectively mean no EA game could participate in "Super Themed Sale!" nor would the "digital discount" make sense because they are all digital purchases nor do these stores support staggered release dates.

In fact I've had questions about how this is going to work on Microsoft's store either beyond "it will work". I am wondering if it is just going to turn into an app that just side steps Microsoft's store...

im glad sony did it.its going to be crap anyway.

Well that is dumb, how about letting the consumers decide whether they want it or not...

I just subscribed to the service last night and paid $31.97 with my PayPal account. I can't wait to pay Dragon Age early, even if it's just for 2 hours. It's neat that the save carries over to the actual boxed copy.

As soon the hub downloaded last night I picked up Peggle 2, which I wanted since its debut. I also downloaded FIFA last night so I'll give that a try in a bit.

Also, I'm selling my copy of Madden 25 tomorrow because the EA Access program turned my disc copy into a digital one. That was neat. I hope Need for Speed Rivals becomes a Vault game soon. Either way, I can wait on that game.

Overall, I got two games and early access. Too bad I already owned a digital copy of Battlefield 4.

They probably should have been more honest and just said "yeah, we already have one of those, thanks" in their douchiest tone of voice.

This seems like it's a thing that would better serve EA to try and get people behind Origin, saddling Sony and Microsoft with it is a little odd. I can only imagine if Microsoft's Games 4 Gold was more established at this point in time that they would have passed on it too.

I'm all for Sony moderating the kind of services that appear on their platforms. EA does their thing, then before you know it Ubisoft, Activision and whoever else are offering similar services on the platform. Then you'll have issues of DLC becoming only available through said service instead of the PSN store.

You give them an inch, they take a mile. I rather Sony draw the line somewhere.

I dunno, I saw it more as Sony views this as direct competition to it's PS Now service over the PS+ service personally.

In a way, since this is an Xbox One/console exclusive for now, they're kind of also leaving out potential subscribers who use Origin on the PC. I think doing this for Origin would've probably drove more people to get subs as well.

As little respect as I have for EA right now, their service actually provides a great value for someone like me who doesn't want to shell out $60 for a sports game but does occasionally want to play. I can't say I agree with Sony's judgment on its face.

I also wonder whether this aggressive denigration of EA products could cause problems in that relationship down the road.

I had just assumed "EA Access" was available to PC on Origin....was I presumptuous? This is a serious "gap" if not. But that is an excellent point and Origin would be a great way to get subscribers and manage subscriptions.

@gaspower: I'm a preview member and I downloaded it last night. It showed up as another app. I think it was called the EA Access Hub. I opened it up and subscribed. It opened up like a mini storefront and I just downloaded the games I didn't already own just like I normally would on the Xbox Store.

I like that it turned my boxed copy of Madden into a digital copy.

Please shut up about about Sony not letting customers make the choice.

THEY ALREADY CURATE THE SHIT OUT OF THE PSN.

YOU ARE NOT MAKING DECISIONS ANYWAYS. CONSOLES ARE A DICTATORSHIP.

Sigh.

:S

Sounds like a rough deal anyways. PS+ is 59.99, EA+ is 29.99 and is much less than half the deal. You get *multiple* *free* *59.99* games every year with PS+. The total yearly value is HILARIOUSLY HIGH. I think a 2 hour preview of a game as a reward is fucking offensive! If you actually had the game 5 days early EA would be breaking historical ground. Instead they are offering an expensive, limited demo.

In the far flung future, I would gladly pay 5 bucks to EA and 5 bucks to Ubisoft every month if it meant I got NEW games as part of the deal (a la Netflix) or even a really excellent discount (50%).

But no way in hell do I need a world where there's PS+, EA+, UBI+, R*+ and so on. Not when the "deals" are the old games I didn't want in the first place and a crummy demo. Sony's on the money as far as I feel. At this moment I want to pay for 1 service on PSN, and I want it to give me deals across the board.

I get where people are coming from though on the cable/network comparisons.

Not sure how I feel though.. Like you get PS+ Sports Package that has more 2k and EA deals, or you get the PS+ RPG Package and you get more Square and Atelier and Atlus games or something.

In some ways that seems smarter than publisher specific packs/super general pack, since it still could introduce you to small / interesting games but also be a little more tailored for gamers who have really specific likes.

I can't help but think, and I could be 100% wrong, that EA charges Microsoft, and wanted to charge Sony, a fee to carry the service and Sony didn't want to pay it. It's a business decision that Sony thought wouldn't be best for them. Granted it's taking away the decision the consumer could've made if they wanted the EA service for not.

Well, that's too bad that people interested with it on PS4 won't be able to use this service, but I'm not that upset. About the only EA franchises I'm interested these days are the BioWare games, which I'm more than willing to pay full price for anyway. Assuming they're good, I mean.

I think it's stupid that sony decided value proposition for it's customers, but I also think EA as a company and game maker has been a real shit show as of late and I don't really feel like giving them any of my money unless it's for something Mass Effect related, Mirrors Edge Related, or something that actually interests me.

Also, more competition in this department will only make PS plus/competing services better so I welcome this. I'm just not going to engage it with my wallet.

@extomar: (just cc'd you on here since I'm not sure if there is also limited beta going on in PC as well that I'm not privy of but as far as I know it is Xbox One only.

Just to check, so it is on PC as well? As far as I read and I've double checked on Origin and the EAaccess press release page just now, it is still an Xbox One exclusive (for the time being perhaps). I don't own an Xbox One by the way, but thanks for letting me know how it works.

Sony's reaction is what I would expect to have come from Microsoft if the tables were turned.

Guys, c'mon, Sony was never going to join this party. Sony very explicitly walked away from the same kind of Most Favoured Nation deal Microsoft has with EA (Nintendo at one point seemed to have made the deal too, but come launch of the Wii U it seemed they'd reneged and the relationship between Big N and EA is incredibly cool as a result), and if this service wasn't explicitly part of that deal, it is at the very least feeding into it.

Well...Sony is not wrong. For half the yearly price of a Playstation Plus membership, you are getting waaaaaaay less than half the value. Wow a whopping 10% discount on EA games. Gee thanks, EA. That means for every sale, they are making more than if you bought it at the full retail price of $59.99 at a brick and mortar store. So generous of you.

Let's check in with how Sony feels about this in 12-18 months. These consoles haven't even been out a year, so OF COURSE the catalog of games isn't very big yet. If EA were to round up all those old DOSbox emulated games they sell on GOG, and emulate them on these new pc-based-consoles, the back catalog of games would increase more than 1000%. The value proposition would then be a no-brainer.

edit: Honestly though, these services that offer "free" things are probably just going to lead to a bunch of entitled bitching when the monthly selection happens to be weak.

I mean, they are right. It is competition for Plus. In the same way Origin and uPlay are competition for Steam.

I can't help but think, and I could be 100% wrong, that EA charges Microsoft, and wanted to charge Sony, a fee to carry the service and Sony didn't want to pay it.

EA charging Sony a fee to allow EA to offer a product on Sony's storefront does not sound like ... business sense.

“Playstation Plus memberships are up more than 200% since the launch of PlayStation 4, which shows that gamers are looking for memberships that offer a multitude of services, across various devices, for one low price."

This is what i hate about these statements, the major reason of the increase in PS Plus members is its necessity for playing games online. I would rather spent that 50-60 bucks on a game of my choosing then all the games PS Plus has offered so far combined. But i have to have the PS Plus membership becaus e of the multiplayer paywall.

Been a sony fanboy for life but this is a ridiculously bad decision. I was interested in EA's service it's a shame Sony gets to decide for me that I shouldn't be, apparently I'm a toddler who can't make purchasing decisions for myself. If I would rather pay a small fee monthly for a broad spectrum of games months or years after their launch than buy them for $60 at launch then that should be my decision if the publisher wants to offer that option.

This reaks of the old cocky PS3 Sony who just gave the finger to their customers and told them they know whats best. But Sony just doesn't want competitors to their service, that's all this really is, at least be honest about it instead of this lame ass "we know what's best for our customers and how they should spend their money, better than themselves" bullshit.

“PlayStation Plus memberships are up more than 200% since the launch of PlayStation 4"

Funny how that happens when you make PS+ a requirement for multiplayer games.

Considering the prices they are charging to rent one old game, the no value statement is ridiculous. I guess when $5 gets you a month of access to a number of games, their pricing of $5 for FOUR HOURS of a SINGLE game looks somewhat shitty in comparison. Where would you spend your money?

No idea why they would even comment on this. This just makes Sony look bad.

I had a similar thought. Maybe they don't think it's good value proposition but as the customer I'd like to be able to make the decision on my own. Personally I would pay $30 a year for the chance to play games a week early alone. I can't count the times when I would be quite literally counting down the hours until the release of some highly anticipated game. I would get discounts and some free games on top? Hell that doesn't sound half that bad.

Sony's response doesn't make sense. If people don't think EA access is valuable then they won't buy it. If Microsoft can have Games with Gold and EA access then Sony should be okay with PS Plus and EA Access. Let your users decide, Sony.

I really don't like the idea of ea thinking it's ok to give out of date games and demos so hopefully this helps kill the service.

Well, Sony need to do Sony first. And, they really need to look at the prices of PS Now. Some of teh now prices on some games are okay, but some are just stupid. "$4 for an hour?! How about $1, or better yet FREE you weirdos."

But, really aside form PS Now I sort of see how Sony is thinking it not a great deal because its doesn't even justify the confusion of "Hey, did I get this on EA Access, PS Now, PS Store...was this a demo from a store?" I think Sony woudl have done it is EA wasn't all over the place with this because this is like a combo of PS+ and PS Now combined because it discounts, demos, and older games. That I woudl say is Sony's biggest issue it replicates what Sony does...You can BUY EA GAMES with PSN....hello? You can play EA DEMOS from the PSN Store...hello?

So the question becomes did EA say, 'Hey were taking demos and games out of your store and now they are in our store...oh, btw we are charging your customers for that privilege." If I were Sony I would say, "Err, EA...hows' bout you eat a d_ck and choke on it too."

And here I was thinking Sony and EA were just finalizing their deal for EA Access before formally announcing it for the PS4.

Technically you're still going to be counting down the hours until the release of a game. You're just doing it a week earlier.