The Digital Future: Why EA’s New Subscription Service is Great for Gamers

Ok, so let’s get a big piece of news out of the way first. Earlier today, EA announced that they will be launching a new subscription service, exclusively on the Xbox One. Right now, EA Access is still in Beta stage, however, for $5.00 a month, you’ll get access to four EA games: Fifa 14, Madden 25, Battlefield 4, and Peggle 2. EA has said that more games “will be added soon.” In addition, subscribers will get 10% off of EA digital products – everything from full games to DLC – as well as early access to games a week before they are released. The next batch of EA sports games, as well as Dragon Age: Inquisition will be made available for subscribers in this early access program. While it hasn’t launched yet, EA is promising that it will be launched soon.

You know what? Let’s all take a minute and give EA a round of applause. This is a publisher that gets a ton of crap from gamers, and largely for good reason. But seriously, let’s put all that behind us. This is EA turning a new leaf, legitimately doing something in the interest of gamers. Of course, this does benefit them as well, but it does so in a way that isn’t abusive to gamers (I’m looking at you, Gamestop credit card and your ridiculous 27% interest rate). $5.00 a month, for unlimited access to four games, is a steal. And these aren’t old games, all of them are less than a year old at this time. Basically, you’ll be paying $1.25 for each game. You know what that’s going to do to used games, and physical products in general? It’s going to annihilate them.

I can’t walk into a Gamestop and buy Peggle 2 for $1.25. Not just because of the price, but because, well, Peggle 2 is a digital game. But the same is true of the other three games as well. A quick trip to Gamestop’s web site will reveal that a pre-owned copy of Battlefield 4 will cost you $34.99, plus tax. There’s absolutely no contest between this new service and Gamestop’s price. Sure, the price of this service may rise as more games are added to EA Access. But think about it this way: eventually, you’re most likely going to get access to EA’s entire back catalogue. That’s dozens, if not hundreds, of games. Sure, the newest releases won’t be available through this service. It will probably work like Marvel Unlimited, in that there will be a period of six or nine months before new games are added to the service.

But guess what? If you can’t wait, you’re going to get 10% off of all of those new releases, if you buy them digitally. Again, that’s cheaper than what you would pay for a game at Gamestop, or any other retailer for that matter. Let’s use Dragon Age: Inquisition as an example. Let’s say that you pay the $5.00 for EA Access. First of all, you get to play a trial of the game a week before it’s even released, completely free of charge (aside from the monthly fee), and your save from that trial will carry over into the full game, which you’ll get for $54.00. Sure, you could subtract the monthly fee from what you’ll save on buying the game, but even then, you’re still $1.00 ahead of the game. Plus, if you go that route, you’re getting access to four other games and the trial completely free. It’s a ridiculously good offer.

And it benefits two parties: the gamer, who gets enjoyment out of the game, and the publisher/developer, who puts that money into creating more games for the gamers to play. It doesn’t benefit the retailer, who has proven themselves to be an abusive third party, especially recently. This is great because it cuts out the middleman. Consumers should be buying directly from the creator – they built the game, after all. Plus, the less we rely on a third party retailer, the lower prices become. It’s simple economics, at that point. Right now, two parties have to make a profit, if that number is cut in half, then we will see a decrease in prices. Maybe not immediately, and maybe not drastically. But the $59.99 price tag is going to be completely eliminated once digital becomes the number one way people purchase games.

Frankly, this is a message on EA’s part. As it turns out, gamers are’t the only ones fed up with retailers, publishers are as well. Lower prices could generate more revenue for companies like EA, as it would lead to more consumption of their product. Star Wars: Battlefront is already going to sell a ton of copies. But could you imagine how many more copies it would sell if it was $44.99? $29.99? Yes, I know that that last figure is a little ridiculous, so don’t get your hopes up. But eventually, we may very well get there. And if EA Access performs well, you can definitely expect other publishers, especially Ubisoft, to follow suit, and offer similar programs.

Again, as gamers, this is something we should welcome with open arms. It’s the future, and it’s a future that is more beneficial to us than a third party retailer. And it’s glorious.