EA’s hateful Online Pass rightfully scrapped

After much moaning and groaning, EA finally announced that it will discontinue the Online Pass codes policy. An Online Pass is that annoying serial usually featured in your game’s booklet or cover and is similar to a PC game’s CD-key.

Up until now, many of Electronic Arts’ new console and PC games required the Online Pass codes to unlock most of the games’ best features. These “bonus” features usually include multiplayer or downloadable content. The catch is that if you bought a used game that’s online virginity has been broken, you’d have to pay extra to access online features.

As reported by GamesBeat, EA’s John Reseburn says the company has “listened to the feedback and decided to do away with it moving forward.” The initial idea was to cosy up to the used games crowd and act “as a bulwark against the second-hand market.” To play the popular military FPS, Battlefield 3, for example, you need to pay 800 Microsoft Points just so that you can play multiplayer. That’s US$10 for the game’s most popular feature.

Some games did however allow you to get trial access, but you’re only given 48-hours. This means that if you rented Battlefield for instance, you’d only be able to play it once for two days. Otherwise, cough up the dough. Either way, if you care or don’t care about paying, your game buying/renting experience gets more buggy and simply annoying.

The point is Online Pass sucks, but as Reseburg said, “none of our new EA titles will include that feature as many players didn’t respond to the format.” Good news for now at least, but many skeptics think this is a nudge in a more concerning direction – a world of microtransactions or centralised server accounts. Maybe this is a sign of other game publishers like Ubisoft or THQ following suit?