EA discontinues controversial Online Pass program

Written by Brandon Hofer on May 16, 2013

Online Pass News: Future EA video games will no longer require an online pass to take advantage of online features like multiplayer.

The online pass is a contentious subject around gamers ever since EA introduced it in the summer of 2009 with Madden NFL 10. An online pass was included in every copy of Madden that year and you had to input the one-use code if you wanted access to the football game’s online features. This wasn’t a problem for everyone who bought the game brand new from their favorite store since each new copy had a code. If you bought the game used, however, it was a different matter. People who walked in to buy a pre-owned copy of Madden NFL 10 (and subsequent EA games) would have to purchase an online pass independent of their used game purchase. Generally speaking the online pass would cost around $10 with a lot of games giving you a two or three day online trial to see if an online pass would be something you would like to purchase.

Well, it seems like the Online Pass is going away, at least as far as EA is concerned, as the company has discontinued its online pass program, according to GamesBeat. EA senior director of corporate communications John Reseburg told the publication that “many players didn’t respond to the format.”

Of course the online pass was conceived as a way to try and slow the sales of used games. When you buy a new game from GameStop, then the publisher/developer gets money for their work and you are supporting the industry. When you buy a used game from GameStop the publisher and developer are not seeing money at all, as it goes straight into the pockets of GameStop. One of the things people tend to forget is that the gaming industry is a business, not a charity. Companies need to make money, period.

If you want to see a Battlefield 5, then Battlefield 4 had better sell well. Look at Medal of Honor, for example. The last two Medal of Honor titles reviewed poorly and were lackluster overall. EA recently announced that Medal of Honor was being taken “out of rotation,” which means it will probably be a long time before you see another Medal of Honor game. Medal of Honor wasn’t making money and so EA eliminated the IP from its portfolio, at least for the time being.

Of course, EA wasn’t the only company to utilize the online pass. It has become a common practice now to see an online pass included with a good number of games that feature a multiplayer mode. Other companies such as THQ, Warner Bros, Sony, and more seemed to like the idea and began including these passes in their games too.

With EA revealing that it will no longer be participating in the online pass initiative, do you think other companies will follow suit? Will Online Passes be a thing of the past one day, perhaps sooner rather than later? Do Online Passes even matter to you?