UPDATE: EA has confirmed that it has "discontinued" its Online Pass program from all Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 titles, and is in the process of removing the requirement from existing games.
A post on EA's Help Center details the move, which EA says will take "several weeks" to complete.
"For new EA titles, Online Pass will no longer be needed or included," says the post. "Additionally, we are in the process of eliminating Online Pass requirements from existing EA games. This process will take several weeks. For some games, the prompt to enter an Online Pass code will no longer appear; for others, you will still need to download and install an Online Pass, but they will be available free of charge from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace or PlayStation Store."
The latest EA Sports titles will be the first titles to have their Online Pass requirement revoked, rolling out to additional titles in the weeks that follow.
"We listened to the feedback from players, and decided to do away with Online Pass," EA continues. "We hope that eliminating Online Pass will allow more people to play and enjoy EA games for a long time to come."
ORIGINAL STORY: EA has removed the pay wall for VIP & Online Passes on a selection of older Xbox 360 titles.
The move follows comments from EA Sports earlier this month revealing that the publisher would be dropping its controversial Online Pass program from future releases.
It means that second-hand users are able to access the online components and/or bonus content supplied with new copies of each game, and which typically require users to register a one-time use code.
Games with Online/VIP Passes reduced to zero currently include Mass Effect 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Alice: Madness Returns, Bulletstorm, Shift 2: Unleashed, Medal of Honor, Dragon Age 2 & more.
The passes are still listed at their original price on PlayStation Network, however, and it's not yet known whether more titles will be added to the list in the future.
VideoGamer.com has contacted EA for comment.
Source: Xbox.com (via NeoGAF)
User Comments
XxFIFASKILLSxX
guyderman
BrySkye@ pblive
Of course there will still be 7th gen versions for now, and those would still benefit EA if they kept it... Let's hope there isn't a sting in the tail in that regard.
It is possible that this years annual EA Sports releases might be the last for 7th Gen systems, unless the PS4 and Xbox One have a very slow adoption rate throughout 2014.
Though personally I think the annual releases due next year will be the final ones for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
pblive
Endless@ BrySkye
I dont buy it myself, but it paints them in a good light in the ongoing DRM saga whether they're being totally honest or not.
tvr77@ BrySkye
The online passes EA have scrubbed away are for this generation of games and Microsofts drm plans are for next gen so in this case i would not say there redundant at all.
BrySkye@ Endless
What brings you to that conclusion?
The truth is that Mircrosofts DRM plans have made the concept of online passess redundant for EA.
Remember that EA announced they would be discontinuing online passes for future games before the Xbox One reveal, and also given their prominent appearance on stage, it's nigh on impossible to believe they weren't fully aware of it.
The mystery is why they would also do this to their backlog of 7th gen titles.
Endless@ BrySkye
On one hand it gives EA some good publicity and for reasons unbeknownst to us indicates that EA may not have had any part in Microsofts DRM plans.
On the other you still have to wonder why a company with EA's reputation would suddenly decide to 'listen to the fans' and become this good samaritan in the wake of Xbox One's DRM fiasco. Are we truly to believe they've turned over a new leaf?
It's interesting that none of the Publishers that would benefit the most from the Xbox One DRM have actually put their voce into the mix yet. No-one has said they support that level of DRM or not. Despite them getting a not insignificant pay out from it if it remains as is. Perhaps essentially because of the public backlash, they dont want to be seen supporting something that is so hated. Especially when MS may still decide to lessen the DRM measures in light of the negative response.
Either way it's a good thing for the people sticking with the current gen for a bit, or maybe to little too late. I know there are a good many games I simply just didnt stick with because of the online pass; need for speed hot pursuit being the biggest one that springs to mind.
Smart move. Or suspicious move. Only time and some clarity on next gen DRM will tell.
BrySkye@ tvr77
It's generally not considered a coincidence that EA said they were not going to use online passes in the future and shortly afterwards we get some admittedly mixed messages from MS about games being locked to accounts and consoles.
I do think it's interesting that they are also removing them from games that have already been released though, especially since it's not just old ones.
Some have said this is a good indicator that the PS4 will also have some kind of DRM restrictions or control over used games, and while that's possible, I'm not sure what we can really read into this particular move.
It's not like these games could be played on either the Xbox One or PS4 since neither system is backwards compatible, so why would EA remove their anti-used game tactic from the formats that do not use DRM for retail disc games?
What direct relation could we draw with this move?
Well if I were to be very cynical, the big Xbox 360 Dashboard update planned for this year which will function as a preview of sorts for the Xbox One could add some of this DRM functionality into the existing Xbox 360.
The same could, perhaps, happen with the PS3.
Now wouldn't that be a bugger.
tvr77@ FantasyMeister
BrySkye@ FantasyMeister
pblive
Clockpunk
FantasyMeister
"The decisions to retire older EA games are never easy. The development teams and operational staff pour their hearts into these games almost as much as the customers playing them and it is hard to see one retired. But as games get replaced with newer titles, the number of players still enjoying the older games dwindles to a level -- typically fewer than 1% of all peak online players across all EA titles -- where it’s no longer feasible to continue the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping these games up and running."
later this year.