Battlefield 3 Requires Online Pass For Consoles

Owen Good on Kotaku confirmed this week that Battlefield 3 will require an online pass in order to play the game online. The pass comes with every new copy of the game and if you do not have a pass, it costs $10 to acquire one. EA has been slowly integrating the online pass requirement for all the multiplayer components of their games recently, with titles like Dead Space 2 and Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit requiring it in addition to all of their sports titles.

Why is it a big deal? Mainly because it's becoming the best trend to combat used game sales. One of the biggest battles videogame publishers have been faced with in recent history is used game sales, namely through GameStop. Buying a slightly used game for a few bucks cheaper seems like a great deal for the consumer, but none of the money goes back to the developers while GameStop sees all the profit. Many gamers that buy used copies have been outraged as they are now essentially paying for a new game where these online passes make up the difference in price.

In my opinion, these online passes are genius. GameStop is a nice store and it's given me a great place to get some of my money back on games I no longer play or didn't like, but the used sales business as a whole is very damaging from my point of view. The dawn of online gaming and connectivity has made it easier to track the effects of used sales and many companies are seeing startling results. Heavy Rain reportedly had 2 million copies sold, but close to 3 million people have played the game online, meaning nearly 1 million units and anywhere between $5 to $10 million dollars in royalties that it's developer lost. As someone who wants to be involved in the development of games, seeing series lose large chunks to used games is concerning to me. The PC went through a similar even in the late 90's when CD keys became a standard and now we are starting to see a similar revolution in the console market and I fully support any means to try and make it more attractive to by games new. Anything that can help raise developers see more money from their sales to raise the quality level of new IPs or create sequels to critical successes is a positive in my book. What do you think? Do you agree with online codes to promote buying games new? Do you hate it and want to see in ban hammered? Sound off below!!!

Origin And Digital Distribution

Over at Kotaku this week, Mike Fahey posted an interesting article about Electronic Arts plans to expand their digital distribution service, Origin. Origin is EA's re-branding of their online store and the beginning of a new service that can be installed on computers for PC gamers to digitally download their games. The article cited EA chief financial officer Eric Brown saying that install numbers of Origin has reached "about 4 million" and that 3rd party game support is coming "very soon" to the platform to make it a more complete service.


As a PC gamer, I am having a mixed bag reaction with this news on Origin. Digital distribution is in the midst of revolutionizing the way games are distributed and played on PC, completely cutting out the need for brick and mortar shop with a packaged product by delivering your gaming content directly to your household over the Internet. You don't have to browse through stores for the last copy of a popular title, the game is conveniently located in a browser that you can buy and download in a few mouse clicks. It is making PC gaming much more accessible than in the past. Origin adding extra games to their library adds competition to the scene, it forces prime digital retailers like Direct2Drive or Steam to give out better deals and improve their service. It can only help me as a consumer trying to get the best bang for my buck. 


On the other hand though, there is some potential downside. EA's Origin has caused some conflict with Valve and it's Steam service. Steam's estimated 40 million users have seen Crysis 2 and Dragon Age 2 disappear from the store over night, while Battlefield 3 and Star Wars The Old Republic have already been confirmed to not be receiving a release on the platform from EA. The "4 million" installs that Eric Brown claims seems less to do with the service flourishing and rather because EA is essentially trying to power play you into using it's client now with the promise of content later. Ironically, I see this as discouraging to the whole digital distribution market. If EA can get 4 million people to download it's Origin because its the only way to get their games, why wouldn't other companies do the same? I could easily see Activision make it's own service to distribute Call of Duty or Ubisoft for Assassin's Creed if they get to control their product more and receive a larger chunk of the sales. It's a worst case scenario that could prevent me from getting good deals, as a gamer it would splinter up the large communities that surround streamlined programs like Steam, and it would make digital downloads more of a hassle managing multiple accounts and programs to get the games I want.


Maybe everything works out and Origin seamlessly co-exists with other services that are out there. Maybe it burns and crashes when it can't sell more than the exclusive games it offers. Maybe it is a sign of things to come and the end of the market as we know it. I am content with my gaming cloud on Steam, but I'm willing to see what Origin has to offer and any other distribution services that may be in the works if it enhances my gaming experience. It's something I'll be keeping a close eye on as we get closer to the launch of the holiday season. What do you think of EA's move into the digital market? Sound off below!