With practically no warning, Mega-Publisher EA announced a new service the other day called “EA Access.” This is a subscription program that allows members to download and play any game in the EA “Vault” for only $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year. Right now, that “Vault” has a limited number of games (the Xbox One, after all, has only been available since November) but that collection will grow over time.
Members will also receive a 10% discount on games and DLC – purchased digitally online, of course – assuming they don’t want to wait for new releases to be dropped into that Vault. Games already available include Madden 25, FIFA 14, Peggle 2, and Battlefield 4, and placeholders for NBA Live 14, Need For Speed Rivals, Plants vs Zombies, and UFC suggest those games will be added soon.
One more bonus feature of EA Access is a five day early access period for new releases. EA Access members will be able to play Madden 15, for example, five days before it is available at retail. Game progress made during this early access period will be saved and will carry over to the full release if the member decides to purchase it.
As a Beta tester for the Xbox One experience, I’ve signed up for EA Access before it is officially launched, and I already love it. Even if someone is looking forward to buying ONE game from EA a year, this $29.99 yearly subscription will more than pay for itself, as most new releases are $60. With EA Access, they’ll be able to play any EA game five days before anyone else and get that 10% discount if they want to buy it. If they don’t want to buy it, they can wait the (assumed) eight to nine months for that game to be available in that Vault.
I should clarify: these are full game downloads. EA Access is not to be confused with a streaming service like Sony’s “PlayStation Now” service. These are not timed demos, these are complete Xbox One games. I should also point out that I’ve already tested the feature of signing into different Xbox One consoles with my Xbox Live Gold account, updating the EA Access App, and launching games from the Vault. It’s easy, convenient, and I can’t believe how low that price is. It’s cheaper than Netflix!
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