Electronic Arts' recent announcement of EA Access, a Netflix-style program for Xbox One that allows you to pay $5 per month for unlimited access to a library of games, caught some off guard because it was only confirmed for Microsoft's console. As it turns out, Sony considered this program, but declined because the company felt it did not offer a strong enough value for PlayStation gamers.
"We evaluated the EA Access subscription offering and decided that it does not bring the kind of value PlayStation customers have come to expect," a Sony representative told Game Informer.
According to Sony, PlayStation fans are more interested in subscription plans that give them access to a wide range of services, unlike EA Access, which will only offer up Electronic Arts games. "PlayStation Plus memberships are up more than 200% since the launch of PlayStation 4, which shows that gamers are looking for member ships that offer a multitude of services, across various devices, for one low price," the representative said. "We don't think asking our fans to pay an additional $5 a month for this EA-specific program represents good value to the PlayStation gamer."
We have reached out to Sony for more information and will update this post with anything we hear back.
A subscription to EA Access at $5 /month or $30/year gets you unlimited access to games included in what EA calls The Vault, as well as discounts on digital content for EA games, and access to upcoming games five days before they are released to the general population. EA Access is currently in beta, and the current lineup of games includes titles like FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Battlefield 4, and Peggle 2. The service is expected to roll out to the everyone later on this summer.
EA Access is potentially damaging to GameStop, as it encourages digital spending. However, GameStop will sell EA Access memberships in its stores, and even though the retailer's stock value tumbled after yesterday's announcement, analysts say it's too early to know if EA Access will have a meaningful impact on GameStop's business.
| Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @EddieMakuch |
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