EA has recently announced a brand new subscription-based programme called EA Access. Similar to Games with Gold and PlayStation Plus, subscribers will be able to play EA published games at no addition cost, apart from the subscription fee, of course. Players will have access to The Vault, an ever evolving library of games, as long as their subscription is active. In the beginning, EA Access will allow you to download FIFA 14, Battlefield 4, Madden NFL 25 and Peggle 2 with more games being added soon.
In addition to this, EA Access will grant you a 10 per cent discount on all digital content, including full games and DLC. Subscribers will also be able to play timed trials of games a week before their launch; with the ability to carry over saves, should users decide to purchase that particular title. All upcoming EA games — Madden NFL 15, NHL 15, FIFA 15, NBA Live 15 and Dragon Age: Inquisition utilise this feature. EA Access is a great service that provides consumers a cost efficient way of playing games. It is excellent for gamers with a broad taste and for those who aren’t willing to purchase games on launch.
As of now, this service is exclusive to Xbox One. Sony has stated that they were approached by EA, but they do not believe it provides good value for PlayStation 4 owners. This is obviously their way of hiding the fact that they don’t want EA Access to directly compete with PlayStation Plus and PS Now. It’s worth noting that if EA Access is a success, other publishers, like Ubisoft and Take-Two, might announce their own subscription-based services, further decrementing the value of PlayStation Plus and Games with Gold.
EA Access will cost $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year and is open to everyone, irrespective of whether they are an Xbox Live Gold member or not.
