The main question after EA announced its new games subscription program, Access, on Tuesday was "Why Microsoft-exclusive?" It turns out the "exclusivity" in this case might not have been by choice.
A Sony representative had this to say to Game Informer, after saying the company had "evaluated" the EA Access offering:
"PlayStation Plus memberships are up more than 200 percent since the launch of PlayStation 4, which shows that gamers are looking for memberships that offer a multitude of services, across various devices, for one low price. 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."
EA Access offers a selection of older EA titles on loan, for a subscription fee.
Sony's thoughts apparently echo my own—as I wrote yesterday, I don't look forward to a games industry where managing a dozen different subscriptions to publishers is the norm. And on top of that, EA Access offers a paltry selection of games at the moment.
Will it catch on, though? Maybe. I wouldn't rule it out. And if there's enough demand, I also wouldn't be surprised to see Sony change its mind later on down the line—they have to go where the industry goes, even if "where the industry goes" is to a dark, unfathomable hellhole of convoluted subscription fees.
EA Access is rolling out in beta form to select Xbox One users now. Upon launch the service will cost $5 per month or $30 per year, and the first four games lined up for the service are Battlefield 4, Madden 25, FIFA 14, and Peggle 2.
This story, "Sony thinks EA's new $5/mo. games subscription plan isn't worth the money" was originally published by TechHive.