Origin Access $4.99/£3.99 PC game subscriptions announced by EA

[HEXUS]

And Amazon starts to give 20% discounts on boxed new games to Prime members.

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[Jaffo]

Good deal, will be great if they start doing annual and cross-platform subs too.

[maxp779]

So pay monthly to give EA slightly less money than you would otherwise. And its probably cancelled out by the fact you have to pay monthly.

Yeah think ill pass :/

[Kirano]

So pay monthly to give EA slightly less money than you would otherwise. And its probably cancelled out by the fact you have to pay monthly.

Yeah think ill pass :/

The cheapest I've managed to find the basic version of Dragon Age: Inquisition is about £10-12 pounds. So, that would be three months worth of Origin Access before paying monthly costs me more than buying seperately so I disagree that it's slightly less than you would otherwise. And that's just one of the 15 games in the vault. Some of them are dirt cheap now but the newwer battlefield titles aren't, if you're interested in that kind of thing.

There's a point in that you don't own the games so once you stop paying the games are gone. I think it dfepends on your gaming habits. I rarely revist things these days (too many new things that take my attention) so even just getting it for one month to play Inquisition would be a cracking deal for me. For people who go back to things again and again, perhaps not so much, depends on many other titles you would be likley to play.

There's also the 10% off all purchases and opportunity to play games before release. If you're someone who regularly pre-orders/buys on release (I utterly don't but this could apply to some) then actually, you'd probably save more than 3.99 you'd be paying for the opportunity to save that money (if that makes sense...), possibly even more if, on playing early, you decide it isn't for you...

I think, like most subscription services, its incredibly dependant on what you use and how often you use it. Several years ago, I would never have considered something like netflix or an amazon prime account for videos, tv, books etc. to be worthwhile for me. Having picked up a free six months of amazon prime as a student and seeing the huge range that's available, I'm rethinking slightly.

Origin Access... I'm still undecided, though I can see strong merits to it, and it would certainly be the cheapest way for me to spend a month playing Inquisition to death, maybe get some early play time with Unravelled to see if I like it before release...

[PorcupineTime]

I liked the idea of the EA access on XBone, although I don't have one, so I could potentially be swayed by Origin Access.

Amazon Prime is beginning to tempt me more and more. I tried a free trial over Christmas and really enjoyed the next day delivery and Amazon music. Considering how much I watch on Netflix I'm sure I'd find something on Amazon-Instant-Love-Video-Film-Whatever-it's-called-now to watch.

That said, I rarely buy physical copies of games anymore, and I'm even less likely to buy it around release day.

[OilSheikh]

I still don't buy PC games.
You just can't resell them and get back 90% of the money back like console games.

Every PC game has to be tied to a Steam, upLAY or a Origin account/ Gone are the days when it used to be a Product Key

[shaithis]

I still don't buy PC games.
You just can't resell them and get back 90% of the money back like console games.

Every PC game has to be tied to a Steam, upLAY or a Origin account/ Gone are the days when it used to be a Product Key

90% back? I have purchased all my XB1 and PS4 games second-hand and have paid between 7 and 20 pounds per title. Their value plummets like a rock and I don't see anyone selling anywhere near 90% of purchase price.

Most PC games from key stores cost less than what you lose on a console game over its first few months.

As for Origin Access.....they need to add a LOT of titles before I would even consider it.

[Wrinkly]

I just use Steam and then Utorrent for anything I can't get on Steam.

[Macman]

Shocking.

[big_hairy_rob]

Terrible economy here, unless you're buying more than one game per month & don't own the archive games that you want to play. Terrible idea.

[LeetyMcLeet]

In no way is this is good deal for the consumer lol.

[MaddogPepper]

In no way is this is good deal for the consumer lol.

As a consumer subscribing to EA Access on XB One for under £20 a year I have played for free: Dragon Age Inquisition, UFC, NHL 15, Madden 25, Plants vs Zombies, Battlefield Hardline, the new Need for Speed (10 hrs free), Star wars Battlefront (10hrs free and a week before anyone else could). Surely that is a cracking deal? I know the PC vault isn't quite there yet and it is more expensive but still it is great value IMHO.

[Saracen]

....

There's a point in that you don't own the games so once you stop paying the games are gone. I think it depends on your gaming habits. I rarely revist things these days (too many new things that take my attention) so even just getting it for one month to play Inquisition would be a cracking deal for me. For people who go back to things again and again, perhaps not so much, depends on many other titles you would be likley to play.

....

I think, like most subscription services, its incredibly dependant on what you use and how often you use it. Several years ago, I would never have considered something like netflix or an amazon prime account for videos, tv, books etc. to be worthwhile for me. Having picked up a free six months of amazon prime ....

....

I agree entirely with that, and it's a substantial part of why I don't, and won't in the future, use these subscription services. The notion of having of get approval from an American corporation before I can re-install, and/or play games I've "bought" is why I won't use steam, never mind monthly sub services, and that applies to films, music albums and games.

If I want it and can buy it, outright (like a physical CD) fine, I'll buy. But I'm not interested in 'renting access'.

It does indeed depend on gaming habits, and music listening and film watching habits, and I do revisit games, etc, regularly. For me, Origin Account? Nah, not happening. If that's the only way to play EA games, it just means I won't be playing EA games. So be it.

[jim]

I agree entirely with that, and it's a substantial part of why I don't, and won't in the future, use these subscription services. The notion of having of get approval from an American corporation before I can re-install, and/or play games I've "bought" is why I won't use steam, never mind monthly sub services, and that applies to films, music albums and games.

If I want it and can buy it, outright (like a physical CD) fine, I'll buy. But I'm not interested in 'renting access'.

It does indeed depend on gaming habits, and music listening and film watching habits, and I do revisit games, etc, regularly. For me, Origin Account? Nah, not happening. If that's the only way to play EA games, it just means I won't be playing EA games. So be it.

I wouldn't expect you to be interested, but in a way I feel that the subscription approach makes more sense from someone of your persuasion.

What I mean by that is that a service like Steam requires you to buy the game, and then considers it legally to be a subscription that they can withdraw - and if they go bust then you lose the service altogether. Which is clearly objectionable, and an ethically / legally dubious position.

At least in the instance of a subscription, whether that is for Sky TV, Spotify or Origin Access, you pay (presumably) per month, and if the service is withdrawn or you decide you don't want it any more, perhaps because the service isn't meeting your expectations, you cancel and that's the end of it, you cease to pay. There's no ambiguity.

I'm not interested at the present price point or with the list of games, but as a concept I think it does make sense. There are some games out there which I'd happily play through over the course of a month in exchange for a cheap subscription that I could subsequently cancel, and if I really loved the games I could then purchase them at a far lower price a year or two later for future re-runs.

[Saracen]

I wouldn't expect you to be interested, but in a way I feel that the subscription approach makes more sense from someone of your persuasion.

What I mean by that is that a service like Steam requires you to buy the game, and then considers it legally to be a subscription that they can withdraw - and if they go bust then you lose the service altogether. Which is clearly objectionable, and an ethically / legally dubious position.

At least in the instance of a subscription, whether that is for Sky TV, Spotify or Origin Access, you pay (presumably) per month, and if the service is withdrawn or you decide you don't want it any more, perhaps because the service isn't meeting your expectations, you cancel and that's the end of it, you cease to pay. There's no ambiguity.

I'm not interested at the present price point or with the list of games, but as a concept I think it does make sense. There are some games out there which I'd happily play through over the course of a month in exchange for a cheap subscription that I could subsequently cancel, and if I really loved the games I could then purchase them at a far lower price a year or two later for future re-runs.

I take the point about Sky TV (etc) but, illogical though it may be, I see that type of service as different. Firstly, the wife wants the TV options. Second, it's bundled with high speed broadband (not Sky) and phone line. Third, the TV sub really is for a constantly changing set of TV programming. Fourth, the wife still wants it.

Games, films and movies, however, I see differently. For games and music, if I want it enough to pay for it (as opposed, for instance, to broadcast radio services) then I buy the CD. Games, I might play a lot for a short period and not again for months or years, or I might play a little bit, over a very long time. For instance, I have a couple of racing games (Superbikes and motoGP) that I pretty much only ever play when two or more of a small group of us get together, but we've been doing that for, oh, 20 years or so.

So, with a purchase, I decide up front, is that specific game, or CD, or film, is it worth £x? With a subscription, I just pay £y/month, whether I get value from it or not. My circumstances are such that I regularly spend lengthy periods, from days to a month or more, away from home and often at short notice. Sometimes, I go for a long weekend and end up not coming home for weeks. And at that 'second home', I don't have a net connection that can be relied on. At best, it's slow, and a fair bit of the time, non-existent. And to be honest, I like it that way. It's a quiet, relatively remote, country lifestyle and the absence of a 'proper' internet connection, while occasionally irritating, is also very much part of the appeal.

So I'd either be paying a monthly sub for something I spend several months of the year unable to access, or I'd spend lots of time starting and stopping subscriptions.

It's the same basic reasoning for why I'm not interested in Office 365, why there's no way I'd buy an Xbox One that required an always-on connection, why I still haven't stopped fuming at Adobe over going subscription-only for Photoshop, etc.

I can see why you might think a subscription service might suit me but, truly, it doesn't. I regard ANY regular payment as a drag. Believe it or not, I have exactly one regular payment, and that's for that TV/BB/phone subscription because, you know, the wife wants it. Other than that, I'd cheerfully dump all three. I even pay utilities, water rates, etc in advance, annually in the case of water rates.

[Froggywoggy]

I like this idea. I would never use it (my last Steam purchase was over a year ago). But for those who like to try something new regularly, especially with iterative games like Battlefield, I think this is perfect - especially as the total price per year is equivalent to one full-priced release.