# EA: The damage Online Passes caused to our reputation > money we made off them



## steveht93 (Jun 13, 2013)

*EA: Online Passes "are dead".
*



> EA labels president Frank Gibeau has said the firm nixing Online Pass had nothing to do with Xbox One?s digital rights management system. Speaking with Joystiq at E3, Gibeau said the Online Pass program has been ?deep-sixed? and is ?at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.?
> 
> ?We?re not crafting a strategy to bring [Online Pass] back, you will not input codes to unlock your game, it?s not going to happen,? he said, even referring to the Online Pass program at one point as ?flat out dumb.?
> 
> ...



Source:


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## blakstealth (Jun 13, 2013)

Glad they owned up to it.


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## Zaru (Jun 13, 2013)

I guess getting named worst company and generally bad rep finally reached the higher-ups there.


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## Naruto (Jun 13, 2013)

Glad to hear it.


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## Canute87 (Jun 13, 2013)

Zaru said:


> *I guess getting named worst company and *generally bad rep finally reached the higher-ups there.



Twice **


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## Magic (Jun 13, 2013)

Zaru said:


> I guess getting named worst company and generally bad rep finally reached the higher-ups there.


Hahaha worst company in U.S.


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## Naruto (Jun 13, 2013)

Canute87 said:


> Twice **



Which, lets be fair, was far from accurate.

I dislike EA as much as the next guy, but worst company in America? Not even close.


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## Kaitou (Jun 13, 2013)

Watch them pull another scheme out of their ass.


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## ShadowReij (Jun 13, 2013)

Why do I doubt that sentiment? 

Either way they're gone nothing to see here.


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## Overwatch (Jun 13, 2013)

It's a start. They're still a long way from sainthood, but I'm glad progress is being made.


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## Death-kun (Jun 13, 2013)

If they stick true to their word I might not even feel bad about supporting them a little bit by buying Battlefront 3 and (possibly) Battlefield 4.


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## Canute87 (Jun 13, 2013)

Naruto said:


> Which, lets be fair, was far from accurate.
> 
> I dislike EA as much as the next guy, but worst company in America? Not even close.



Goes to show you just how influential the gaming community is.  They aren't a dying breed as some people think. Running after casuals, bleh.


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## Raidou Kuzunoha (Jun 13, 2013)

> “Look, they own it, they bought the disc and it’s theirs. They have a legitimate right for not doing anything illegal,”



Is that why you partnered up with Microsoft and support a machine that makes gamers RENT their games and console?

Don't bullshit a bullshitter.


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## Naruto (Jun 13, 2013)

Canute87 said:


> Goes to show you just how influential the gaming community is.  They aren't a dying breed as some people think. Running after casuals, bleh.



It's all about numbers. No matter how passionate you and I may be about games, we won't purchase two copies of the same game.


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## Fenrir (Jun 13, 2013)

Raidou Kuzunoha said:


> Is that why you partnered up with Microsoft and support a machine that makes gamers RENT their games and console?
> 
> *Don't bullshit a bullshitter.*


**


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## Malvingt2 (Jun 13, 2013)

I don't know what to believe..... Nice that they are trying to get away from the M$ DRM crap but it didn't look good when a week before we knew about M$ Plans, they drop Online passes..


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## Kaitou (Jun 13, 2013)

Malvingt2 said:


> I don't know what to believe..... Nice that they are trying to get away from the M$ DRM crap but it didn't look good when a week before we knew about M$ Plans, they drop Online passes..



They planned to drop that shit a few weeks ago I think? 

I still think they got something up their sleeves, though.

Maybe Micro transactions?


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## St. YatōKiri_Kilgharrah (Jun 13, 2013)

Great, how about not putting Microtransactions in ALL your games. If it was making you money online passes would still be here. But gamers arent bipolar


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## St. YatōKiri_Kilgharrah (Jun 13, 2013)

Malvingt2 said:


> I don't know what to believe..... Nice that they are trying to get away from the M$ DRM crap but it didn't look good when a week before we knew about M$ Plans, they drop Online passes..



Its very telling that they backtracked their spiel about tbe Wii U the very day of DRMDoom


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## Jon Snow (Jun 14, 2013)

But they don't have plans to revoke the current passes do they?


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## 115 (Jun 14, 2013)

Jon Snow said:


> But they don't have plans to revoke the current passes do they?



Actually they are already in the process of removing all Online Passes from the games they've released. Either by making the pass completely free or by removing it altogether, depending on the game.


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## Charlotte D. Kurisu (Jun 14, 2013)

No shit. Now continue like this. And I might buy BF4 this year.


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## Bungee Gum (Jun 14, 2013)

that new ceo is a pretty cool fella compared to the last one


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## Eisenheim (Jun 14, 2013)

Learning from their mistakes the hard way.


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## Shirker (Jun 14, 2013)

Power of the dollar at work, ladies and gentlemen. Short term nickle-and-dime strategies mean shit in the face of a long term hemorrhaging of your positive reputation.


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## Roman (Jun 14, 2013)

I'm glad they got rid of them. Really turned me off from online multiplayer. Still doesn't help if their games continue to suck tho v_v


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## Overwatch (Jun 14, 2013)

Step 2:

Fix shitty servers.


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## Yoburi (Jun 14, 2013)

They could also give us complete games and stop with this day 1 DLC BS.


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## Wan (Jun 14, 2013)

Jon Snow said:


> But they don't have plans to revoke the current passes do they?



Actually,  they've done exactly that.  No more online passes, even for current and old games.


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## dream (Jun 14, 2013)

> EA labels president Frank Gibeau has said the firm nixing Online Pass had nothing to do with Xbox One’s digital rights management system.



Please, I'm sure that the Xbox DRM system played a role in your decision.


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## Wan (Jun 14, 2013)

Dream said:


> Please, I'm sure that the Xbox DRM system played a role in your decision.



If it had, they probably wouldn't be working to remove online passes on current green console games.


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## Patchouli (Jun 14, 2013)

EA saying they did something wrong?

That's when you know EA is about to do some evil shit.


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## Kagekatsu (Jun 14, 2013)

Meh

Get rid of Origin and microtransactions and then I'll believe them.


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## Wan (Jun 15, 2013)

Kagekatsu said:


> Meh
> 
> Get rid of Origin and microtransactions and then I'll believe them.



What's so bad about Origin?


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## Unlosing Ranger (Jun 15, 2013)

Oman said:


> What's so bad about Origin?



Why are AIDS bad?


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## Wan (Jun 15, 2013)

Unlosing Ranger said:


> Why are AIDS bad?



Am I going to get an actual answer as opposed to a smartass response?


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## Zaru (Jun 15, 2013)

Oman said:


> What's so bad about Origin?



People didn't like that EA required them to install yet another DRM software.


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## Aruarian (Jun 15, 2013)

EA is just using this tactic in the wave of MicroSoft moving up in the shitty business tierlist.


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## Shirker (Jun 15, 2013)

It's Steam EA. That's it. People don't want another Steam on their computer, presumably.


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## Wan (Jun 15, 2013)

Zaru said:


> People didn't like that EA required them to install yet another DRM software.



Maybe, but the same people are perfectly fine with Steam when Origin really does the same thing as Steam.



Shirker said:


> It's Steam EA. That's it. People don't want another Steam on their computer, presumably.



And?  Both Target and Wal-mart exist. (in the US)  Just because one huge discount retailer exists doesn't mean another discount retailer shouldn't exist.  In fact, it's _good_ that they do, because then they compete for the consumer's dollar and push prices down.  The same principle works with Origin and Steam.  Origin may not quite have the legendary semiannual sales that Steam has, but they still put up good deals.  I'm still debating on if I want to bite for the $5 Battlefield 3 and $25 Tomb Raider deals on Origin right now.


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## bigduo209 (Jun 15, 2013)

Yoburi said:


> They could also give us complete games and stop with this day 1 DLC BS.



Woah now! One thing at a time, EA isn't going to undo that much shittiness in such a short amount of time...


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## Shirker (Jun 16, 2013)

Oman said:


> And?  Both Target and Wal-mart exist. (in the US)  Just because one huge discount retailer exists doesn't mean another discount retailer shouldn't exist.  In fact, it's _good_ that they do, because then they compete for the consumer's dollar and push prices down.  The same principle works with Origin and Steam.  Origin may not quite have the legendary semiannual sales that Steam has, but they still put up good deals.



*shrugs*

I was just giving an answer. I personally don't give a crap if Origin exists or not. Just another distribution service, nothing more nothing less. However, EA's name is attached to it, so the common agreement among internet dwellers is "fuck it."


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## Kagekatsu (Jun 16, 2013)

Origin also scans your hard drive without permission, lacks many of the features Steam has including Workshop, has a rather limited library to begin with, enforces heavy-handed DRM, clunky content delivery and the fact that you _have_ to have Origin to play some of EA's games may factor into why people hate it so much. The fact that EA made it solely to get a slice of the digital distribution pie, and at the same token removing games that were available on Steam under some bullshit "Distribution dispute" with Valve doesn't help matters.


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## Unlosing Ranger (Jun 16, 2013)

Kagekatsu said:


> Origin also scans your hard drive without permission, lacks many of the features Steam has including Workshop, has a rather limited library to begin with, enforces heavy-handed DRM, clunky content delivery and the fact that you _have_ to have Origin to play some of EA's games may factor into why people hate it so much. The fact that EA made it solely to get a slice of the digital distribution pie, and at the same token removing games that were available on Steam under some bullshit "Distribution dispute" with Valve doesn't help matters.



In other words EA is scum and we should never trust them.


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## Wan (Jun 16, 2013)

Kagekatsu said:


> Origin also scans your hard drive without permission, lacks many of the features Steam has including Workshop, has a rather limited library to begin with, enforces heavy-handed DRM, clunky content delivery and the fact that you _have_ to have Origin to play some of EA's games may factor into why people hate it so much. The fact that EA made it solely to get a slice of the digital distribution pie, and at the same token removing games that were available on Steam under some bullshit "Distribution dispute" with Valve doesn't help matters.



You can switch off hardware and system interaction in Origin's settings, just like you can with Steam.  The workshop is an advantage for Steam, sure, but it's not a strike against Origin just to not have it.  They're working on the library -- most recent games are on there.  If you really care that much about old games, go to Good Old Games.  Steam does the same "heavy-handed DRM", and Valve requires Steam for its games (as well as other developers like Bethesda or Square Enix who have jumped on the Steamworks boat).  

EA wants to get in on the online distribution market -- what the heck is wrong with that?  More competition is good for the market, I say.

EA removed games like Crysis 2 and Dragon Age II from Steam and kept new releases from Steam because of a change _Valve_ made.  They changed their terms of service so that you can't publish your game with a DLC system that Valve didn't get a cut from.  EA didn't accept that.  It wasn't always like this, and apparently it only applied to games published after a certain date -- Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age Origins have DLC systems that Valve doesn't see a penny of, yet they are still up on Steam.  Once Crysis 2 released the "Maximum Edition", which included all the DLC for the game with no plans for future DLC, Valve let it back on Steam, and you can buy it right now.  Could EA have accomodated Valve's desire to get a piece of the DLC pie?  Sure, but Valve didn't have to make the change in the first place.  Bottom line is that _Valve_ made a greedy change that EA didn't want to go with.  It was not because of ulterior motives of wanting to push Origin.  EA was just fine putting their games up on other digital distributors without a terms of service like that.

But hey, don't take my word for it.  EA explains it here:



They say that that they don't intend for Origin to be the only place to obtain EA games: 

And on the topic of EA's missing games from Steam, Gabe Newell didn't shift blame.  He said it was on them convince EA that it's worth it to come back to Steam.  Which suggests that there's nothing false about the reasons that EA removed its games, only that Newell wants to convince EA that those reasons aren't such a big deal compared to the benefit of Steam.


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