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EA SPORTS Season Ticket Launches Today (PR)

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New Program Provides Full Game Digital Downloads Three Days Early, Discounted Downloadable Game Content and More

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today the launch of EA SPORTS™ Season Ticket*, an all-new program that provides premium benefits for a better gaming experience on five participating EA SPORTS titles. With an annual fee of $24.99 or 2000 Microsoft Points, subscribers will receive four all-new program benefits: access to play all participating EA SPORTS games via a full-game digital download three days before consumers have the option to purchase a disc at retail launch; a 20-percent discount on downloadable game content; free premium web content; and membership recognition. GameStop will introduce EA SPORTS Season Ticket in North America with an innovative multichannel marketing campaign, including its PowerUp Rewards™ program of more than 11 million members.

“EA SPORTS Season Ticket is an exciting program for our core fans – it lets our biggest fans play earlier, play more and play better than anyone else”

EA SPORTS Season Ticket is available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft beginning today. Fans can subscribe today through the Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation®Store for the PlayStation 3, and benefits begin with this month’s launch of Madden NFL 12. Moving forward, participating franchises include Madden NFL Football, NHL hockey, FIFA Soccer, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf and NCAA® Football.

“EA SPORTS Season Ticket is an exciting program for our core fans – it lets our biggest fans play earlier, play more and play better than anyone else,” said Peter Moore, President, EA SPORTS. “EA SPORTS Season Ticket is an important step in our vision for transforming how deeply fans connect with the sports games they love through digital products and services. We’re excited to continue evolving EA SPORTS Season Ticket as we listen to what consumers want most in their gaming experiences.”

GameStop President Tony Bartel added, “We are excited to be selected as the exclusive retail marketing partner for the roll-out of EA SPORTS Season Ticket. GameStop is in a unique position to deliver this digital product utilizing its multichannel network. We will continue to work with progressive publishers to bring great gaming experiences to our customers.”

With a paid subscription to EA SPORTS Season Ticket, fans will receive the following benefits for the five participating titles:

Early Full-Game Digital Access: Three days before a game’s scheduled release, fans will be able to download and play the full version of all five participating titles on Xbox 360 and PS3™**. The digitally downloaded game will time out when the game is available at retail and consumers have the option to purchase the same full game on disc at retail. EA SPORTS Season Ticket subscribers can transfer all achievements earned during the three-day download period to the purchased disc, resulting in an early edge over the competition.
Discounted Downloadable Content: Subscribers will get a 20-percent discount on all available downloadable content for participating EA SPORTS titles. Downloadable content, which enhances and refreshes the core game experience, includes such items as Ultimate Team packs, accelerator packs and gear upgrades.
Free Premium Web Content: Premium web content extends the game experience beyond the console to a web browser. All participating titles will feature premium web content that will be free to EA SPORTS Season Ticket members beginning with the premium Creation Center packs for FIFA Soccer 12. These packs provide a deeper set of customization tools and abilities within Creation Center to build your own teams and tournaments, and will be available to the consumer until the membership to the program has expired.
Membership Recognition: Subscribers are easily identifiable with an exclusive membership recognition badge displayed both in-game and on their EASPORTS.com profile.

To subscribe to EA SPORTS Season Ticket for the Xbox 360, go to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, download and launch the EA SPORTS application, and follow the prompts after “purchase a subscription”. For PS3™ users, go to the PlayStation Store, search for EA SPORTS Season Ticket and purchase the program. EA SPORTS Season Ticket is available on PS3™ and Xbox 360 in North America, and Xbox 360 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. For more information, assets and videos, please visit www.easports.com/seasonticket.

For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums, fantasy leagues and game communities, please visit www.easports.com to connect, share and compete.

EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, global videogame competitions, and breakthrough digital experiences. EA SPORTS delivers personal access to the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports simulation videogames from franchises including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA JAM, NCAA® Football, Fight Night boxing, EA SPORTS MMA, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, and EA SPORTS Active.

*CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS APPLY. SEE WWW.EASPORTS.COM/SEASONTICKET FOR DETAILS.

**Digital download is available at 6pm EST four days before launch to ensure subscribers get a full three days to play following the download time. The digital version will time out when the product is available at retail.
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Massa said:
Doesn't seem like it's worth the money.
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I agree. You get a DD of the game that you can't sell. And what else? Cheaper DLC. Plus the only two titles I purchase annually are FIFA and NHL (which I'll probably skip this year).
 
- Web content: worthless
- "Membership recognition": like paying for the gold bar or the little gold plus, totally ridiculous.
- 20% discount on DLC: you'd have to spend >$100 in EA Sports DLC per year to make your money back.

So really the only value here is that you get a single free 3 day rental of their games on a date of their choosing. Hmm. I could see that being worth it for the people who would typically rent 2 or more of the games week one anyway.
 
So can you purchase your 3 day early digital copy so you don't have to buy a retail copy? If so I'm all for this. The sooner console games are available day 1 via digital distribution the better.
 
Stumpokapow said:
- Web content: worthless
- "Membership recognition": like paying for the gold bar or the little gold plus, totally ridiculous.
- 20% discount on DLC: you'd have to spend >$100 in EA Sports DLC per year to make your money back.

So really the only value here is that you get a single free 3 day rental of their games on a date of their choosing. Hmm. I could see that being worth it for the people who would typically rent 2 or more of the games week one anyway.
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i wonder if you get the trophies for those games
 
chubigans said:
Sports games don't have very good resell value anyways compared to most.
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It depends when you sell them. I got $38 for FIFA 11 in April (admittedly cos I had a spare online pass), and $40 for MLB The Show 10 last November.
 
Square Triangle said:
I don't think it's a demo. It's the full game that you purchase just digital.
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The last line mentions that it times out when the retail copy is available. Seems like you get a full game for three days, then it's done.
 
But you still have to pay full retail on top of an annual fee to actually own any of those games. Even if you download them.

But I guess if you were gonna rent all of the games in the year then the pass might be an option 25 bucks for 5 3 day rentals? lol
 
Wizman23 said:
So can you purchase your 3 day early digital copy so you don't have to buy a retail copy? If so I'm all for this. The sooner console games are available day 1 via digital distribution the better.
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Read the whole thing. They disable it once the game launches. So close to being an awesome feature too.

At a mere 20% off, you'd have to buy $125 worth of DLC to see any savings from the annual fee, correct?
 
On top of the £54.99 RRP? No thanks. I'll be laughing in the face EA Sports when I pick up Fifa 12 for less than £30 at the supermarket.
 
If they combined this with an online pass, so once you register your retail code you can keep the DD version and not require the disc to play, it'd be possibly worth it. As it is, no thanks.
 
it's so fucking retarded and backwards that they can get the digital version out 3 days before retail BUT THEN IT EXPIRES AND YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND GET A PHYSICAL DISK! why not have the ability to buy the DD version YOU ALREADY DOWNLOADED?


for fuck's sake!!!
 
Do not want.

The web content idea sounds interesting... are they saying we can customise our players and teams and organise ingame tournaments from a web browser?

I doubt they'd implement it that well to be honest, and even if they did, its not an idea that makes it worth the price. Sadly though, you just know people are going to do this to get their FIFA fix early and stuff.
 
Stumpokapow said:
- Web content: worthless
- "Membership recognition": like paying for the gold bar or the little gold plus, totally ridiculous.
- 20% discount on DLC: you'd have to spend >$100 in EA Sports DLC per year to make your money back.

So really the only value here is that you get a single free 3 day rental of their games on a date of their choosing. Hmm. I could see that being worth it for the people who would typically rent 2 or more of the games week one anyway.
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I imagine it would mostly work out for those crazy people who spend $500-$5000+ on that FIFA card game.
 
It doesn't seem even remotely worthwhile to me, as a person that buys at least two of those five titles every year. EA's DLC has been complete shit, at least for the football titles, so that seems like a worthless perk. And as Stump pointed out above, you would have to buy an obscene amount for it to be worth it.

The rest of the perks seem trivial. How completely lacking in patience do you have to be to pay an extra 42% on the game you're buying just to play it 3-4 days before release?
 
The Faceless Master said:
it's so fucking retarded and backwards that they can get the digital version out 3 days before retail BUT THEN IT EXPIRES AND YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND GET A PHYSICAL DISK! why not have the ability to buy the DD version YOU ALREADY DOWNLOADED?


for fuck's sake!!!
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lol that is rather dumb isn't it. So Gamestop and Walmart still get all their moneys.
 
The Faceless Master said:
it's so fucking retarded and backwards that they can get the digital version out 3 days before retail BUT THEN IT EXPIRES AND YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND GET A PHYSICAL DISK! why not have the ability to buy the DD version YOU ALREADY DOWNLOADED?


for fuck's sake!!!
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But then retailers wouldn't stock their physical copies and they wouldn't se...oh. I see. It is indeed a pointless restriction for customers who were going to buy it anyway. That same DD version will be on GoD in 3-6 months, so why not now?

In reality, companies like EA are slaves to the in-store promotions and bloated preorder campaigns (for quarterly shipment purposes) of companies like gamestop. Having a demo reel and a poster in the window outweighs customer convenience for them.
 
I actually wouldn't mind having FIFA 12 sitting on my hard drive but it's still too pricey for my tastes.
The Faceless Master said:
it's so fucking retarded and backwards that they can get the digital version out 3 days before retail BUT THEN IT EXPIRES AND YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND GET A PHYSICAL DISK! why not have the ability to buy the DD version YOU ALREADY DOWNLOADED?

for fuck's sake!!!
Click to expand...

Wait, really? That's the most bullshit thing ever.
 
The Faceless Master said:
it's so fucking retarded and backwards that they can get the digital version out 3 days before retail BUT THEN IT EXPIRES AND YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND GET A PHYSICAL DISK! why not have the ability to buy the DD version YOU ALREADY DOWNLOADED?


for fuck's sake!!!
Click to expand...


Yea. I would actually consider this if I was able to keep the DD version and was allowed to purchase it at a discount... let's say at $10 off.

But nope, you pay 2000 MSP for the "privilege" of playing it 3 days early. Meh, I'll pass.
 
So EA MMA is not dead... interesting.
 
How do you think EA is going to get a partner like Gamestop in this equation if they didn't require the purchase of a physical boxed copy to continue playing? Especially if a DD copy was cheaper. How is Gamestop supposed to get trade ins or whatever on a DD copy that unlocks online?

It might sound dumb and ass backwards, but discs are still the way things get sold, at least initially and those discs are important to Gamestop's bottom line.

It is an understandable limitation.

Leaves me to wonder if people might stop buying Madden every year after getting 3 days to play the full copy and seeing that a feature or two just isn't where they would like it.
 
the trip to retail is a first party requirement (Microsoft and Sony). Both companies consider this type of early download to be a 'demo' (even though you get a full game), and they do not allow demos to be converted into full games.

All achievements / unlocks earned during early play will be transferred over to your retail copy after you purchase it.
 
How about you start fixing the fucking bugs in your annually released sports games and quit trying to find ways to take more money from me. I pay $59.99 for NCAA Football and FIFA 12, fix the fucking bugs and get your hands out of my pockets with bullshit like this.
 
Tomnevers said:
the trip to retail is a first party requirement (Microsoft and Sony). Both companies consider this type of early download to be a 'demo' (even though you get a full game), and they do not allow demos to be converted into full games.

All achievements / unlocks earned during early play will be transferred over to your retail copy after you purchase it.
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Sony released several retail titles as full DD titles at launch, and the entire premise of XBLA revolves around unlocking the full retail version from the convenient (and mandatory) trial download.
 
So wait.

You get a three day head start on the DD version of the game, but then you have to go into a store to buy the copy? Why can't you just activate the DD version and keep playing that?

Sounds stupid.
 
Sho_Nuff82 said:
Sony released several retail titles as full DD titles at launch, and the entire premise of XBLA revolves around unlocking the full retail version from the convenient (and mandatory) trial download.
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You say these things like it disproves what he said, when all it actually does prove is that platform guidelines are inconsistent.
 
Well this appears pretty useless.
- I get to play a full copy of the game 3 days early... whoop de doo, I still have to go out and buy it once it's released.
- 20% off DLC, the majority of which is stat boosters and unlocks of stuff you can get from just playing the game, what a bargain
- web content... truly exciting o_O
- recognition... hey everyone, look at me, I'm an idiot!
 
Not worth it.

Maybe if they added some kind of loyalty program, where if you buy 4 games in the same year you get a 5th for free.
 
PJFJosh said:
Well this appears pretty useless.
- I get to play a full copy of the game 3 days early... whoop de doo, I still have to go out and buy it once it's released.
- 20% off DLC, the majority of which is stat boosters and unlocks of stuff you can get from just playing the game, what a bargain
- web content... truly exciting o_O
- recognition... hey everyone, look at me, I'm an idiot!
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Yet none of this is required.

I wonder why people throw fits when something is offered that is not obligated on the consumers.
 
lol DD full game time-outs instead of giving it to the player. GG, EA. What a waste of bandwidth, and money.
 
For those outside the USA, this Season Ticket immediately loses one fifth of it's value due to NCAA Football not being released outside of North America.

Good job, EA. Good job.....
 
I think a $120-$140 service which offered access to these 5 games year round would be way more attractive to me. I only have so much time to play sports games so I usually stick to buying one a year (NHL) and sometimes go for a second one but I rarely buy multiple sports titles consistently now. But I'd be way more inclined to subscribe to a service which offered me FIFA,NHL,Tiger,NCAA and Madden as I think I could justify paying an extra $60-80 a year to get access to 4 additional sports titles whereas normally I would not give EA more than $60 a year towards sports titles.
 
Err... No thanks.

1. Fuck DLC. Sports titles have useless DLC, unless of course EA says fuck you and starts charging for Roster Update, which they can't as it'll break the online team balance.

2. Sports titles have a very fantastic resale value. I rather save that $25 and trade in the title than having a digital release that I will not play once the particular sport's season finishes.

3. 4 days early? That makes it Friday. Good for those that want their gaming fix on the weekend. Me? I can wait for there are already too many games on the horizon.
 
infinityBCRT said:
I think a $120-$140 service which offered access to these 5 games year round would be way more attractive to me. I only have so much time to play sports games so I usually stick to buying one a year (NHL) and sometimes go for a second one but I rarely buy multiple sports titles consistently now. But I'd be way more inclined to subscribe to a service which offered me FIFA,NHL,Tiger,NCAA and Madden as I think I could justify paying an extra $60-80 a year to get access to 4 additional sports titles whereas normally I would not give EA more than $60 a year towards sports titles.
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Yea, I agree with that. I think a lot of people would scoff at that price, but I think it would bring in a lot of people. There's a lot of people that buy just one or two EA sports games and are mildly interested in the rest...but maybe not enough to purchase them. With something like that, you're guaranteeing selling at least the equivalent of 2 games.

But will it happen? Probably unlikely.
 
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