For the past few weeks, EA (Electronic Arts) has been beta testing their new Xbox One exclusive service, EA Access. That service, has now officially gone live to the public. It offers subscribers free games (kind of), plus early access and discounts on new digital games.
But is it a good deal?
Play as much Fifa 14 as you want with EA Access...Courtesy of EA
Here's how EA Access works and what you get for your money. Subscribers to the new service pay $5/Month or $30/Year (the latter equating to only $2.50/month) and with that fee receive a few deals. First, subscribers get unlimited access to digital "Vault" games.
Vault games are slightly older titles at the moment, having been out for 8 months or more. The four games with unlimited full access for launch are Fifa 14, Madden 25, Battlefield 4 and the adorable and addicting, Peggle 2, which made our Best of Xbox 2013 list. Also confirmed by EA is that the Vault will continually be added to, growing its library of available titles, and once a game is in the vault, it will not be removed.
And play as much Peggle 2 as you like as well...Courtesy of EA
Secondly, EA Access subscribers will get 5 day early access to new games (digital copies). What this means is when Dragon Age: Inquisition or Star Wars Battlefront comes out, those subscribed to the new service will be able to play the game five days before everyone else.
EA has clarified that how much game you get access to will vary depending on the game. Example being that some games you may get full access to, others you may just get a few modes to scope out or maybe a couple levels early. The bonus with this early access is that all your progression made during your time with it, carries over to the full portion of the game when you buy it.
Oh ya, you also get unlimted access to Battlefield 4...Courtesy of EA
Finally, subscribers also save 10% on all digital game downloads. So not only will EA Access subscribers get to play some big games 5 days early, they also pay a little less for their copy (sort of).
And Madden 25...Courtesy of EA
Now, is $5/month or $30/Year worth it? That depends on how much you as a subscriber will play the vault games and how often you buy EA games digitally. For myself, It's a great deal as I will get a lot of play time out of all four of the "vault" games plus that vault, is only going to grow over time. I also plan to buy, Dragon Age: Inquisition, NHL 15 and a few other EA titles over the course of the near future, so getting a bit of my original investment back by saving a few bucks on new games is nice.
It's not hard to see the value in this new EA Access service with my own gaming tastes.
And Play Dragon Age: Inquisition before your friends.Courtesy of EA
On the other hand though, If you as a gamer have zero interest in Fifa 14, Madden 25, Battlefield 4 or Peggle 2 and aren't eager to play future EA games like Dragon Age or maybe Amy Hennig's new Star Wars game. Then EA Access may take a bit more time to convince you of the value. Right now, the value is the unlimited access to the vault games and the other details, are a nice bonus.
If you Sony fans are wondering why this service is not on Playstation 4 as well. It's because Sony passed on the deal thinking it was not a good value. Translation: They didn't want it interfering with their own Playstation Now service. So as it stands now, EA Access is only available for Microsoft's Xbox One.
Have Your Say!
Is EA Access sounding like a good deal to you? Or will you wait until the "Vault" game library becomes larger? Sound off in the comments below!
