EA revealed its new Access subscription service for the Xbox One yesterday, which lets you play a bunch of EA titles, take advantage of discounts and get upcoming games early in exchange for a small monthly fee. While it might’ve looked like a platform-exclusive partnership with Microsoft, Game Informer has learned that Sony actively rejected EA Access for the PlayStation 4. “We evaluated the EA Access subscription offering and decided that it does not bring the kind of value PlayStation customers have come to expect,” Sony said, adding that the success of PS Plus “shows that gamers are looking for memberships that offer a multitude of services, across various devices, for one low price.”
Following EA’s announcement of the company’s new subscription program, Access, we were curious about it being tied only to Xbox One. We reached out to Sony for clarification, and it seems like PlayStation 4 owners shouldn’t hold their breath for the program. “We evaluated the EA Access subscription offering and decided that it does not bring the kind of value PlayStation customers have come to expect,” a Sony representative told us via email. “PlayStation Plus memberships are up more than 200% 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’s Access program costs $5 per month or $30 per year and offers discounts to members, free (while membership is active) catalog titles, and pre-release access to game trials up to five days in advance. The program is in beta now, with Xbox One preview members getting first accessyesterday evening. FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2, and Battlefield 4 kick off the program as free-with-membership titles. While Sony could certainly change its mind down the line, we don’t expect that to happen any time soon. For more on EA Access, check out yesterday’s coverage.
