EA Sports Season Ticket a prelude to subscription-based model? - DJ's Blog

DJ's Blog

EA Sports Season Ticket a prelude to subscription-based model?

Posted on August 3, 2011 at 12:01 PM.

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I'm surprised no one has linked the two, because to me, it is no coincidence that a week after there's a report stating EA is looking at subscription-based games for future releases, we get the news about the EA Season Ticket.

Since the Season Ticket (if you purchase it) will force you to download the entire retail game, this will provide EA will "research" which they can use to push the subscription-based games down the road. Remember all the talk a year or so ago with Madden and how many people played online? Even though those numbers weren't accurate, it still was something tangile for EA and they based a good portion of its development cycle of Madden on those numbers they generated.

So, don't be surprised if in a couple of years we see an article with a quote from someone at EA Sports stating: "Due to the high number of people buying Season Ticket, it's a clear indication to us that users are ready for a subscription-based model on a full-time basis."