Origin Access
I signed up for Origin Access today. For those who do not know, this is a subscription service to the EA Origin platform on the PC. For the nominal sum of £3.99 a monthly subscriber gets to “explore an instant collection of 75+ PC games and play as much as you want. Origin Access members also get to try new EA games before they’re released and save 10% on Origin purchases”. Out of those 75 PC games many are fairly recent titles such as Mass Effect: Andromeda Deluxe Edition, Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, Unravel and FIFA 17. There are also classic titles such as the Crysis and Dead Space series. However, the reason I decided to sign up to this service is because Origin Access members get trial access Star Wars Battlefront II before the game is released to the wider public. Here is the staggered release schedule for this much awaited title. Subscribers get their hands on the game first, then owners of the Deluxe Edition. Finally, those who bought the base edition get to play. Make of that what you will.
Gaming as a Service
The recent demise of Visceral Studios and the subsequent statement by Executive Vice President of Electronic Arts, Patrick Söderlund, pertaining to changes in the way the company wishes to realise future products, has got a lot of gamers thinking. EA seem to think that single player games may not be the sure thing they use to be and that co-operative internet play is where it’s at. Co-op play does seem to be finding its way into more and more game these days regardless of whether its needed or not. It facilitates competitive game play and offers publishers broader scope for monetisation. The latter point is probably its inherent appeal from a business perspective. So naturally the gaming commentariat is presently pondering whether the single player game is under threat. However, there are some who are connecting the hypothetical dots a stage further and considering is this a move further towards gaming as a service?