You can now play Battlefield V... assuming you didn't buy it

[mongeese]

Facepalm: It seems that being nice to its customers isn’t something EA cares about anymore. They’ve decided to release Battlefield V in a three-tiered system, with players who are subscribed to EA’s Origin Access game subscription service being able to play the game as of yesterday and players who purchased the Deluxe Edition will be able to play on the 15^th. Players who purchased the Standard Edition will have to wait until the 20^th for the ‘official release’.

While having an early access system isn’t necessarily a bad thing, EA’s decision to keep the players that spent the most money on the game waiting is kind of cruel. They didn’t help things by massively overcomplicating the release schedule either.

If you’re on PC, purchasing EA Origin Access Premier ($19.99/month or $129.99/year) gets you the full game right now with all the add-ons and extras available. Being subscribed to EA Origin Access Basic ($6.99/month or $39.99/year) also means you get to play it, but it’s only a ten-hour trial. Should you then purchase the game, you get to keep your progress and get a 10% discount.

It’s pretty much the same deal on Xbox, except that there’s no Premier subscription model and the Basic model is renamed EA Access Play First Trial. There aren’t any subscription model options for the PlayStation, so you’ll have to buy the game outright and wait.

On all platforms, purchasing the Deluxe Edition for $79.99 will grant you access on the 15^th and getting the Standard Edition for $59.99 means you can play on the 20^th.

If you’re one of the many players who paid the full price of the game and are unhappy about having to wait, you can get a free trial of either of the subscription models and play the game today.

It’s good to have the option of a subscription model – but forcing it down players’ throats by favoring the players who subscribe is simply anti-consumer. Hopefully, this won’t become a long-term strategy of EA’s, but there’s a good chance it will be considering that it must be substantially more profitable to risk the backlash.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/77359-you-can-now-play-battlefield-v-assuming-you.html

 

[Nobina]

It seems that being nice to its customers isn’t something EA cares about anymore.

They stopped caring a long time ago. EAs customers are like people in an abusive relationship, no matter what EA does to you you still want to be together.

 

[amstech]

Their logo should be Scrooge McDuck jumping into a pile of money wearing an EA shirt.

 

[emmzo]

So, after the complete PR debacle and numerous hints that this is going to be trash, you still decided to buy the politically correct WWII game and now you have to wait? Oh, no, my heart goes out to you...

 

[Brahman05]

I will never understand subscription models for games. I like owning my products. End user rights, just in case I want to mod. What if origin releases not one single game im interested in in a 1 year period. I just spent 130 to play games that I wont have access to if I decided to end said subscription. Potentially cheaper than buying each individual game, but I can load my cdrom of morrowind anytime I want, even if I re-bought it on steam for the convenience. Just sayin....

 

[Axle Grease]

I'd take out an EA subscription except that the only games I buy from EA are the Battlefield ones. An EA subscription is not worthwhile for me.

I bought Battlefield V Deluxe and am not too miffed that others can play it before me. It's just a 7 day wait which is better than a 13 day wait. Also , where I live, Nov 15th is just before a regional holiday which is almost perfect timing.

 

[TheSavagKrowman]

They have had the 10 hour free trial for years now. This is nothing new at all. Just because origin access has come out your making a bigger deal out of it than it really is. The whole point of having access is to try the game and see if you wanna cancel your preorder or buy it. So quit trying to create drama

 

[axiomatic13]

Origin access is great for newcomers but it stinks for avid gamers. For me to even think about Origin access I would need at least four to six games on Origin that I have not played already. Nope. BFV is the only one I haven't played and there’s nothing on the horizon at all. There is ZERO value in Origin access for me.

 

[Josephi]

They have had the 10 hour free trial for years now. This is nothing new at all. Just because origin access has come out your making a bigger deal out of it than it really is. The whole point of having access is to try the game and see if you wanna cancel your preorder or buy it. So quit trying to create drama

The thing is if you bought it on the console you CAN'T get a refund for what you payed for.

 

[Nero7]

Pay to play with bugs.

 

[mighty21]

Where do I ask for the free trial?

 

[m3tavision]

Who is going to pay extra for that slop.

DICE isn't what it once was... they have allowed themselves to be taken over by EA's greed and ruined one of the best Franchises of all time. RIP DICE.

 

[Eldritch]

They stopped caring a long time ago. EAs customers are like people in an abusive relationship, no matter what EA does to you you still want to be together.

Came here to say exactly that. Kind of scary how we all acknowledge that EA is abusive towards its customers and that abuse has now became the norm.

 

[ypsylon]

If not for ME3 I would delete my O/EA account ages ago.

I never cared even remotely about Battelfield series, but it is simply criminal what they doing with BFV release. Are you sure you couldn't sue them in the USA for this kind of discriminating?

 

[Milkyjoe]

With a Subscription model, you are buying it and possibly paying more since they hope you like it or forget you're paying it and that is why they get access earlier because the subscription model is more important can be more lucrative than buying the game outright.

 

[Burty117]

They're not trying to force you into a subscription model to save you money, that's for sure. You will end up paying more, that's almost a definite. This is EA we're talking about.

 

[BSim500]

They're not trying to force you into a subscription model to save you money, that's for sure. You will end up paying more, that's almost a definite. This is EA we're talking about.

^ Precisely. If it saved consumers more money (and thus cost EA more money), they'd have scrapped it already...

 

[Burty117]

^ Precisely. If it saved consumers more money (and thus cost EA more money), they'd have scrapped it already...

Only correction I have is, its not costing EA any more money, they just get more money. I'd have thought that actually, a subscription model only, would be cheaper for them, no physical copies, no games on other stores like Steam or GoG or Amazon. Just Origin and downloads. So they'd now get 100% of the revenue and no longer need to produce physical copies.

 

[ET3D]

Anyone surprised by this is simply someone who didn't know Origin Access until this point. EA promises early access to games, so naturally buyers who aren't subscribers will play later.

They're not trying to force you into a subscription model to save you money, that's for sure. You will end up paying more, that's almost a definite. This is EA we're talking about.

A subscription saves money if you're a heavy customer of what it includes. You pay more if you're not originally a heavy customer, but you tend to consume more, so you do get your money's worth. I'd bet that for most serious EA fans these subs save money.

 

[paul s2]

This just sounds to me like monthly micro-transactions
EA = give me your money and we dont care what you think after.

 

[Uncle Al]

As with most companies that don the "corporate helmet", EA has lost it's way as far as consumers are concerned. Problem being now they think quarter to quarter rather than decade to decade so many stupid mistakes will continue to be made in order to keep those quarterly reports looking good until one day they will realize impressing the corporate Gods won't keep them in the game any longer .......

 

[Burty117]

A subscription saves money if you're a heavy customer of what it includes. You pay more if you're not originally a heavy customer, but you tend to consume more, so you do get your money's worth. I'd bet that for most serious EA fans these subs save money.

I highly doubt that, EA, the company that's famous for gouging the consumer for all they're worth (£60 standard edition that has £20 of DLC on day one then proceeds to fill their game with micro-transactions) suddenly decided to save people money. I can guarantee you they'll raise prices or keep the micro-transactions in the game or make you pay a "discounted" price for DLC. Yet the moment you stop paying the subscription you'll lose access to all your games.

Just a reminder, this is EA...

 

[ET3D]

suddenly decided to save people money

Of course not. But you simply don't understand the idea behind it. The idea of a subscription is to make a casual user into a regular user. Subscriptions always save money if you're already a regular user. If you're semi-regular, they're often borderline, but once you get them you become a regular, because you now have access to a lot more for your money. (If you're a true casual, you usually don't sub unless it's very cheap.)

The point is, what EA gains is regular users of its ecosystem. These people will play more EA games at the expense of other games, because they're already invested in it, and because they get access to them.

 

[cliffordcooley]

I can understand making people wait before they can purchase. But for anyone that has already spent money on the game, they should have access just as soon as anyone else.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

suddenly decided to save people money

Of course not. But you simply don't understand the idea behind it. The idea of a subscription is to make a casual user into a regular user. Subscriptions always save money if you're already a regular user. If you're semi-regular, they're often borderline, but once you get them you become a regular, because you now have access to a lot more for your money. (If you're a true casual, you usually don't sub unless it's very cheap.)

The point is, what EA gains is regular users of its ecosystem. These people will play more EA games at the expense of other games, because they're already invested in it, and because they get access to them.

subscriptions ABSOLUTELY DO NOT "always save you money". Case and point battlefield V. How does paying $130 a year save you money over buying a $60 game exactly?

Companies love to push subscriptions because a lower monthly cost (that adds up to WAY more over the long run) is easier to get people to swallow and promote. Car loans do the exact same thing, pay day lenders do the exact same thing. Micro transaction games make WAY more money despite somehow being "cheaper" then full price games.

Companies do not go out to save you money. They would go out of business if they did that. Companies, especially media companies like EA, are always looking on how to make more money in the long run, and subscriptions are a fantastic way of doing that.