EA President Frank Gibeau has set the record straight regarding online passes and the PS4's used games policy.
When Sony announced that the PlayStation 4 would have no restrictions on used games, players were undoubtedly worried that EA would revoke their previously made promise to do away with online passes in their games. However, EA President Frank Gibeau has confirmed that even after Sony’s announcement, online passes in EA games are dead for good.
Many fans rejoiced back in May when EA first made the announcement that not only were they discontinuing online pass requirements for their currently released games, but they were axing online passes from all of their upcoming releases as well. However, all those who suspected there’d be a price to pay (har har) for EA’s generosity were proven right a few weeks ago when Microsoft revealed their convoluted and restrictive system of handling used games on Xbox One, basically rendering online passes obsolete.
So when Sony took to the stage at this year’s E3 and announced that there would be no such restrictions for used games on the PlayStation 4, many were naturally worried that EA’s promise wouldn’t apply to Sony’s new system. That doesn’t seem to be the cause however according to EA President Frank Gibeau:
“The amount of money that we made, it didn't replace the amount of frustration we put on our customers and it didn't offset the reputation damage it caused the company. So we said 'it's not worth it,' and so the idea was, look, 'don't do stuff like that anymore.”
Gibeau also went on to dispel rumors that EA’s decision to do away with online passes was linked with Microsoft’s Xbox One used games policy:
"We're not crafting a strategy to bring [Online Pass] back, you will not input codes to unlock your game, it's not going to happen, [the Online Pass Program] was flat out dumb.”
