Ubisoft Keeping An Eye On The "EA Access" Plan
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot admitted during a recent interview with Game Informer magazine that the game publisher is keeping a close eye on Electronic Arts' "EA Access" subscription plan for the Xbox One. He said that gamers typically focus on one brand by a specific publisher and ignore the rest. But with a program like EA Access, the same player can discover the publisher's additional games for free.
Electronic Arts announced EA Access just weeks ago, a subscription service costing $4.99 per month or $29.99 per year. This subscription provides access to the company's "Vault" of games including FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2 and Battlefield 4. This plan also allows gamers to play titles five days before they're shipped and provides a 10 percent discount when buying digital content from EA on the Xbox Games Store.
Ubisoft's Guillemot compared this service with a TV station, saying that gamers could one day switch between EA to Ubisoft to Activision and so on as if flipping through pay channels on a television. This could be a way to not only attract gamers to a particular console, but a way to increase diversity altogether. However, Guillemot said that the company is currently only studying what a program like EA Access can do.
"We are open to any way that can give players access to our games. It has to work well and be a smooth experience," he told the magazine.
One of the services Ubisoft has tried is Steam's Early Access, which allows customers to purchase games before they go retail. The positive aspect about this model is that customers provide feedback before the game goes retail. The drawback is that the actual launch day is uneventful because a lot of customers already own the game.
Guillemot also talked about the company's relationship with the Wii U, reporting that customers aren't purchasing games like Assassin's Creed but rather titles such as Just Dance. Ubisoft still plans to launch Watch Dogs on the Wii U because the company already promised it to the fans. However, it will be the only mature game Ubisoft will publish on the Nintendo console, Guillemot said.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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thechief73 Didn't I just read very recently that Ubisoft was trying to make amends with their customers and turn over a new leaf? How does all this fit in there?Reply -
jasonelmore nah in all seriousness, if i had to pick one Publisher who's access plan i'd buy, it would no doubt be Ubisoft. Between the Assassin's Creed Series, Far Cry Series, Tom Clancy Series, and Raymen Series, there would be a lot of value.Reply -
dextermat What about offering games we can enjoy, not the same old stuff with a better graphics.Reply
Where the innovation gone to.
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alidan ill be honest here, if they put rocksmith on a monthly plan and add in some other games, i would have very little problem paying a few $ a month for it, however, all dlc must be included, and nothing held back.Reply
that would be 6~$ a week and 24$ a month ish to buy the dlc, or a 5-15 to have access to it all, now and prior, allow with a large amount of the catalogue... -
Abricalio ReplyDidn't I just read very recently that Ubisoft was trying to make amends with their customers and turn over a new leaf? How does all this fit in there?
They say that every time they release a shoddy PC port... which is almost every time. With high odds they're likely trying to lull you into their confidence.