EA Restricts Free Next-Gen Upgrades for FIFA and Madden to Special Editions
EA being scummy, what’s new? People who play FIFA and Madden just buying the games anyway? What’s new?
Via a report this morning by James Batchelor of gamesindustry.biz, EA is making some changes to its Dual Entitlement program to drain some more money out of fans of its sports titles, starting with FIFA 22 and Madden NFL 22.
The Dual Entitlement program that Electronic Arts currently holds is actually quite generous, all things considered. Customers who purchase Playstation 4 or Xbox One versions of its games receive access to the respective next-gen upgrades at no additional cost.
Now, in a year where people were transitioning to new consoles, FIFA 21 and Madden NFL 21 were indeed part of this Dual Entitlement program. An important feature, since many of these sports games released months in advance of the next-gen consoles.
Unfortunately, though — it seems EA is going back on that generosity for the newest entries in the FIFA and Madden.
For FIFA specifically, players must purchase the Ultimate Edition for $99.99 on consoles, or $79.99 on PC. This version is digital-only, by the way, so don’t even plan on getting a physical. Because screw game preservation, am I right?
Madden has a strange difference, but still a hefty price tag. Madden NFL 22 indeed has Dual Entitlement for physical copes, but only for their “MVP Edition”. This edition of the game costs $99.99. Oh, but if you’re a real big money shredder, it’s also included in the Dynasty Edition for $119.99 on consoles, and $99.99 on PC.
All of this is just really disappointing and upsetting to see. While I’m of the mindset that the existence of sports games isn’t inherently bad, the monetization systems included within them are outrageous, and amount to nothing more than glorified gambling. Madden lacks in features every year that football games of a bygone age do better on the Playstation 2. It’s ridiculous that people still buy these games every year.
EA knows their sports audience are a bunch of casuals who don’t follow gaming news the way you or I do, so they capitalize on it. And it’s extremely scummy, greedy, and disgusting to think about.
Put on top of that the fact of both Madden and FIFA on next-gen consoles being $70 instead of the standard $60 we’re used to when the games are merely roster updates with small incremental features implemented. Players who are stuck on last-gen consoles might as well wait until they can get their hands on a next-gen console, instead of forking over such a large amount of cash just to ensure you get a free next-gen upgrade (if you could even call it “free”).
I don’t have anything more to say. EA’s greed knows no bounds.
Rapid-Fire Round-Up
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