Posted on Thursday 8-Sep-2011 10:54 AM

EA: Online Pass revenue 'hasn't been dramatic'

$10-$15 million generated so far

By Tom Pakinkis for computerandvideogames.com

The revenue generated from EA's Online Pass system has been significant but not major, according to the publisher.

Industry Misc Screenshot
"The revenues we derive from that haven't been dramatic," EA CFO Eric Brown said last night, according to Gamasutra. "I'd say they're in the $10-$15 million range since we initiated the program."

But the publisher still sees the Online Pass system as beneficial. Brown pointed out that the above figure is "found revenue" that comes from users who previously "consumed bandwidth for free".

This is a problem that DICE executive producer Patrick Bach flagged up at the beginning of the week, saying that Battlefield 3 will probably use the Online Pass system as a way of helping to pay for the game's online servers.

[ Source: Gamasutra ]

computerandvideogames.com
Tom Pakinkis
Recommended Links
From The Web

Comments

10 comments so far...

  1. Report this post Reply with quote
    Imdanshort1 on 8 Sep '11 said:

    Good on EA. Atleast the money is going to dedicated servers and not into pockets of fat cats

  2. Report this post Reply with quote
    badgerpog on 8 Sep '11 said:

    I wish I had a non-dramatic $10-$15 million.

  3. Report this post Reply with quote
    kakah on 8 Sep '11 said:

    Good on EA. Atleast the money is going to dedicated servers and not into pockets of fat cats

    lol where do you get that from?

  4. Report this post Reply with quote
    cult on 8 Sep '11 said:

    Thats good news in one way.
    Over a million people have bought second hand ea games and contributed via online pass to supporting said game.

    But how many people deserve a £7.99 discount for not going online?
    How many people bought second hand and used the aboves non used online pass code?

    How about £20 games and then charge £20 for online passes that include future dlc.
    Single players want value for money too.

  5. Report this post Reply with quote
    TheLastDodo on 8 Sep '11 said:

    I hope that $15m goes towards Mirrors Edge 2.

  6. Report this post Reply with quote
    gmcb007 on 8 Sep '11 said:

    I wish I had a non-dramatic $10-$15 million.

    This.

  7. Report this post Reply with quote
    MattyR95 on 8 Sep '11 said:

    I finally got round to buying dead space 2 the other day, got it preowned and the code worked.

  8. Report this post Reply with quote
    tmulford on 8 Sep '11 said:

    Surely the point of the on-line pass isn't to generate revenue but to persuade the customer to buy the new product with an online pass rather than 2nd hand copy next to it that may only be a couple of pounds cheaper. So while EA expected to make some revenue from it, the real aim of the pass is to make people value new copies more than 2nd hand ones.

  9. Report this post Reply with quote
    TheDragonDoji on 13 Sep '11 said:

    Ohhhh so the PUBLISHERS get the money?? What? Even after the developers comment how much they lose and the pass is good for them??

    I'm sorry how much profit did EA make last year?? Yes...a s**tload. So they simply want more money for nothing. Online Pass = I can't afford the same number of games per year. Some developer/publisher will lose a paying customer.

    Oh well.

  10. Report this post Reply with quote
    solamon77 on 28 Sep '11 said:

    I wonder if this revenue amount counts people who were deterred from buying used?