When EA Sports announced their new Online Pass system premiering with "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11," gamers took notice, but so did the rest of the industry. EA's move, which charges used game purchasers for access to online play and other features, could be the boldest move yet by a publisher to generate revenue from otherwise profitless secondhand sales. Ubisoft in particular took some notes and said as much in an official capacity this week.
"We are looking very carefully at what is being done by EA regarding what we call the '$10 solution,' and we will probably follow that line at sometime in the future," Ubisoft CFO Alain Martinez said in a Tuesday earnings call, according to Gamasutra.
Martinez didn't say how far into the future such a program might arrive, but if you're looking forward to "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" or "Ghost Recon: Future Soldier" — just not enough to purchase them new — you'll want to stay informed about Ubi's intentions. Martinez did go on the record to say that they'll have a lot of DLC for 2011.
"Regarding ... monetizing used games or downloadable content … most of the games that we will release next year will have downloadable content available from the start," he explained.
In the meantime expect to see many monetized gates to your gameplay when before there were none. If there's profit to be made, you can bet that the big guys are looking to make it.
Do you think it will be in Ubisoft's interests to adopt a similar online pass system as EA Sports has done? Is such a move going too far? Share your opinions in the comment section below.