Memo details EA Sports subscription service
New service makes downloadable content transferrable between titles
Potential plans for an EA Sports subscription service have emerged online, with the company apparently contemplating a range of different payment schemes.
The details come from surveys forwarded to website pastapadre.com and may not represent EA's final plans, but they do suggest a price range of between $14.99 and $34.99 depending on the volume and timeliness of content.
The general plans for the service appear to be an extension of the company's current usage of downloadable content, and cover titles including Madden NFL, FIFA, NHL, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, SSX and NCAA Football.
Depending on the subscription users will receive discounts on downloadable content, full downloadable versions of games before their official release, an in-game "recognition badge", free and exclusive downloadable content for consoles, and free and exclusive PC and web content such as the FIFA 12 Creative Center
Users will also be given the opportunity to transfer paid content from one version of a game to another, removing the need to constantly buy the same content for each yearly iteration of a game. The example given is for courses in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 (which has drawn criticism for its high volume of expensive downloadable content) being transferred to next year's Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13.
The leaked information indicates that subscriptions can be purchased from retailers, through the EA website or via Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.
The cheapest subscription service listed is $14.99 and includes a 30 per cent discount on content, and allows titles to be downloaded three days before launch. However, membership recognition and using content in future versions is not included.
The other subscription options vary the size of the discount, the lead time of early access, and the amount of features - with only the $34.99 sub including every option.
EA Sports president Peter Moore recently discussed persistent game profiles across all Electronic Arts titles, although he has not yet indicated which will first include the feature.
"Regardless of where you are, what platform you have, what game you're playing... you're constantly connected," he said.
"This is how we envision the future of our industry, and this is how we at EA Sports individualise and personalise this as the future of our brand and ultimately the future of what Electronic Arts as a whole is going to do across all of its titles," he added.