EA Says Online Pass Used Game DRM Was a Mistake, Mum on Xbox One

From DailyTech: In an interview with Polygon, Electronic Arts, Inc.'s (EA) chief operating officer Peter Moore the executive opened up somewhat about his company's controversial DRM efforts, while dodging other questions on the issue.

From 2010 to 2013 EA had embraced a controversial form of digital rights management (DRM) dubbed "Online Pass". Consumers received a code that allowed them to access online content, while used game purchasers were locked out of add-on content. The feature was killed off this month amid EA's financial struggles; rumor had it that the program was losing money.

Mr. Moore, claims the decision was not financially motivated but rather was made out of EA's deep compassion for customers. He comments, "Online Pass was more trouble to the consumer than it was worth. It was a mistake. The consumer's feedback was that this thing gets in the way of a good experience so let's get rid of it."

He hints at more DRM may be on the horizon though, via Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) "always-on" Xbox One. He remarks, "[O]ur official position is, 'I'll get back to you'. Sony have announced what they are going to do which is, y'know, business as usual, and then Microsoft are looking at allowing a publisher to opt-in, should they choose to do so. But if we opt in, do [Microsoft] charge a fee, and if so, how much?"

But he denies allegations that Microsoft's new anti-consumer policy was the result of EA lobbying. He states, "I can tell you that EA did not aggressively lobby for the platform holders to put some gating function in there to allow or disallow used games. I am on record as being a proponent of used games. I like the ecosystem. I like the fact that it's kept pricing at a good level for eight years. I like the fact that someone can buy a physical game and see some equity in that game. That keeps GameStop vibrant and they are a great launch and marketing partner for us."

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