14 DAY TRIAL // Electronic Arts is still maintaining that the Project Ten Dollar initiative, which offers exclusive content for free for those who are prepared to buy a videogame like Battlefield: Bad Company 2 or Mass Effect 2 while making those who get it from the used market pay for it, is not aimed at the second hand sales of videogames but at providing a better gaming experience for the average player.
Keith Ramsdale, who is the boss of the United Kingdom unit of Electronic Arts, told trade publication MCV that “It's all about the customer, about improving their experience. It's not a defensive measure against pre-owned or piracy.” But the executive also made it clear that the company needs to be talking to gamers themselves about their new system, in order to show off how they are affected, “that’s a sign of the business growing up and becoming a mature entertainment industry as much as anything. The approach is different. The platform holders’ job now is to educate consumers as to what their machines can do and to update via firmware. They don’t need to ship a new box.”
EA is offering a good narrative linked to both Project Ten Dollars and the more recent Online Pass initiative, but it's clear that the company is very interested in moving more new copies of their big titles and bringing in more revenue. That's the essence of their business and, as long as the rights of customers are not directly affected by the moves the publisher makes, it's a normal course of action.
The Online Pass concept, which will be integrated in EA Sports titles, already has fans at THQ, which asks those who buy used copies of UFC Undisputed 2010 to pay to get to the multiplayer component, and Ubisoft is also watching EA closely to see whether its new ideas are working in the marketplace.