Online Pass

The days of entering codes into your PlayStation 3 before connecting with your peers are long over, as EA has announced that it’s doing away with its Online Pass system. In an email sent to GamesBeat overnight, the company’s senior director of corporate communications John Reseburg confirmed that the publisher’s poised to do away with the controversial practice for all of its future releases.

Reseburg explained that “many players didn't respond to the format”, despite the initiative being adopted by virtually every other publisher in the industry. "We've listened to the feedback and decided to do away with it moving forward,” he said candidly.

Of course, you have every right to feel cynical. EA introduced the Online Pass in 2010, and instantly reported profits of $10 - $15 million from the system, which forced folks purchasing used games to pay extra for any included online options. With such a large chunk of change being left on the table, we have to imagine that the publisher has an alternative revenue stream in mind – those microtransactions in Mass Effect 3 proved popular, didn’t they?

[source venturebeat.com, via joystiq.com]