It seems that there is a good reason that Electronic Arts' EA Access is exclusive to Microsoft's Xbox One gaming consoles. Sony explains that the service was not a good fit for its PlayStation 4 gamers and that they didn't feel it offered enough value.
Electronic Arts recently announced that EA Access will offer gamers access to older EA gaming titles for $30 per year or $4.99 per month. Members of the service will have access to the EA "Vault" of games, such as FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, and Battlefield 4. The beta version of EA Access is already rolling out to Xbox One. The service also offers a 10 percent discount on EA digital purchases, along with demos of new games before their release dates.
Sony, however, turned down the service for its PlayStation 4 console, citing that the service offered poor value to its gamers.
"We evaluated the EA Access subscription offering and decided that it does not bring the kind of value PlayStation customers have come to expect," a Sony representative told Game Informer. "We don't think asking our fans to pay an additional $5 a month for this EA-specific program represents good value to the PlayStation gamer."
PlayStation 4 gamers need not worry, though. Sony's own subscription service, PlayStation Plus, has seen a 200 percent increase in membership since the PlayStation 4 launch. That service offers two games per month for each of its consoles: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita. Although the cost of PlayStation Plus at $49.99 per year is slightly more expensive than EA Access, members also get exclusive content, like the upcoming "Powers" TV series.
Although, it's believed that Xbox One is using EA Access to compete with Sony's PlayStation Plus, it seems that Sony is right about their subscription service offering better value, as well as more games to its members. EA Access only offers EA titles, while PlayStation Plus delivers a large variety of titles from both indie and AAA game developers.
Gamers will have the final say in which service ends up on top, although most have already spoken with their wallets: The PlayStation 4 is still outselling the Xbox One, even after Microsoft dropped the price of their console to $399, the same cost of the PlayStation 4. Only time will tell if EA Access helps move more Xbox One units.
