Sony Considers 'Online Pass' For MLB The Show

Sony’s European president said the company is “broadly supportive” of measures like EA Sports’ Online Pass – which enables online features through a one-use code free in retail copies – and is considering them for titles like MLB The Show.(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c&cid=872d12ce-453b-4870-845f-955919887e1b'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ [[link]] playerId: "995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c" }).render("79703296e5134c75a2db6e1b64762017"); }); “On the principle of making online portions of the game available or unlocked from the disc-based release for a fee, we’re broadly [[link]] supportive of that,” Andrew House, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, told GamesIndustry.biz yesterday. “And we’re exploring actively the same option for our own content.” One-use codes that enable online components are free to retail buyers, but cost $5 or $10 for those who acquire a copy without one – typically as a used game. It’s a means for a publisher to get a cut of the used-game sales pie. Sony’s first-party content would be more than just sports, of course. Electronic Arts’ own “Project $10” online codes predate the “Online Pass” the sports division inaugurated with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11’s release in July. But it is in annualized sports titles, with a larger catalog that is regularly traded in for newer models, where such a practice stands to generate the most revenue off the used market for a publisher. That said, recent numbers from GameStop suggest that it didn’t suffer much in the first quarter in which it dealt with used sales that are, presumptively, lacking online access. https://kotaku.com/thq-raises-price-of-online-multiplayer-pass-to-10-5618155 MLB 10 The Show is routinely praised [[link]] as among the best sports simulations, baseball or otherwise, but its multiplayer is nowhere near as highly regarded. GameStop says only 25 percent of its used-games customers are interested in multiplayer, and I’d bet the number dips even more for a game like baseball, whose strongest modes are typically franchise and singleplayer career. Sony Looking At Online Pass Equivalent For First-Party Titles [GamesIndustry.biz]