Sunday, December 4th 2011
EA: New Online Gaming Content Codes Could Expire Before Even Being Used
If you're buying an Electronic Arts game, be prepared for the Online Pass that came with it to have already expired. This was the recent experience of a NeoGAF member who bought a brand new copy of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit from Amazon, only to find that he got an error message saying that the code was either incorrect or no longer valid. Gaming website Joystick picked up on this and asked an EA advisor about this situation. It turns out that it's EA's corporate policy to have some of these codes expire, but that no one should be faced with this, as a rule. However, if they are, then they can get a new one for free, by either downloading it or getting it from EA directly. Checking the EULA shows that at the moment, there is only one game with this restriction. It's only Dragon Age 2 (packaged) which has a time-limited an Online Pass code and that it expires on March 31, 2012:
The advisor didn't explain why these codes are designed to expire and it's hard to see exactly why. However, maybe it's to increase security of the product somehow, perhaps in a similar way that passwords at workplaces usually expire after a certain amount of time? Regardless, it's another inconvenient hoop that the honest gamer who's shelled out their hard-earned money has to jump through. In particular, one can see how these games that find themselves in the bargain basement a year later will all have expired codes, which will only be renewed at EAs discretion. Imagine the disappointment and frustration for the customer to see the online features being proudly advertised on the box, only to be denied at the point of installing the game. Then, it will be even more annoying should they contact EA about this only to be told that this feature has been removed. A feature like this could make or break a sale, so allowing such a situation potentially opens up EA to lawsuits for false advertising, since they are selling games that have had features removed by stealth. At the very least, such a customer would be entitled to a refund, which the shop would then be unlikely to give, because the box has been opened...
ONLINE PASS SERIAL CODE EXPIRES MARCH 31, 2012. EA ACCOUNT, REGISTRATION WITH ENCLOSED SINGLE-USE SERIAL CODES, INTERNET CONNECTION AND ACCEPTANCE OF END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT REQUIRED TO PLAY AND TO ACCESS BONUS CONTENT (IF ANY) AND ONLINE FEATURES AND/OR SERVICES. SERIAL CODES ARE NON-TRANSFERABLE ONCE USED. EA ONLINE PRIVACY POLICY AND TERMS OF SERVICE CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.EA.COM. YOU MUST BE 13+ TO ACTIVATE SOFTWAREAND REGISTER FOR AN EA ACCOUNT. EA MAY RETIRE ONLINE FEATURES AFTER 30 DAYS NOTICE POSTED ON WWW.EA.COM/2/SERVICE-UPDATES.Note that it doesn't say anything about a replacement code at all. Only by contacting EA does the customer have any idea what to do about this, which can be very frustrating.
The advisor didn't explain why these codes are designed to expire and it's hard to see exactly why. However, maybe it's to increase security of the product somehow, perhaps in a similar way that passwords at workplaces usually expire after a certain amount of time? Regardless, it's another inconvenient hoop that the honest gamer who's shelled out their hard-earned money has to jump through. In particular, one can see how these games that find themselves in the bargain basement a year later will all have expired codes, which will only be renewed at EAs discretion. Imagine the disappointment and frustration for the customer to see the online features being proudly advertised on the box, only to be denied at the point of installing the game. Then, it will be even more annoying should they contact EA about this only to be told that this feature has been removed. A feature like this could make or break a sale, so allowing such a situation potentially opens up EA to lawsuits for false advertising, since they are selling games that have had features removed by stealth. At the very least, such a customer would be entitled to a refund, which the shop would then be unlikely to give, because the box has been opened...
56 Comments on EA: New Online Gaming Content Codes Could Expire Before Even Being Used
That is all ;)
Here's one for you, EA: :nutkick:
Oh hey ! That would actually be a plus ! Just hang around till around a week before the expiry date, and the prices might drop enough to grab 5 for the price of 1 :D
remember children, people make mistakes. nobody is perfect. life can be difficult and sometimes you don't get instant gratification. that does not mean the person or party you believe wronged you is the devil.
Thankfully, I already own DA2, but haven't even started it. Guess I'll be activating it NAOW.:laugh:
being nice to others when they have made a mistake will take you very far in this world. playing the victim and bitching about something as meaningless as an expired game code will not.
All I could do to clarify it, is to pretty much repeat what I've said, rewording it a bit maybe, but I know from experience we'll end up going round in circles again and I'd rather not do that. :toast:Damn. Good find. I have that BF3 voucher I got with my 2700K CPU the other day. I guess I'd better activate it sooner rather than later. :ohwell:
And you know what? That EULA I pointed to doesn't show this! :mad: Your screenshot looks like a photo of the back of the box, perhaps?
we now know of a possible problem with EA games purchased from online vendors. this is how you should deal with it.
#1 if you have an EA game and have not activated it yet, spend 5 minutes and do it now to avoid a hassle down the road.
#2 if you purchase a game code and it happens to be expired when you receive it contact a rep and explain the issue. since EA knows and recognizes the problem be polite and you will surely receive a shiny new game code
/life lesson
Having codes for activation of the game itself expire is a relatively new thing. People need to be educated on how the system works.
Of course, it'd be more helpful if there was a link in the post showing people where to go to contact EA and fix the problem. Even then, becuase this post kinda specifically is centered towards consoles, even having codes in the first place is a relatively new thing. Normally you just needed the disc itself. To me, this seems a move against the rental market, adn has nothing to do with retail purchases. The whole thing was started with an XBOX360 copy of Hot Pursuit, BTW.
Also, I hate to say it, but I don't completely trust EA to necessarily honour their promise, either, given the kind of customer service stunts they're known to pull. I'm stressing that this last bit is purely my own opinion/feeling on this, so please don't bite my head off! lol :toast: