Free Premium Service Offered for Madden NFL 2005
New features and perks available for free for EA Sports' upcoming Madden installment this fall.
Electronic Arts has announced plans to launch an EA SPORTS Premium Pass. Sponsored by Dodge, the pass is a free service that launches alongside the game's release, making new features and perks available to those who sign up.
Available for both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, the service will be open to all, but requires a credit card to register. While skeptics may cry foul and say it's a precursor to paid online services, EA says the premium service will benefit core fans.
"We wanted to separate it from the regular features because we heard from user base that they wanted a premium service to get rid of all the riffraff in the online world," said Chip Lange, Vice President of EA Sports Nation. "We have run into a lot of problems of people who get online and create multiple personas. We want to create an elite populace that is monitored more closely."
Whether or not the premium will ultimately evolve to a paid-service remains up in the air. "We haven't talked about long term business model, but there are a lot of opportunities moving forward," added Lange.
If successful, the premium service may also extend to other franchises, such as NHL 2005 or FIFA, which is especially popular in Europe. "What we're going to do is make sure get Madden done right. EA Sports comes with certain quality level that customers have come to expect, and we want to make sure everything is right for this one. After we get everything straight, we're thinking of roll the service out on multiple titles, but we can't say anything definitive at this point."
Premium features include:
EA Reputation Boost: Players who sign up for the EA Sports Premium Pass receive a boost to their online Reputation Rating, a publicly visible indicator that rewards and penalizes players for following EA Sports Fair Play rules. Users will now be able to discriminate against feverishly annoying players.
Name in Lights: All subscribers will have their name highlighted from non-members in the game and on the EA SPORTS Premium Pass web pages.
Personalized Career Pages: One central Career page will host online stats and records, along with Fantasy Football and the latest EA SPORTS News.
Expanded Leaderboards: Members-only leaderboards have dozens of statistics and a new search tool.
Customizable Streaming Sports Ticker on Web: Pulling in multiple real world sports feeds as well as EA SPORTS online system messages, users can customize the sports news they see, find out when buddies log on, and track their Madden 2005 scores.
EA Calendar: Subscribers can set their "time online" preferences and organize Madden NFL 2005 challenges and tournament games.
Members Only Medals: Reaching major milestones and winning big online events gets players special medals that can be displayed next to their game trophies in their Trophy Room on their Personal Career web pages.
Exclusive EA SPORTS Premium Pass Message Boards
Early Registration for the Madden Challenge: Subscribers get 48 hours to register before non-subscribers for Madden Challenge registration. Registration for the Madden Challenge, a 32-city competition that determines the best Madden NFL Football player in the country, is currently open for the Minneapolis and Green Bay stops.
Madden University: Online tips and hints, featuring rookie, mid-level and hard core tactics. The site will be updated weekly with the latest online strategies and host various columns from well known community players.
Members Only Customer Support: Priority web, email, and in-game support from EA Customer Support.
Additional features will be rolled out later on, including:
Web Leagues: Members can create football leagues, schedule games, and play them online. The game outcomes affect your team's status and ability to make the playoffs. In addition, members can replicate the NFL season with conference, division, and scheduling customization.
Enhanced Web Tournaments: Schedule and manage Madden tournaments on the web. Players can set up a tournament and check its progress from any web browser.
Personalized Email Updates: EA SPORTS Premium Pass subscribers will have the chance to receive regular email updates that highlight their latest Madden NFL 2005 stats, tournament games, leaderboard movement, and other online info.
Hall of Fame Web Leaderboards: Separate from the Madden Overall Leaderboards, the Hall of Fame Web Leaderboards offer a chance for EA SPORTS Premium Pass holders to achieve a top spot on a monthly leaderboard that will be archived in The Hall of Fame Web Leaderboards for all to see.
The free premium will be open to all, without any limits to how many can join, or time expirations. EA Sports is expecting to run the service until the next installment (Madden 2006) hits stores.
Developed by EA Tiburon, Madden NFL 2005 is rated "E" for Everyone by the ESRB.
