Xbox Game Pass adds EA Play at no extra cost

By Chris Morris September 9, 2020

Microsoft and Electronic Arts are teaming up to accelerate the arrival of the Netflix pricing model to the video game industry. The companies announced Wednesday, September 9 that Xbox Game Pass members would receive an EA Play membership at no extra cost beginning this holiday.

The announcement brings 60 more titles to the all-you-can-play service, including FIFA 20, Titanfall 2 and Need for Speed Heat. Players will also get up to 10-hour trials on newer titles such as Madden NFL 21 and FIFA 21. EA Play access also includes some of EA’s biggest franchises, including Battlefield, Mass Effect, Skate, and The Sims.

That’s on top of the over 100 Microsoft games that are already a part of Game Pass and the looming arrival of access to Microsoft’s xCloud streaming service.

Gamers with an “Ultimate” subscription will be able to access EA Play on their Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, and Windows 10 PCs.

Game Pass has been an increasingly popular service with Xbox owners. The company says 10 million people have signed up for it over the past three years.

The partnership is part of a growing tsunami of news Microsoft has been releasing in recent days as it prepares for the November 10 launch of Xbox Series X. Also on Wednesday, the company announced pre-orders for the Xbox Series X would open up on September 22. And on Tuesday, it confirmed the long-rumored Xbox Series S – a smaller version of its next-generation console, with fewer onboard features – and shocked players with a low $299 price point.

Sony, meanwhile, has remained silent about pricing and dates for the PlayStation 5, which has given Microsoft the spotlight to make its case to gamers. Sony is expected to begin making its own announcements soon.

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Chris Morris has covered consumer technology and the video game industry since 1996, offering analysis of news and trends and…

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PlayStation Plus is getting a major price hike following Game Pass changes

PlayStation Plus art highlighting the essential, extra, and premium tiers.

Sony confirmed that 12-month subscriptions for PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium will all see price increases alongside the reveal of September's new Essential games on the PlayStation Blog.
Starting on September 6, 12 months of PS Plus Essential goes up in price from $60 to $80, PS Plus Extra's yearly price increases from $100 to $135, and an annual subscription to PS Plus Premium will rise from $120 to $160.

Sony says it needs to increase the price of all three versions of PlayStation Plus "to continue bringing high-quality games and value-added benefits to your PlayStation Plus subscription service" and that buying a 12-month subscription is still cheaper than subscribing to any of the shorter-term plans over the same period of time. The price hikes comes just a couple of months after Microsoft raised the price of Xbox Game Pass.
When it comes to the games PS Plus Essential subscribers can expect this month, first up is Saints Row, a 2022 reboot of an open-world crime franchise that garnered mixed reviews upon its release. Next is Generation Zero, an open-world sci-fi shooter where players fight evil machines. Finally, those who have not already purchased a version of the MMO Black Desert on PS4 can redeem Black Desert - Traveler Edition, which comes with some additional items; if you have bought a version of Black Desert, you can just redeem the Traveler Item Pack.

Gaming

PlayStation Portal misunderstands remote play and cloud gaming’s appeal

A PlayStation Portal boots up.

Sony finally revealed more details about its upcoming handheld, now called PlayStation Portal, but these announcements have soured my opinion on the device rather than hyped me up for it. I enjoy cloud gaming and have used a variety of services like Google Stadia, Amazon Luna, and Xbox Cloud Gaming - across my phone and even dedicated devices like the Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld. Because of that, I was really excited to see what PlayStation could do as it entered the space. Unfortunately, some specific exclusions from PlayStation Portal's functionality that make it more of a remote-play device rather than a cloud gaming handheld indicate that Sony has a fundamental misunderstanding about what people would want out of a PlayStation game streaming handheld.

Namely, the device's positioning as primarily a "remote play dedicated device" and the exclusion of PlayStation Plus Premium cloud gaming compatibility drastically shrinks the number of reasons people should pick the device up. Cloud gaming and devices built around it have been around long enough to show that an inclusive approach to the number of services, games, and kinds of game streaming available is vital to success, and for a $200 handheld, PlayStation Portal seems like it's excluding way too much.
Narrowing its appeal
Remote play differs from what's more ubiquitously referred to as cloud gaming players are running the games on their own consoles rather than a third-party console or server. Still, it's a form of streaming games over a Wi-Fi connection, typically through an app on a phone or device like the Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld. That means you'll have to stick around your own home to use the PlayStation Portal, and its game library is limited to whatever the user owns on the console. That's limiting (it's like if Steam Deck only ran Steam Link) but does have some use cases. Still, it doesn't necessarily feel like it warrants a dedicated $200 device over a phone and a nice mobile controller like the Razer Kishi V2 or Backbone One - PlayStation Edition; haptic feedback and adaptive triggers only go so far.

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A mage holding a flaming object.

After years in early access only on PC, Baldur's Gate 3 is finally here in its final state. This CRPG has the internet buzzing about just how long and varied the experience can be. What's even better is that it can be played in co-op, though with limited cross-platform features. Those looking at the game may notice that there is only ever mention of a PC and PlayStation 5 version, which obviously raises the question about Xbox consoles. Baldur's Gate 3 doesn't have any exclusivity deal with PlayStation, so why isn't it on Xbox, and will it ever be?
Will Baldur's Gate 3 come to Xbox?
https://twitter.com/Cromwelp/status/1685821620756021249?s=20

The latest update from Larian states that it will be able to release Baldur's Gate 3 on Series X and S sometime before the end of 2023, but with the S version not having split-screen coop.