A firm reminder of why backward compatibility is important
EA Access has found its footing on Xbox One and PC, but until now, PS4 users haven’t been able to try the subscription-based service. For the right type of person, it can be a bargain – it’s a way to get in, catch up on games, and get out – but the value depends on your personal tastes and your schedule.
For $4.99 per month (or $29.99 for a year), EA Access has several benefits, with the major ones being early access to brand-new games, including 10-hour trials, and the vault – a library of full games.
The list of games varies from platform to platform, but on PS4, this is what EA Access entails:
Sports
- FIFA 15
- FIFA 16
- FIFA 17
- FIFA 18
- FIFA 19
- Madden NFL 15
- Madden NFL 16
- Madden NFL 17
- Madden NFL 18
- Madden NFL 19
- Madden NFL 25
- NBA Live 15
- NBA Live 16
- NBA Live 18
- NBA Live 19
- NHL 16
- NHL 17
- NHL 18
- NHL 19
- Rory McIlroy PGA Tour
- UFC
- UFC 2
- UFC 3
Non-Sports
- A Way Out
- Battlefield 1
- Battlefield 4
- Battlefield Hardline
- Battlefield V
- Burnout Paradise Remastered
- Dragon Age Inquisition
- Fe
- Mass Effect Andromeda
- Mirror’s Edge Catalyst
- Need for Speed (2015)
- Need for Speed Payback
- Need for Speed Rivals
- Peggle 2
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
- Star Wars Battlefront
- Star Wars Battlefront II
- The Sims 4
- Titanfall 2
- Unravel
- Unravel Two
Outside of the Vault, there’s also an Anthem trial, and looking ahead, EA Access will have “Play First” trials for Madden NFL 20 (it’s live now) and FIFA 20 (the game is out September 27). Basically, if you’re into EA’s annual sports games, you stand to benefit the most. Otherwise, your results will vary.
Personally, I’ve only subbed once. I used Origin Access Premier to burn through Battlefield V, and then I canceled my plan as the month was wrapping up. From that perspective, it worked great. I paid fifteen bucks to get my fill of a newly-launched game. No complaints there. I’ll probably do it again.
Given that Xbox One has tons of Xbox 360 games to play through backward compatibility, that’s where I’d lean if I were going to subscribe to EA Access on a console. As is, the PS4 list can’t stack up.
EA Access Hub [PlayStation Store]
