The transition to next-gen has become a woeful tale for those hunting for the new Sony and Microsoft consoles. While some developers have opted to give free upgrades from current-gen to next-gen, others have decided to charge for the upgrade. Instead of using next-gen hardware for a considerable leap in gameplay, EA has opted to charge people for what looks like more of the same. Worse yet, it’s necessitating the marginal “upgrades” in gameplay for Madden and FIFA 22 as a $99 purchase for access to its next-gen versions.
As reported by GamesIndustry, players will need to buy the physical MVP or Dynasty version of Madden 22 at $99 and $120, respectively, to access the next-gen upgrade. For FIFA, players will need to buy any version of FIFA 22 Ultimate Edition, which is also $99. If a player doesn’t want to shell out the extra cash to have the free upgrade, they will have to repurchase the game on a PS5 or Xbox Series console.
The complaints about the lack of innovation in EA Sports titles have lasted for several years now. Each year seems to add less and less or even strips away features from previous generations. EA calls its upgrade path “Dual Entitlement,” which was used last year for Madden 21 and FIFA 21. Fans already gave backlash to the timed availability of the upgrade last year, but this news will not make them any happier. Its pricing model means that EA believes its upgrade is worth $20.
While arguments could be made about whether or not next-gen upgrades should be free, it should be noted that most of the upgrades are not just visual fidelity improvements. Using the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut as an example, the game will be adding a new island, Japanese voiceover synchronization, and full Dual Sense support. According to Forbes, Madden 21 only upgraded the graphics and changed player movement controls (for better or worse) and leaves everything else virtually the same.
Only time will tell whether or not longtime players of the series will believe the same when Madden 22 releases on August 10 and FIFA 22 releases on October 1.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz, Forbes