Interviews

EA Sports' Chip Lange and Nathan Fahrenthold Discuss the Premium Pass Package for Madden NFL 2005

By Michael Lafferty

 

“It’s a great extension of the Madden product”

 

EA Sports is leading the way once again. The venerable sports publisher and developer is taking the next major step in the world of online gaming, regardless of platform, with the introduction of Premium Pass for Madden NFL 2005.

 

Premium Pass is a free service being offered this year that will have a wide range of features that the true fan of the sport has been needing and requesting. According to Chip Lange, vice president of EA Sports Nation, and Nathan Fahrenthold, EA Sports community producer, the services this package offers is a combination of what many fans have already been doing through a variety of mediums – not just through their Xbox or PlayStation 2 console systems.

 

According to the EA Sports press release:

 

“EA SPORTS Premium Pass presented by Dodge includes the following features, which will be released online throughout the month of August:

  • EA Reputation Boost:  Players who sign up for the EA SPORTS Premium Pass receive a boost to their online Reputation Rating, which is a publicly visible indicator that rewards and penalizes players for following EA SPORTS Fair Play rules.  Consumers will now be able to tell if their opponents play by the rules.

  • Name in Lights: Adding to the EA SPORTS Premium Pass VIP status, all subscribers will have their name highlighted from non-members in the game and on the EA SPORTS Premium Pass web pages, making it easy for serious Madden gamers to find each other, whether it’s for challenges or smack talking.

  • 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 are enhanced with dozens of statistics and a powerful new search tool.

  • Customizable Streaming Sports Ticker on Web: Pulling in multiple real world sports feeds as well as EA SPORTS online system messages, the Ticker will allow subscribers to customize the sports news they see, as well as find out when buddies log on and track their Madden NFL Football 2005 scores. 

  • EA Calendar: Subscribers can set their “time online” preferences and organize Madden NFL 2005 challenges and tournament games.  Other members can challenge them and be assured that they will find a suitable time on their calendar.

  • Members Only Medals: Major milestones and big online events won’t go unrewarded; EA SPORTS Premium Pass members will receive special medals that they can display next to their game trophies in their Trophy Room on their Personal Career web pages.

  • Exclusive EA SPORTS Premium Pass Message Boards: An exclusive place to hang out and chat on the message boards.

  • Early Registration for the Madden Challenge: Subscribers get a full 48 hours to register before non-subscribers for Madden Challenge registration. Registration for the Madden Challenge, a 32-city competition which determines the best Madden NFL Football player in the country, is currently open for the Minneapolis and Green Bay stops.

  • Madden University: More Madden online tips and hints than players knew existed can be found here.  Packed with rookie, mid-level and hard core tactics, Madden University will be updated weekly with the latest online strategies and host various columns from well known community luminaries.

  • Members Only Customer Support: Priority web, email, and in-game support from EA Customer Support.”

 

The Premium Pass will have an aggressive advertising campaign, hitting fans on the Web and in the game as well. As Lange explained: “What we are trying to do is to get as many of our users to experience this next phase of gaming.”

 

“We have a pretty broad spectrum of places to talk about this new premium pass,” said Fahrenthold.

 

But even so, both Lange and Fahrenthold admit this may not be for everyone. While many will opt for the advanced features, and functions, the goal is not to have everyone who plays the game sign up for the Premium Pass, at least not this season. Though, down the road …

 

”Our goal is in 100 percent of our users will be using this type of service in a couple of years,” said Lange.

 

“The entire premise of this is that EA is dead serious about online gaming and taking it to the level we have in developing the games,” Lange said. “We are excited to be bringing it into the marketplace and to do it at such a quality level.”

 

“It’s a great extension of the Madden product.”

 

John Madden has been a stickler for the details in the game that bears his name. So how will this fit into that scheme?

 

“John has a certain quality that he holds us to,” agreed Lange. Like “making sure that EA Sports maintains its quality advantage over its competitors … and this falls in line with all that.”

 

If two words summed up what Premium Pass will bring to Madden NFL 2005 users, those words would have to be “quality and innovation.”

 

Both Lange and Fahrenthold agreed that this addition to the game will require education on the part of both the user and EA Sports. The crew for EA Sports Nation will be refining what they are doing, getting feedback from the users, and the users will have to learn how to incorporate the amazing features of this title into their gaming world. And don’t worry, this will streamline the experience, not add to it.

 

“I don’t think this is any different than what they are already doing,” said Lange. “Our elite Madden user is a multi-media user.

 

“They are out there doing it themselves, and a lot of people have wanted EA to get off the sidelines and that’s what this represents.”

 

“And we’ve expanded it,” Fahrenthold said. “Basically the same stuff people are used to but expanding it out.”

 

Madden NFL 2005 will be in wide release on August 12 on the PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation, Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy Advance systems. Premium Pass will be available for PlayStation 2 and Xbox gamers.