A free next-gen upgrade? At FIFA and Madden this year, this is only available in the expensive Ultimate Editions. A digital version must also be purchased from FIFA, copies from retailers are generally excluded from the offer.
The offer of a free or at least inexpensive update to the next-gen -Version of a game is common during the transition period between two generations of consoles. Platform holders thereby facilitate the transition to the expensive new model, publishers who do not benefit from it tie customers to themselves and lure players who want to switch in the near future to make an immediate purchase.
Currently, however, the calculation is different. Because the new consoles promise, as usual, better and more beautiful, but also more expensive games. It is becoming increasingly clear that the upgrades should now justify a price increase – also made possible by the fact that PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S and Series X can also play games from their direct predecessors, so a change to the new model does not mean lose access to a game library. Updates from Sony, called “Director's Cut” there, therefore cost ten euros.
The upgrade is included for 100 euros
EA goes a different way. FIFA 22 and Madden 22 no longer include an upgrade option. At the time of purchase you have to decide on which platform you want to play. Because both the current and the next-gen version are only included in the MVP and Dynasty version of Madden or the Ultimate Edition of FIFA, the FAQs for the two titles reveal. A later upgrade is not offered, even for money, all that remains is the purchase of a new one.
This turns the update into an artificial incentive to sell around 100 euros more expensive versions of the games, which otherwise only contain negligible digital extras. In the case of FIFA, there is also the fact that the Ultimate Edition is only offered digitally, so EA switches off the retail trade, its profit margin and the resalable disc versions offered there.
The most important scores remain
Scores can be adopted when switching between the two versions become – at least the most important. The compilation reveals which these are. Career and co remain platform-specific, Volta Fooltball and of course Ultimate Team, EA's biggest cash cow, are always in sync.