Electronic Arts (EA) will provide America Online (AOL) members with free access to five games from EA’s Club Pogo, a new subscription service offering exclusive games and a variety of services that non-AOL members pay $4.99 a month ($29.99 annually) to access.
AOL members who want access to the community services available through Pogo will receive a special discounted rate of $2.99 a month ($19.99 annually). AOL members need to use AOL 9.0 Optimized, the latest version of the company’s broadband services, to take advantage of the EA offer.
The deal is the latest effort by AOL to move more dial-up members to its higher fee broadband service.
“Playing games online is one of our members favorite daily activities — in fact, it ranks most popular after email and instant messaging — and Club Pogo is a great addition to our selection of online games currently available through AOL,” said Matt Bromberg, VP and general manager of AOL Games. “We are excited to be able to exclusively offer members this unique value as part of their membership. In addition to access to these popular premium games for free, they’ll have the option to subscribe for more community benefits for about half the price.”
The Club Pogo site’s services include exclusive games with enhanced graphics, chat rooms, sound and player features and a variety of ways to win large prizes. Club Pogo also eliminates intermissions, pop-ups and advertising interruptions, and features a one-time download.
“AOL has always been a great partner with EA’s online publishing group, because both companies are dedicated to fostering strong online communities and providing them with the highest level of entertainment,” said Lesley Mansford, VP of EA Online Publishing. “AOL’s gaming community is among our most vibrant and active, and therefore we are pleased to reward them with this new enhanced and exclusive service at a discounted rate.”
