Yes, I'm a bit late to the party; EA Sports first implemented its online pass in the latest Tiger Woods offering. I instead discovered this pimple of a gameplay experience in NHL 11, a title I sheepishly thought I could throw into my PS3 and - sillly, me - update my rosters, unlock the most basic of game features.

A funny think happened on the way to gaming simplicity, that being some wackadoo verification system that failed to activate. First issue: EA decided to lock their sports titles to respective regions, meaning my disgustingly overpriced Australian version of the game would not authenticate on a North America (or other) console. A basic Internet search confirmed not only a slew of Online Pass region unlock issue (notably in the EU), the pain in the rear appeared centered specifically on Australia. Oz gamers were having issues unlocking Oz titles...on Oz consoles...forced to call EA to remedy.

A workaround appeared in Lorrie's suggestion weeks ago (a comment on my NHL 11 preview, ironically enough) to create multiple accounts in different countries. Verify the title through your native region account, everything is subsequently unlocked in sister accounts even across regions. Minor plothole there, EA: way to go naked to your own prom.

Related and thankfully, I was not one of the many Oz gamers who - despite any/everything - still couldn't activate the damn pass system. Before one questions the big hullaballoo here, I'd like to point out that absence of an Online Pass means being devoid of any/every online feature. No rosters, multiplayer, competitive leagues, use of new 'Ultimate Team' components. In short: you've purchased a glorified and quite expensive demo.

Used gamers, of course, are up the proverbial turd creek sans paddle, forced to purchase their own Online Passes. Thus, expect any/every EA Sports title to come with a nice $10+ penalty to use them appropriately.

As someone who has occasionally justified online feature pay-to-play, this system, however, crosses a fine line of removing versus adding base gameplay components. Yes, a devil's advocate would indicate that the Online Pass System is needed to justify server maintenance, related costs. An equal adversary, however, would reason that sports titles - by nature - are often rehashed with only roster and subtle gameplay additions reasons for an annual $100 title upgrade.

Ironically enough, all this system does is convince this gamer to purchase much less expensive, region-coded version of titles, unlock through alternate region accounts. In short: a big middle finger to EA seeking to control content across countries.

You've been warned, my friends.