[dreezymac]

With EA offering access to their titles early, it seems like they look to gradually cash in on those eager to get their feet wet before official releases. For the mainstream gamers who dont normally keep their ears to the street in early July and August or play more EA games than just the football titles, there isnt much bias against this option - it's a good investment and great opportunity to get "in the game" sooner. For those dedicated NCAA/Madden diehards however, some of which money is no object...those guys who for whatever reason whether it be for the thrill, bragging rights, a heads up on comp, etc, this presents a less stressful (the stress is arguable depending on your motivation) opportunity to get your hands on these titles and still serves the ultimate purpose of getting started on your game early.

As I warm up my NCAA sources to see if they're still in play, with exception to the rare few, sellers seem to be more and more unsure of exactly when they'll get the game and I notice a lot of them are mentioning the season ticket. EA has always done more and more to regulate the early release but now the offering of the game at a better than average early time and arguably better price as sellers is catching steam. I wont go so far as to say that sellers are bowing out of the early release game but it feels like there's an inevitable writing on the wall.

So for you diehards, I wanted to know - Is your motivation for the hunt diminishing at the opportunity for the sure thing? Nothing will ever quite replace the rush of sealing the deal and waiting to get that package in the mail or "covert" road trips to multiple outlets as the street date grows closer but simplicity seems to be rearing its always tempting head. Sometimes easy money is more attractive than rolling the dice...