In recent weeks, we’ve seen a bit of drama when it comes to the digital delivery of some of EA’s games. This has mainly occurred on Steam, where Crysis 2 was removed from Valve’s platform, and just this morning, Dragon Age 2. While there are a number of reasons for this, overall it stems from EA pushing their new content delivery system, Origin, as a competitor to Valve’s monopoly.
Here are some thoughts from EA CEO John Riccitiello about the future of Origin, given in a recent conference call with video game press.
“We’ve had a lot of inbound inquiry about getting on. I think forward-looking publishers really want their content on any and every platform possible. One more sale is better than not… We hope to be HBO meets Netflix for gaming. But we’re also very keen to have our content distributed to anywhere and everywhere gamers are.”
So while that does sound like they want to keep their future releases on platforms like Steam, it also sounds like they are setting up a rival system all the same. I’d bet that a big portion of their hopes hinge on The Old Republic and Battlefield 3.
As someone that hopes to play Battlefield 3 in the coming months, the idea of yet another content platform on my PC is kind of irksome at the moment, but I’m willing to see how it plays out. What are your thoughts? Is this like trying to take on iTunes in the music industry? What do you think of EA’s goals here?
Source – Gamasutra
Sounds to me like EA is trying to have its cake and eat it too. They want some of their titles on Steam where the bulk of PC gamers are connected, at the same time as trying to set up a competing service. Surely its gotta be one or the other. Either you work with Valve/Steam or your competing against them.
Until EA has managed to buy up the majority of the gaming industry and has got most of the games on Origin, I don’t see anything stopping the Steam juggernaut. Steam got there first, they have got a great system set up, I honestly don’t see anything being able to match it.
Except iTunes sucks… I really hate what EA has done with Origin, yes Valve did a similar thing with Steam when Half Life 2 first came out but they did not constantly barrage you with marketing and “exclusive” stuff the way EA is. I am more than happy with it existing but once stuff is exclusive I take issue. on a side note, EA blaming Valve for removing the game(s) is bull shit because EA is the one that violated Valves terms of service(something they won’t comment on), most likely to make it Origin friendly. If Mass Effect 3 comes out only on Origin I will not play it, same goes for Battlefield 3(on PC). while that sounds a little extreme I really REALLY don’t want another content platform like GFWL on my computer, steam works, I have friends on it, they do cool stuff….also, TF2 Hats…Nuf said.
On another side note. If Origin succeeds, Microsoft will start using GFWL in the same manner and we will suddenly lose more tittles on steam. and then Activision will follow suit and sooner than you can say “WELL EXCUSE ME PRINCES!” we will have to install five different digital distribution platforms just to play our favorite games. If that happens I don’t think I will continue to be a PC gamer.
We already have two consoles with console “exclusives” We don’t need the same console war just on PC where content is split up between Steam GFWL and Origin. XBL is used on the 360, PSN on the PS3, and Steam on PC. can we keep it that way?
“Is this like trying to take on iTunes in the music industry?”
Well, Artists are taking on iTunes because it is the most bullshit delivery system imaginable. Thousands of artists were, and are, being cheated by them. If I heard indie developers were being burned by Steam left right and center, I would hesitate to use their services. HOWEVER, Steam has been incredible, and more than kind to gamers with their services.
I am 100% with Gadfly. I don’t want to hurt the devs, I want to play this game SO bad, but I won’t have multiple services on my machine just to play games. Steam is Steam, it works, it’s awesome, and it’s Valve. Come on!
There seems to be some miscommunication here… my point was taking on something as big as iTunes. I was not commenting on the quality of iTunes (my post in no way indicates that), so much as taking on the juggernaut in your field. Yeesh.
They saw that they could have a bit more money and now they’re having it.
I’m all for competition, but I hate fragmentation. Most likely I won’t use Origins, just because I won’t be playing any EA games.
[quote comment=”17164″]There seems to be some miscommunication here… my point was taking on something as big as iTunes. I was not commenting on the quality of iTunes (my post in no way indicates that), so much as taking on the juggernaut in your field. Yeesh.[/quote]
I know that, I just couldn’t resist a good-ol iTunes bashing 😀
I know what you meant eddie. I was just saying there is no reason to kill the giant if the giant is friendly.
EA = Eat Ass
Origin = Oh, right? It’s good? It’s not.
Steam = Supremacy. Totally efficient and manageable.
Steam rules. Both in terms of awesomeness and market domination. With very good reason. They work FOR the customer. Not against.
If EA doesn’t release BF3 on Steam, they will permanently lose me as a customer.
I apprecaite the desire for competition, but that isn’t their motivation here. They are doing what every other business in America has done for that last 20 years. Screw the customer for every cent possible. Rather than just making focusing on their customers by making EA titles more attractive on steam (more sales, bonus games, etc) they want their own platform to keep the fee they give to steam on every unit sold. The bean counters again screw their own customers to raise the stock price. Am I the only one who believes in building a company FOR the customer instead of to FORNICATE them?
Let me buy the game at fair price on the platform I want so everyone can get paid and I can play the game I want without any bullshit. PLEASE.
Gadfly Jim makes a very good argument there: another War of some kind. I know that healthy competition encourages improvements but this just seems to be an unhealthy form of competition. I can’t see PC gamers taking this well because we all know that there will be some BS DRM issues coming hand-in-hand with the big publisher’s new content delivery systems.
Just to clarify, what ARE the rules on Steam regarding DRM? I’m not very learned on Steam… yet.
[quote comment=”17161″]Except iTunes sucks… I really hate what EA has done with Origin, yes Valve did a similar thing with Steam when Half Life 2 first came out but they did not constantly barrage you with marketing and “exclusive” stuff the way EA is. I am more than happy with it existing but once stuff is exclusive I take issue. on a side note, EA blaming Valve for removing the game(s) is bull shit because EA is the one that violated Valves terms of service(something they won’t comment on), most likely to make it Origin friendly. If Mass Effect 3 comes out only on Origin I will not play it, same goes for Battlefield 3(on PC). while that sounds a little extreme I really REALLY don’t want another content platform like GFWL on my computer, steam works, I have friends on it, they do cool stuff….also, TF2 Hats…Nuf said.
On another side note. If Origin succeeds, Microsoft will start using GFWL in the same manner and we will suddenly lose more tittles on steam. and then Activision will follow suit and sooner than you can say “WELL EXCUSE ME PRINCES!” we will have to install five different digital distribution platforms just to play our favorite games. If that happens I don’t think I will continue to be a PC gamer.
We already have two consoles with console “exclusives” We don’t need the same console war just on PC where content is split up between Steam GFWL and Origin. XBL is used on the 360, PSN on the PS3, and Steam on PC. can we keep it that way?[/quote]
Wait wait wait so you would neglect playing probably two of the best games of this generation just because you don’t want to download a client? Let’s be a little rational here, just because it’s not on Steam doesn’t mean the end of the world. And EA knows that a large amount of PC gamers play most if not all of their games on Steam, so they are not going to neglect that market. That’s just bad business. They will, however, give you an incentive to use their service, cause well, it’s THEIR service, and they have every right to.
On topic, this was bound to happen. Steam can’t stay at the unreachable top forever, and in addition to EA, Gamestop is starting to want to take a piece out of the Steam pie. And its smart, especially since if they are selling their own game directly to the customer, rather than having a middle man, it makes more money. Unfortunately gamers when they here this kind of news don’t really look at from a business perspective, and just do this: http://bit.ly/pRN3d7
What’s happened is that EA and Valve had an agreement on the DLC’s. EA broke the agreement twice for Crysis 2 and Dragon Age 2 because of this.
For Crysis 2, EA made another agreement with another download service which breached Valve’s contract and therefore the game was pulled. For Dragon Age 2, EA wanted customers to only be able to buy the DLC’s from the in-game store and not allowing Valve any profit, resulting in its pull as well. These two games join Alice: Madness Returns, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and possibly Battlefield 3.
The way I see it, both companies are being silly. Valve should let companies distribute their content any way they want because it’s their game after all. EA is being even more silly for these actions however. By taking off games from Steam, you already take away more than 60% of the digital distribution market share. EA made an agreement with Valve and should have kept it. EA is just being greedy and trying to promote Origin. Though it may initially work for Star Wars and Battlefield 3, nobody will care thereafter.
The only reason why there is so much talk about Origin right now isn’t because people are liking it, but hating it and finding it controversial.
“You agree that EA may collect, use, store and transmit technical and related information that identifies your computer…. EA may also use this information combined with personal information for marketing purposes…. We may also share that data with our third party service providers in a form that does not personally identify you.” – EA Origin’s EULA.
Though Steam has a similar clause, they make it absolutely what date they’re collecting it is opt-in.
Basically what I’m saying is: Stop EA, you’re being silly here.
I personally view EA as the videogame devil. They seem to take great games and water them down (Mass Effect). I really do not like EA and I don’t want them to set up their own system because I feel like it will just be their cash cow and not a system set up to really help gamers buy games.
I honestly don’t care either way, my computer already has Steam, Impulse, D2D and whatever other clients I use. Origin is a janky POS right now, but so was Steam when it launched.
The only problem I’ve had so far with Origin is the fact that they still haven’t worked out the kinks for region-based pricing, and I ended up paying American for the Battlefield 3 pre-order (which is more than the Canadian total). Also, the fact that The Old Republic charged you for the five dollar pre-order on top of the full cost of the game, then would refund you the retail price. That was weird, and a large part of why I didn’t pre-order that game.
Besides that, though, I don’t really care all that much. Steam is obviously better right now because of the breadth of titles available (and indie games and things like that)but Origin will improve with time. I mean, it has to, right?
For me, it comes down to being a fanboy. Comparing it to Itunes doesn’t work for me, as I hate apple. The reason for this is I think they think their software is so god damn awesome, when it just isn’t. They charge 50 million dollars for an ipadpodphone when it costs them 13 cents to make one. That’s their software they are charging for. Itunes is impracticle and buying songs is just impossible. If sony made an itunes rival, I’d use that straight away.
Which brings me onto steam. Valve is a great gaming company, and steam is a fantastic platform. It’s great to use, easy to use, and they have amazing specials all the time. Why would I leave or use something else? Don’t fix what isn’t broken.
So make an itunes rival. Because apple, the company, is broken.
Yep, 300 billion dollars broken.
http://mashable.com/2011/01/03/apple-300-billion/
I understand, EA put an in-game store in Crysis 2 and Dragon Age II and Steam doesn’t allow that. I think if a publisher wants to do that, it’s fine, but some may disagree. Either way, it helps to be on Steam and have your own download service.
[quote comment=”17161″] If Mass Effect 3 comes out only on Origin I will not play it, same goes for Battlefield 3(on PC)[/quote]
Wait wait wait so you would neglect playing probably two of the best games of this generation just because you don’t want to download a client?[/quote]
I put “On PC” in brackets 🙂 there is no way I would neglect my BF3 for good, I would just not buy it on PC. I am not too sure about ME3, If it is Origin exlusive at launch I will wait and see if Origin collapses and BF3 and ME3 get re-released on Steam. If that never happens I will re-play my 3 ME1 characters and 5ish ME2 characters on console so that my save games can transfer over. So no I would not Neglect two of my favorite franchises, just the PC version.
Sorry for the multiple posts but I just had a thought. Here is the thing about Origin, it is owned by EA, that means that Microsoft, Ubisoft, 2K, Activision, THQ, and countless other publishing companies are never going to sell their games on it. It would be like giving money to the competition. the beauty of Steam is that it is not run by a publisher but an independent little studio we know of as Valve Software.
While I do think it’s nice to have that variety in the digital distribution market for games, I think Origin is really late to the party. We’ve already got the App Store, Steam, D2D, GFWL, OnLive, and other obscure platforms. Origin will only complicate things more with developers.
Another problem I have with Origin is that EA really doesn’t seem to be catering to indie devs, or any other developers for that matter. To be fair, Origin is only a few weeks old, but if EA was smart, they’d be offering incentives for indie devs to release Origin exclusives, as well as lining up bigger devs to release content on Origin. Valve’s Steam was so bare back in 2003-2004 because they were one of the first to offer such a platform for the PC, wherein everything was digital. GFWL and D2D were nonexistent back then. Now, the digital delivery method has become so huge that EA made a big mistake by not supplying a wide launch catalog. I’m pretty sure they could afford to. Origin has the competitive advantage of being new, but if it doesn’t supply varied content, nobody will care about it in a few months. Battlefield 3 doesn’t have the power to push Origin the way Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source pushed Steam all those years ago.
It’s a real shame, too. I own The Sims 3 on Steam, and I can almost sense that its days on Valve’s platform are numbered.