Battlefield 3 Will Require Origin

[Vigormortis]

I'll add my voice to the chorus of those who don't see what the big deal is. This is EXACTLY the same thing that Valve did with Half-Life 2 and you might think that Steam is pretty shit-hot now but believe me, it was a piece of crap when it launched. So why is it okay for one but not the other?

It may be because, when Steam started out, it was a wholly new idea. Something that had not really be tried in that capacity before. Ergo, new and uncertain ground. Add to that Valve being rather small at the time and not having heaping piles of dough to throw around and you start to get the idea as to why it wasn't "that great" at the beginning.

Flash forward almost a decade. There are now dozens of DD services. Within and without of the gaming industry. Suddenly, along comes EA with Origin. Their own (current) attempt at the DD game. (because they've tried, and failed...horribly, before)

Now I've actually tried Origin. While is has some (very few) redeeming qualities, it's overall lack of features, capabilities, and over-bearing DRM restrictions are practically inexcusable. Why? Because EA has almost a decades worth of examples to look back on as to how to do it right, not to mention a large development team and piles upon piles of cash to fund it.

So, as some keep asking, why are we willing to accept Steam now and not Origin? Especially given that when Steam started out it was really crappy too? It's because Valve had an excuse back then. EA doesn't have one now.

 

[r_Chance]

It took me awhile to grin and bear it with Steam. It went from horrible in the beginning to decent later. I don't think I'm up to it for another service. Origin. No. I think my list of PC games just shrank by one. I'm lined up for more than I have time to play anyway.

 

[TCPirate]

Jesus! What is it with game companies forcing people to remain online to play their game.
The Settlers 7, BC3, Diablo 3. I'm getting really sick of this.

I have annoying internet connection that sometimes drops out, I hate the idea that I will be punished because I don't have a secure connection to the internet.

 

[Wintermoot]

I wasn't planning to get BF3 anyway but I don,t like where this is going.

 

[migo]

Would love to see these sources because I've never heard of Steam quoting the EULA outside of violation tickets.

It's not hard to find. It's been discussed on the Escapist. They quote the EULA for anything. Got a problem, they just respond back that they're not responsible for anything.

All I'm seeing is discrepancies over Terms of Service violations, and if you think telling someone to look through 482 different posts on the Escapist is providing a source, then there's no point in you responding.

Just pay more attention next time a discussion about Steam comes up.

 

[migo]

Jesus! What is it with game companies forcing people to remain online to play their game.
The Settlers 7, BC3, Diablo 3. I'm getting really sick of this.

I have annoying internet connection that sometimes drops out, I hate the idea that I will be punished because I don't have a secure connection to the internet.

You're not being forced to remain online with Origin. It just has to be present.

 

[ecoho]

and my hopes of a CoD free world die in horrible stupidity..........

 

[migo]

Would love to see these sources because I've never heard of Steam quoting the EULA outside of violation tickets.

It's not hard to find. It's been discussed on the Escapist. They quote the EULA for anything. Got a problem, they just respond back that they're not responsible for anything.

All I'm seeing is discrepancies over Terms of Service violations, and if you think telling someone to look through 482 different posts on the Escapist is providing a source, then there's no point in you responding.

Just pay more attention next time a discussion about Steam comes up.

Can you please provide sources? Pretty please? I'd hate to think someone with 2,500+ posts in a year would resort to claim something as fact yet not have the proof to back it up.

It's an issue my brother had with Dragon Age: Origins. Bought the Digital Deluxe Edition on Steam and it wouldn't work. Steam support just said it's not their problem. Had nothing to do with a ToS violation, it's just the game wouldn't work, and Steam wouldn't take responsibility.

 

[TCPirate]

Jesus! What is it with game companies forcing people to remain online to play their game.
The Settlers 7, BC3, Diablo 3. I'm getting really sick of this.

I have annoying internet connection that sometimes drops out, I hate the idea that I will be punished because I don't have a secure connection to the internet.

You're not being forced to remain online with Origin. It just has to be present.

Well that would be alright. As long as I don't have to purchase from Origin. I like to have a solid copy of games.

Edit: I like steam due to Steam Achievements. I'm not some achievement freak that has to finish every single one, but I like it when they add achievements that increase replayability.

 

[migo]

While achievements are nice, it's more important that Origin have the basic functionality of playing and launching games working before they throw anything else in. I'd certainly appreciate getting "It's A Me, Mario!" in Mirror's Edge, but I'd rather that come in after it leaves beta.

As for hard copy games, I fully agree if bought full price, but it's hard to get a hard copy game at $5 like you can with Origin sales (or Steam sales, or Impulse sales, etc), so if the game is only available through Origin, and I get it at an insane discount, I won't complain much. If a game is at Good Old Games and available elsewhere, I'll always buy through GoG though.

 

[deckai]

Jesus! What is it with game companies forcing people to remain online to play their game.
The Settlers 7, BC3, Diablo 3. I'm getting really sick of this.

I have annoying internet connection that sometimes drops out, I hate the idea that I will be punished because I don't have a secure connection to the internet.

You're not being forced to remain online with Origin. It just has to be present.

May I quote qwerty19411 for this one, who quoted the origin EULA

Do I need Origin to play EA games on my PC?

Yes, you need Origin to play PC games you have purchased via Origin. In addition to enabling faster download of EA games, pre-loading, and game patch updates, Origin provides security for your downloadable games. Instead of inserting a disc in the drive, you simply login to Origin periodically to start your game. If you are already logged in to Origin, you won't be prompted to login before starting your game. As an added benefit, Origin's security enables you to install your game on up to three machines - so you can play at work and at home!

Steam doesn't need that, it has a nice little feature called offline mode, I guess you know what that feature mean.

I'm not saying steam is perfect, but it never let me hanging (not like EA"=origin", hence the trust issues), and provided me with cheap games, a lot of older games that I can't find anywhere else and a lot of indi-games that I wouldn't have bought in a life-time if steam hadn't them featured. Beside that, as far as I know, they give the developer a bigger part of the cake(of the price) than any other retailer ever could.

I like steam, but I think for the sake of fairness, no developer or publisher should use a online-platform like steam or origin in the first place. That would minimize any monopole-related issues. Especially if it comes to hardcopys, than everyone could decide for themselves which online-platform they want to use. But that would mean, someone would need to regulate the market and this is something nobody is willing to do.

 

[dashiz94]

Allow me to rage:

NO ONE WANTS TO USE YOUR BLOODY SERVICE EA. There's a reason Steam has done so well, and that's because Valve treats their customers right. Not guaranteeing a pre-order is idiotic, but charging a 5 dollar service charge just to pre-order it? Ridiculous.

Next, QUIT STUNTING BATTLEFIELD 3. You want to topple Call of Duty as you've stated previously? Then stop pissing off your fans and just make the game as easily availabe as possible. It's idiotic, and I can guarantee that Activision's CEO is reading this article with glee right now because of how childish you're acting regarding your marketing.

Rage quit.

 

[Skratt]

EA rep: See? Told ya PC gaming is dead! Just look at these dismal sales!

In all seriousness, we'll see if they can pull this off without fucking it up.

*edit* nevermind, they charge an EXTRA $5 for the priviledge of pre-order? LOL! Steam usually discounts $5. Sad...

 

[migo]

Steam doesn't need that, it has a nice little feature called offline mode, I guess you know what that feature mean.

Origin has that too. I don't blame people who don't have any games for reading the EULA and drawing conclusions based on it, but it really would make more sense to listen to people who have first hand experience. If you're not connected, Origin boots up, tells you it's in offline mode and that online features aren't available, and causes no troubles in launching the game.

I'm not saying steam is perfect, but it never let me hanging (not like EA"=origin", hence the trust issues), and provided me with cheap games, a lot of older games that I can't find anywhere else and a lot of indi-games that I wouldn't have bought in a life-time if steam hadn't them featured. Beside that, as far as I know, they give the developer a bigger part of the cake(of the price) than any other retailer ever could.

Steam has left plenty of people hanging, and screwed over plenty more overseas, charging the same rate for Euros as the currently devalued US dollar, refusing to provide support for games that just plain don't work. GamersGate provides far better sales (and more consistent sales, there's ALWAYS something on sale on GG) with no DRM unless the developer insists on it, doesn't require any client to be running in the background, and rewards users with credit towards game content for purchasing and just being active and writing reviews.

It's Good Old Games > GamersGate > Impulse, after that Steam is OK for Valve games and activating games you get in the Humble Indie Bundle, and Origin is OK for EA games (no idea if they'll screw up non-EA games like Steam does non-Valve games).

I like steam, but I think for the sake of fairness, no developer or publisher should use a online-platform like steam or origin in the first place. That would minimize any monopole-related issues. Especially if it comes to hardcopys, than everyone could decide for themselves which online-platform they want to use. But that would mean, someone would need to regulate the market and this is something nobody is willing to do.

That's why Origin is a good thing. Dragon Age II, Mass Effect 3, Battlefield BC 3 - they're big titles. By pulling out of Steam they're making Steam less dominant. If Origin starts delivering non-EA games it gets even better, because then Steam has even more competition.

Either way, anyone complaining about Origin but supporting Steam is way too fanboyish for my liking. At least support an actually good platform like Good Old Games or GamersGate.

 

[DefinitelyPsychotic]

I'm buying it for my PS3. I couldn't give a shit less about some "Origin" service...

 

[migo]

Allow me to rage:

NO ONE WANTS TO USE YOUR BLOODY SERVICE EA. There's a reason Steam has done so well, and that's because Valve treats their customers right.

No, the ONLY reason Steam has done so well is because they have you by the balls and most people aren't aware that there are other options.

 

[dashiz94]

Allow me to rage:

NO ONE WANTS TO USE YOUR BLOODY SERVICE EA. There's a reason Steam has done so well, and that's because Valve treats their customers right.

No, the ONLY reason Steam has done so well is because they have you by the balls and most people aren't aware that there are other options.

Not really, I've bought like two games off of Steam and I am aware that there are other options out there, I just find Steam incredibly convenient and, since a lot of my friends use it as well, more suitable for multiplayer games.

I just find it annoying how EA is forcing this on people, and how incredibly bad it looks for marketing as the rest of my post explained.

 

[migo]

Even if you're aware of other options, most people aren't. There are some people under the extremely misguided impression that Steam is the only source of digital sales.

I'd much rather use Origin than Steam

 

[Twad]

Damnit, and i was looking foward for this game. Might still get it if it is fun enough.

I just dont want to install yet another useless software (origin) on my PC that just take up space and get in the way because it can.

 

[Knife-28]

You know, it's not like other games force you to install a certain program to use it *coughTheOrangeBoxcough*