EA Offers Free Origin Distribution For Crowd-Funded Games

[shiajun]

I'm also wondering about the fact that these are crowdfunded games. In a way, they are the investors of the game, the financial backing. Are they going to be consulted on the fact that game will be made available through a venue that a lot of them may not agree to? I know, it should be the developer's decision, but it's the money from all those persons having a direct benefit for EA. The solution would be to state beforehand, on the funding page, that this game will be distributed through Origin, and therefore let them decide if they want to fund it under those circumstances.

 

[Varil]

If they're sold through Origin it's fine.

It's only a problem if I can ONLY buy it through Origin, or if Origin is part of the installation even for otherwise unrelated installs.

 

[bafrali]

Knowing the EA, i will be dissapointed on them if there isn't any diabolical plan behind this. It is like seeing a playground bullie going out of character by giving away free candy to "whimps"

Anyway it is good for bussiness i guess

 

[FEichinger]

Regardless of our personal feelings about Origin, can we not agree that this is (until we have actual evidence otherwise) that this is a very solid thing to do for indie devs? Origin has 12 million users worldwide, a number that's only going to grow. That's a huge potential audience for someone trying to get a small, niche project off the ground.

No, they don't have 12 million users. At least 2/3 of those are only on it because they were forced. They are not "users".

So are the millions of people who use Steam also not users because they were forced to install it to to play games like SKyrim and New Vegas?

Two core issues with that argument: A) It's not 12 million users, it's 12 million registered accounts, if I remember correctly. Needless to say, those are auto-converted former EADM accounts for a large part. B) It's not 12 million active users. Unlike Steam, with a daily peak around 3 to 4 million, Origin is ... well ... not quite too populated.
And, I'm gonna be bold and add a third point: C) Many many of Origin's users are simply not capable of voting with their wallet, which is the whole reason as to why EA can pull such stuff in the first place. It's saddening to say that Origin is successful. It isn't successful because it's good, it's successfull because it's forced, and barely anyone fights back.

As for the article ... Wasn't the whole goddamn concept of crowd-funding to avoid publishers, thus eliminating the need for foreign DRM and the such shoved down our throats.

Captcha: watch me ... Disturbing.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

I wondered how long it would be until the vultures started circling around our Kickstarter haven D:

Knowing EA this is just suspicious. I smell an exclusive contract simmering under that "hey, it's free" agreement. Meaning, a public, crowd-funded project would suddenly become, in function, part of EA's catalog. Also, on the one hand EA never takes the risk of pushing any new ideas (except new ways to nickle and dime customers) and on the other hand EA would somehow end up like the 'good guy' for all the fresh air coming in through the crowd-funded movement. Yeah, nope, not buying it. The fact that a lot of people have had to resort to Kickstarter funding because of business practices like EA's adn that now they want a part of the action does not sit right with me.

Precisely EA didn't want to know about Wasteland 2 or any of the another Kickstarter projects before and would never have given them their pocket change to help fund them. But now wants to hop on the bandwagon for some good publicity now that they have seen all the money from the demographics that they have been ignoring all these years. Sorry EA but we did not need you to fund these games and we don't need you to help distribute them.

A warning to all developers who think about taking EA up on their offer. EA gives nothing away for free, there is always a catch. Hell they're so shady even The Devil would think twice about signing an agreement with them for fear getting screwed over.

I'm also wondering about the fact that these are crowdfunded games. In a way, they are the investors of the game, the financial backing. Are they going to be consulted on the fact that game will be made available through a venue that a lot of them may not agree to? I know, it should be the developer's decision, but it's the money from all those persons having a direct benefit for EA. The solution would be to state beforehand, on the funding page, that this game will be distributed through Origin, and therefore let them decide if they want to fund it under those circumstances.

Unfortunately that is not how Kickstarter works. Anyone who pledges to a project is not a investor in the traditional sense, thus they have no legal say in the way the project is made or distributed beyond what the developer asks for feedback on. Though it would have been nice to see if these projects tested the waters to see if we where happy with it. Especially as Kickstarter was supposed to help developers and fans escape the trappings of big publishers.

 

[mirage202]

Seems like a "nice" thing to do, but what Corporation honestly does anything for zero benefit?

Will these titles be Origin exclusive?
Will Origin be a forced component to play these games?
Will those who funded, also be forced onto Origin for their promised copy?
Will EA have a clause in the contract requiring follow up games to be EA published/partnered?

Wasn't the whole point of crowd funding, to be free of any influence of companies like EA? To make games, by gamers, for gamers without the suits getting in the way? Letting gamers truly vote with our wallets for what we actually want?

I admit I'm an eternal cynic, and without anything to say otherwise, I can't quite see this as anything other than EA trying to worm its way into something it currently has no part in, but wants control over.

 

[Eri]

Regardless of our personal feelings about Origin, can we not agree that this is (until we have actual evidence otherwise) that this is a very solid thing to do for indie devs? Origin has 12 million users worldwide, a number that's only going to grow. That's a huge potential audience for someone trying to get a small, niche project off the ground.

No, they don't have 12 million users. At least 2/3 of those are only on it because they were forced. They are not "users".

So are the millions of people who use Steam also not users because they were forced to install it to to play games like SKyrim and New Vegas?

There were not "millions" who forced to do it, unlike EA. Beside that, Most people willingly use steam, no one "prefers" to use origin if they have any sense.

 

[shrekfan246]

There were not "millions" who forced to do it, unlike EA. Beside that, Most people willingly use steam, no one "prefers" to use origin if they have any sense.

Half-Life 2 required Steam to run, and would not run if you didn't have Steam. (EDIT: The games that use Steamworks :EDIT END) will forcibly install Steam onto your computer even if you buy the physical copy and do not have Steam installed already.

I'd say that qualifies as "forcing people to use it".

I'm not against Steam at all, I use it and it works well enough, but it's still a form of DRM. Just because people willingly use it doesn't suddenly change its function.

 

[Murlin]

Smart move, beat Steam to that one.
Still there has to be some kind ulterior motive, It's EA after all and old habits die hard.
Maybe they're just trying to break into the Indie scene because somebody at their office had a sudden epiphany and went "I think Steam might be making money on the indie games we dont sell!"

But it could always go wrong again.
Stay poised for strike internet!

 

[Eric Morales]

Good on you EA, this might be just the pick me up some of these crowdfunded projects need to be profitable AND it might be a step toward making Origin worth a damn and MAYBE provide Steam some decent competition. Hurray! The Market is actually working!


Maybe...

Hopefully...

We'll see...

 

[ablac]

Look the idea is clearly to encourage people to use the service and to get a good relationship with these devs. They arent gonna sign something which will be a trick, and if a dev does then they deserve it for their stupidity. EA is dodgy but people shouldnt be instantly hostile. For all the praise Valve gets for the PC market they didnt do this, the EVIL guys did.

 

[llubtoille]

obviously they're doing it for their own benefit also, as it will expand their origin game selection which entices more customers to 'shop' there.

but that said, the difference between a 'good' company and an evil corporation as far as I see:
generally the good company achieves its goals while maintaining happy relationships with its consumers, suppliers and the general community,
whereas an evil corp achieves it goals the most efficient way it can, everyone else be damned.

this is a step in the good guy corp direction which I hope they continue.


it's kinda funny how this compares to skyrim style game, should I rob the vendors and slaughter everyone for their possessions - which is the quickest get rich tactic, but leaves a lot of people angry at you in the long term.
or should I be a responsible person and do quests / slay 'evil' things instead, which (in games) results in a slower but more sustainable acquisition of riches.

 

[weirdee]

There's no secrets to this "evil" plan here. They just want to fill out their library in order to get some staying power in the business, like how Steam pretty much is the place where many people keep their entire PC library. Making contacts and such.

Unfortunately, in addition to having to play catch up in the first place, Steam has already been doing this for ages with bundles, so it's not as if they're not going to be there either. Sure, publishers will sniff around that offer because it's "free", but given that the form they provide doesn't actually offer up the full details, there's a good chance that it's a ploy to ensure those publishers become EA's pets.

You could call it a trap, but it's a fairly obvious one, and falling for it would ensure the ire of those who pay into these kickstarters precisely because they are tired of dealing with folks like EA. I'd prefer a straight up no handcuffing people to a radiator contracts, where business remains business that steers clear of double dealing.

 

[Weaver]

anc[is]I await reveal of the fine print that says those games will be Origin exclusive.

This is what I'm worried about.

Imagine you contributed to a kickstarter, then found out the game you helped fund is now an Origin exclusive and that's the only way you can get it.

I'd be pretty pissed off.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Regardless of our personal feelings about Origin, can we not agree that this is (until we have actual evidence otherwise) that this is a very solid thing to do for indie devs? Origin has 12 million users worldwide, a number that's only going to grow. That's a huge potential audience for someone trying to get a small, niche project off the ground.

To be fair, they don't have 12 million actual users worldwide. They converted any existing EA associated accounts to Origin, which means that many people, myself included, have more than one Origin account. Since their customer service refuses to merge said accounts, and because it isn't feasible to close said accounts(since we have games tied to each account), EA gets to pad their head count by being the dicks we know them to be.

So sure, I can see the validity of the client itself as a distribution vehicle, so long as the developers are okay with their games being subjected to EA's horrendous customer service, which is the only reason that I loathe Origin in the first place.

 

[JediMB]

I'm gonna bury my inner cynic, internally mock all the conspiracy theorists, and just say that this is a good thing for the developers. Maybe some of them will let the backers choose between Origin or Steam keys for their games? (That said, I'm going with Steam keys, personally.)

Also, I hope the Kickstarter games will be released on GOG.com as well. That seems like a good place for them to be.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

EA being nice? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHH!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAaaaahhhhhh......

*ahem*

They just want a piece of the pie like every other floundering publisher out there; this is nothing new. I just love how if there's anywhere in the market nowadays that easy money is to be made, you'll see publishers surround it like plagued mice and devour whatever good there is until it's stripped right down to the bone.

 

[JediMB]

To be fair, they don't have 12 million actual users worldwide. They converted any existing EA associated accounts to Origin, which means that many people, myself included, have more than one Origin account. Since their customer service refuses to merge said accounts, and because it isn't feasible to close said accounts(since we have games tied to each account), EA gets to pad their head count by being the dicks we know them to be.

That's weird. All of my accounts (EA.com, Spore, BioWare, SWTOR, and probably something else) were automatically merged.

Were yours associated with different e-mail addresses?