Has EA's Origin Service Improved Any Over the Last Two Years?

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

After taking a hatchet to the service in a column two years ago, Shamus looks at it again to see if things have gotten any better.

Funny coincidence you should actually mention Origin. Last week I (re)installed it on my computer to play the Mass Effect games (not sure if I want to play 3, there is a sweet mod/hack that re-writes the game's ending. Seems to get high praise, apparently requires all the paid DLC, I don't (but...) {not weapons, or appearance packs [http://www.nexusmods.com/masseffect3/mods/66/?]}. Kinda dismayed that Mass Effect 1 has issues running under Windows 7 and Mass Effect 2 still requires online authentication via the built in Cerberus network logon. Kinda figured Origin would handle that last one. Those are the only 3 I have, not counting the free Peggle they gave me and Command & Conquer 4 (it barely counts as software, so I don't think it counts as a game).

I am pleased that the platform has improved in the intervening time.

 

[Kahani]

The big problem Origin has is nothing to do with any of the things Shamus mentions, it's simply that it's EA. As in, you can only get EA games. That makes it completely worthless as any sort of shop. Why would I waste time browsing Origin for games released by a single publisher, when I could instead use Steam and GoG and have access to any game made by anyone? Origin may be getting to the point where if I happen to know a game I want is published by EA it's a place I could go to get it, but it's never going to be competition for Steam because it's just not doing the same thing.

And yes, I'm aware there are a few non-EA games on Origin. About 40, it appears. And that includes publishers which no longer exist, and some developers apparently being incorrectly listed as publishers. Most non-EA publishers on Origin only have a single game available. That's just not anywhere near good enough if they want to be considered an actual useful shop that people might want to browse through.

 

[Hiramas]

I know i am behind the times and stuff, but when it concerns games I like and I actually have invested interest in, I actually prefer physical copys on my shelf. Even if its connected to Steam or Origins or GOG. Even if I have to download Gigabytes of patches anyway. Sometimes I want a box, a collectors edition, something that I can put on the shelf.

More on Topic:
I suppose it is good when stuff gets better. And I know competition is good for the consumer (somehow).
But I still do not like haveing my games in 10 different places, with different accounts and passwords and the very real risk of a distribution platform shutting down.

Steam Sales are evil, though!

 

[Quellist]

Ive been using Origin on and off for the last couple of years and ive seen the changes so i'm glad Shamus has come out and highlighted them. No its not perfect and its far from perfect but its a whole shitload better than it was and its still improving.

Yeah, EA are still the Evil Galactic Empire but it seems the Sith Lords have learned to improve their service

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Its still more of spyware than a game service.I trust game cracks a bit more than EA.

 

[sageoftruth]

Wow. What an info dump. Now I feel morally obligated to use Origin quickly, before EA fails to notice the connection between these customer-friendly moves and profit.

Good EA. Here's a biscuit.

 

[Optimystic]

Well, no one uses it, so the downloads are fast.

Millions of people were playing Mass Effect 3 on PC. Similar millions played Simcity 2013 and Battlefield 4. Origin is the only place to get those three titles on PC. So you have a very odd definition of "no one."

The big problem Origin has is nothing to do with any of the things Shamus mentions, it's simply that it's EA. As in, you can only get EA games. That makes it completely worthless as any sort of shop. Why would I waste time browsing Origin for games released by a single publisher, when I could instead use Steam and GoG and have access to any game made by anyone?

This is plain false, there are non-EA games there e.g. the Assassin's Creed and Witcher franchises.

Wait, you apparently knew that and lied about it anyway - and why, just out of blind hate for EA? What's the point?

 

[Denamic]

Well, no one uses it, so the downloads are fast.

Millions of people were playing Mass Effect 3 on PC. Similar millions played Simcity 2013 and Battlefield 4. Origin is the only place to get those three titles on PC. So you have a very odd definition of "no one."

Not really. Those millions of players only got those few games and never looked back. It's a piss in the ocean; nowhere near being a popular platform.

People use it because they have to, not because they want to.

 

[agent9]

Origin is less awful than it was before, but still nowhere close to steam. You have Steam workshop, offline mode, and trading cards. Last I checked you couldn't get that on origin. Origin is also another EA store front. STEAM is open for everyone, and while HL is an exclusive title everything else is generally open for everyone (bar TF2 as well).

After all that EA has done in recent time I'm not coming back anytime soon. Origin was never about service, it was about control, same with Uplay. they have some interesting features but over all it's just another form of DRM with little in the way of benefits. for all the shit I give steam for it's lax quality control, it still outplays the competition by miles. Steam may be a form of DRM, but it's DRM done with the consumer in mind, not investors and corporate pockets.

 

[Blackbird71]

I completely understand the EULA thing since that was pure bullshit but even back then, Origin wasn't designed to spy on you...yet. If the EULA had gone unnoticed, then it's possible EA would've started actually spying on you after patching Origin to do so. The EULA was changed though, so EA can no longer reprogram Origin do that if that was ever its plan.

TL;DR: Origin was never designed to spy on you. Had the EULA not been changed, then EA might've modified Origin to do so in a future patch. It was changed though, so Origin remains in its original harmless form.

You seem to be basing your conclusions on the assumption that the EULA is set in stone and can never be modified. It has been changed before and can be changed again, and most software EULAs are fluid documents anyway. Putting any kind of trust in the static nature of such a document is foolhardy at best.

The big problem Origin has is nothing to do with any of the things Shamus mentions, it's simply that it's EA. As in, you can only get EA games. That makes it completely worthless as any sort of shop. Why would I waste time browsing Origin for games released by a single publisher, when I could instead use Steam and GoG and have access to any game made by anyone?

This is plain false, there are non-EA games there e.g. the Assassin's Creed and Witcher franchises.

Wait, you apparently knew that and lied about it anyway - and why, just out of blind hate for EA? What's the point?

Then the question becomes "why get the Witcher games through Origin, when you can get them DRM free directly from GOG?"

 

[Something Amyss]

Origin wasn't really on my map until the Humble Origin Bundle. With that I created an account and got a few free games like Battlefield 3 and Dead Space 3 in the last year. I don't see what the big hubbub is about. Origin as a service is completely fine.

I think the big issue is that it's EA. It's a rather unremarkable platform, and I have very little use for it because if I want to not own games, I can already not own them through Steam. That is, for all the games I've wanted. If it wasn't from EA, I doubt it would get any hate. But this is EA, and people will complain about everything EA does.

 

[forgo911]

Yeah, but the biggest problem still remains: that Origin isn't so much of a service, but a DRM for a lot of games published by EA, and you don't have the option to use the game without it. If they could have the balls to take the final step and make Origin and optional thingy, then I'd be fine with it. Until then, it will remain what it has always been, albeit an improved version of it: an annoyance you can't get rid of... legally.

And what makes steam so much better than Origin? Their DRM? Their lack of quality control? Their return policy? DRM is just the way things are (unless you go with GOG, then yea they don't have DRM). For the past year, I've been shying away from Steam due to the stream of shitty games being released on the platform. At least with Origin you know that the games they release are going to work, if not at least enjoyable to some portion of the populace. And return policy, it's a no contest; Origin beats steam by a million miles.

Now don't take this the wrong way, I still think steam is better; but the margin that they are leading is getting smaller and smaller.

Off topic: Hey did you forget Gamestop has a platform too? (formally know as Impulse) I haven't touched it since gamestop bought it, but it used to be on par with steam.

 

[luke10123]

Meh, some good free games - Peggle, Sims 2 complete, Burnout, etc., but the store prices are unjustifiable.

I only use it because some games force me - wouldn't bother otherwise. It's not BAD as such (apart from the store), it's just inferior to Steam in pretty much every department.

 

[Powerman88]

I will care about Origin the day EA sells it off.

My aversion to the platform has nothing to do with it's technical capabilities and everything to do with who runs it.

What in EA's history makes you want to trust them with your digital library? The history of EA is a series of one anti-consumer move after another. A history of buying once great IP's and studios and running them into the ground. A history or braindead executives concocting scheme after scheme to wring every nickel out of you by any means necessary. A history of chasing quarterly profits at the expense of any long term strategy to build customer loyalty.

You think EA is changing by giving out 10 year games and allowing returns? Then your not paying attention. This is what EA does when it knows its losing. The moment EA thinks it's got any sort of momentum in the PC space it will "phase out" those programs.

Now tell me again why I should support this kind of blatant abuse of its customers when I can buy from any of the THOUSANDS of other devs that wont pull this kind of BS.

Once again I am not knocking the technical aspect. Origin may be better and EA does make some fun games. But the are so many other fun games out there from much better companies.

I haven't bought an EA game in 3 years, I don't expect I ever will again.

This is sort of how I feel as well. After the whole Sim City thing happened (I couldn't return that piece of garbage) I told myself I was done with EA after being a customer since the early 90's. Don't think a functional storefront is going to change that.

Nice to see you being objective though Shamus!

 

[Flammablezeus]

Has EA's Origin Service Improved Any Over the Last Two Years?

After taking a hatchet to the service in a column two years ago, Shamus looks at it again to see if things have gotten any better.

Read Full Article

Another nice thing is that with some of the older games, once you've installed them you don't need to open Origin to play, you can directly open the game without needing to worry about loading up the platform first. Sims 2 works just fine without Origin running, which is an advantage IMO over Steam as well.
I've no issue with Origin, never have and I get better download speeds than from Steam on a regular basis. (of course I'm speaking from continental US-centric POV so take that as you will).

I've played several games without Steam running before when my internet's been down. Just open the exe and voila. Sure, it doesn't work for every game, but the majority I've tried that with have worked.

 

[Holythirteen]

But this is EA, and people will complain about everything EA does.

And 99% of the time they would be making a good point, now wouldn't they? Ooh, a return policy, anybody manage to get a refund on battlefield 4 or simcity? No? Call me when something relevant gets released and EA inevitably fucks it up, I want a front row seat when this return policy gets inexplicably cancelled just in time.

But thanks for making me realize; if this was some other company, trying to compete with steam and actually give them a good reason to clean up their act, I would be singing their praises to anybody who would listen. But it's EA, I cannot believe you are even wasting the energy to push fifty keys to defend them. (But if you hate steam that much, THAT I can at least appreciate)

EA has this permanent "we do this shit because we can" dogma attached to everything they do, and they have alot to prove to me before I will ever give them the time of day. I want to see another Simcity 2013 equivalent (ie forced anti-consumer bullshit attached to a broken game) released under this new return policy on origin, but I will call it right now; never gonna fucking happen.

 

[Something Amyss]

And 99% of the time they would be making a good point, now wouldn't they? Ooh, a return policy, anybody manage to get a refund on battlefield 4 or simcity? No? Call me when something relevant gets released and EA inevitably fucks it up, I want a front row seat when this return policy gets inexplicably cancelled just in time.

Which is the problem in the first place. Dungeon Keeper was bad. Tapped out was Bad. SimCity was BAD.

Origin? Meh. Though if they do cancel that return policy, I'll be up there with a virtual pitchfork, screaming for hypothetical heads to roll.