I've never understood the dislike for Origin

Tayh

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bastardofmelbourne said:
How are they monopolising mods? Anyone can mod a game. The workshop just makes it easier.
For now...

bastardofmelbourne said:
Steam edged out the retail market the same way every other digital distribution client has - by providing a better, cheaper, and more convenient way to buy games. You can't tell me the retail situation [https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/03/30] was any more ethical. And as for the price, I live in Australia, so... [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Tax]
Of course they edged out the retail market. Who wants to buy a physical game when all you get is a CD that only has a game-key and a link to install steam on it.
I acknowledge that Australia had unfair prices, but that is a bit of a special case, isn't it? steam certainly wasn't price competitive in Denmark.
It still isn't... It's being beaten by gog.com who will give you vouchers, out of their own pockets, for what you pay extra according to your country and exchange rate.
Funnily enough, gamestop still flourishes, while all the good, independent game stores have all disappeared. Not that I blame that on steam, just a side note.

bastardofmelbourne said:
And why are you putting service in scare quotes? Do you just disagree with digital distribution in general? Because...that's freaking crazy talk, man. The only situation where having a physical copy of a game makes more sense than digital is if you live somewhere with no internet.
Because, in a scenario of "the carrot and the stick", I consider steam less of a carrot(service) and more of a stick(enforced drm client).
I'm not against digital distribution. I'm against DRM.
 

Tayh

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Kibeth41 said:
I'm detecting that you don't actually have real reasons here. It's just a case of "I hate the product so there's NO possible way it could have EVER had anything good about it at any point in time!"
Nah. It's more that I find it incredibly hypocritical for people to hate origin and then turn right around and continue worshipping steam and valve.

Kibeth41 said:
Frankly, I don't feel you even had any reason to quote my message. You just wanted to try and invalidate my message to try and shut down any possible reason that Steam may have been a good service at any time in the past.
Dude, you quoted me first.
I would have no beef with steam if it wasn't because they got a stranglehold on gaming distribution. These days, it's incredibly hard to find any modern game that doesn't require steam, or some other form of ineffective drm - which I think is rather sad, especially since pirates get to enjoy the hassle-free, drm-free experience.
 

bastardofmelbourne

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Tayh said:
bastardofmelbourne said:
How are they monopolising mods? Anyone can mod a game. The workshop just makes it easier.
For now...
You're just sounding like a conspiracy theorist, now. How would Valve go about monopolising mods? How would they do it, in practice, when all a mod is is a modification of the game files? And what makes Nexus Mods any different?

Tayh said:
Because, in a scenario of "the carrot and the stick", I consider steam less of a carrot(service) and more of a stick(enforced drm client).
I'm not against digital distribution. I'm against DRM.
To continue your metaphor, Steam only gained any traction through being a carrot. People started using it because it was easier and cheaper, not because Gabe Newell came to their house and pressed a gun to their head.

And as DRM goes, Steam is a lot easier to deal with than some other [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uplay] assholes [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_for_Windows_%E2%80%93_Live]. I haven't got a problem with DRM so long as it's unobtrusive and doesn't interfere with me playing the game. Lots of DRM does; Steam, so far, has never done that to me, so I'm all for it. And I've been using it for, what - eight or nine years now?
 

Laughing Man

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I mean, I get people were wary of it being from EA...but after all these years, I don't see why it has stuck around.
It is even more confusing given that Steam has become a waste ground of sewage outflow. By that I mean since Origin launched that service has only gotten better as it has gone on, and let's not forget that it came in to being for the exact same reasons that Steam did, DRM to protect developers software attached to a location that can sell you shit. In the time since it's launch Steam's sales have gone to the dogs, generic and boring does not even described them, you have had the whole debacle with paid for mods with Valve gouging a health little profit on the side for doing nothing and you have the utter toxic waste ground that is Steam Greenlight. These last two practices are the sort of thing you would expect from someone like EA but nope Origin still gets hated while people still think Steam is great.

Oh my god why can't EA just use Steam now I have to have two DD programs to manage my games, not withstanding the whole get a fucking grip you fucking child, boo hoo you have to open two programs instead of one I am sure that must be a real struggle the fact that Steam has a competitor is a good thing, EA's returns policy on e Origin and customer service is the reason why we got refunds on Steam having a competitor is a good thing and it helps keep the likes of Valve in check and given how fucking stupid some of the features of Steam have been; paid mods I am looking at you here, Valve need to be kept in check.
 

Ryan Minns

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Eh, Steam was the one that risked pushing it when internet was a dream for many people but in the end they managed to be the go to distributor for many. They allowed people who look at console boasters about how quick and easy it is to play their games since many peoples entire gaming library was a click away.

Being a huge Blizzard fan I'd really like it if they put their games on Steam, though honestly I wouldn't rebuy them through it. I love heroes of might and magic games which are often on steam but load Ubisofts attempt. I am unsure why people think it's just Origin that still annoys people given origin seems to catch no extra hate than Uplay and Steam seems to. At least that's what I notice.

Laughing Man said:
I mean, I get people were wary of it being from EA...but after all these years, I don't see why it has stuck around.
EA's returns policy on e Origin and customer service is the reason why we got refunds on Steam
Wait, didn't that come into play due to numerous lawsuits like one here in Australia that told them it's illegal to distribute in Australia without such a policy? The fact they were centered in America was thrown out and they were told they MUST offer a refund policy? I doubt EA had anything to do with it.
 

Elijin

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Because Origin now is a very different creature from what Origin was at release. And because it was so bad at release, consumers don't use it and know its improved. It's not a unique situation. A bad first impression is insanely hard to overcome.
 

Laughing Man

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Wait, didn't that come into play due to numerous lawsuits like one here in Australia that told them it's illegal to distribute in Australia without such a policy? The fact they were centered in America was thrown out and they were told they MUST offer a refund policy? I doubt EA had anything to do with it.
As a defining factor I doubt it, a contributing factor perhaps. The current Steam policy doesn't meet the criteria set out by the ACCC. The EU system was by passed by some check box and the US was a coin toss depending on what state you were in. I suspect a few factors played a part

1). Origin suddenly not being shit and starting to gain traction, i.e becoming a potential competitor and showing it's customers that their was a better policy to dealing with refund and customer issues.

2). More people seeing a better alternative and wondering why Steam didn't offer even basic levels of customer service let alone refunds. Educating themselves on the legality of Steam's refund policy and giving more traction to genuine legal consumer concerns regarding Steam's refund policy

3). Steam Greenlight, their was no way Valve could get away with washing it's hands of all responsibility for the dumpster fire of hobo shit Greenlight was / has becoming / become. Taking a hands off approach to QC while offering no refund and next to no support was only going to add fire to the whole thing. Thinking on it I would even go as far as saying that Greenlight may be the primary reason for the intro of refunds. It was the easiest solution in trying to restore confidence in Steam and the Greenlight service, cause fuck the other option would have meant Valve actually QCing the shit they sell on their store front.
 

sanquin

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My reasons:

1: Having to manage multiple clients (steam, origin, battle.net, etc) is annoying.
2: It's from EA.
3: The most important one, it was just terrible compared to steam at launch. And first impressions matter quite a bit.

I only log into those kinds of clients when I want to play a game on them though. So these days I don't mind it as much any more, since I barely play the few games I have on it anymore anyway. :p