Mass Effect 3 Gives Steam a Miss at Launch

[Miltrivd]

I'm not installing spyware. I'm sure this is gonna sell millions anyway, but I refuse to play puppet for EA. If Origin is required to play the game, then that's a game I'm not buying. After playing the dumbed down/easy as hell ME2 I was left with a bad taste. EA just makes it easier to avoid them. Even if I need a one-time activation I seriously doubt that you can uninstall Origin and still play. Being a conscious gamer is not THAT hard, lots of great games with less crappy service behind them.

 

[praetor_alpha]

Shame, I was planning to get it on Steam. Guess I'll pass ME3 up.

 

[Braedan]

Well, EA lost a sale of BF3 with this kind of shit, and they're going to lose a sale of this too. Thanks EA, Mass effect's story was starting to suck anyways.

 

[Lawlhat]

I wouldn't really mind if EA wasn't still attempting to use the DLC thing as a thinly veiled bullshit attempt to get people that don't want to use Origin to install it.

Yes I understand that Steam did the same thing with Half-Life 2, and that Steam wasn't great back then, but you didn't see Valve going "Well, retail stores don't let us interact directly with our customers..."

 

[lacktheknack]

"A strange game indeed... the only winning move is not to play."

And I won't be. I haven't played ME2 either, so I'm going to decide that the series ended at the end of ME1, which was a perfectly serviceable ending.

 

[James Raynor]

I'm buying it on consoles due to this. Also, I hope their PC sales bomb fucking miserably and then they decide to change it because of that, and then no one still buys it just to spite them. That would make my day.

They'll just blame pirates for poor sales and say that PC gaming is dead before they'll change their minds. We should all know how this works by now.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

EA: "And don't worry. We've made sure that you only need to authorize the game once in order to access the single-player features of this game. ... We weren't able to convince BioWare to make the game constant Co-Op Multiplayer.

 

[Akimoto]

And for once, playing Mass Effect on consoles was a good idea.

I'm more of a PC guy and I found myself nodding in agreement. Let's hope Origin does not get a console presence.

EA, thou art a hateful *****.

 

[Uratoh]

For me, it's not a 'not available on Steam' thing...I just refuse to partake of Origin. If they make it available in some form (even not on Steam) *WITHOUT* requiring Origin, I'll get it then. Call it a 'pointless boycott' or whatever...I'm not boycotting EA subsidaries, etc...just the Origin disservice.

 

[octafish]

yeah... since this is EA we're talking about, all i'm hearing is "waaah! valve won't let us spy on our customers!"

This, and I'm sure there's probably some underhanded stuff going on with those "patches" and "DLC"

Like someone else said, I don't see many other companies making these claims about Steam.. just the one with their own distribution platform that may or may not be datamining your PC for information to sell.

It isn't. The ToS for Origin clearly states that EA cannot sell any information gathered. It is for internal EA use only.

EA want to sell their DLC directly to it's customers, Steam does not allow EA to do this. Steam wants a cut of the DLC money. That is the issue EA have with Steam. Any future EA games that don't have planned DLC will probably be available through Steam but will require Origin for activation. Steam and Origin aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[Android2137]

While I obviously can't tell you if ME3 will be different, I own 3 games on Origin (Dead Space 2, Alice 2 and Bulletstorm), and for each one Origin doesn't have to be running in the background at all when the game starts, let alone be connected to the internet. Origin only needs to run to install the game, after that you can leave it off if you please.

However you can't uninstall it, otherwise the games won't run. Which is strange, considering when I boot up the game EXEs no other programs start, but it knows that Origin isn't there. I suppose Origin makes the game exe itself check to see if Origin is still installed..

Wait, WHAT?! Ugh! Way to twist my arm, EA! I want to see how Mass Effect ends, but not to the point where I'd download something of questionable trustworthiness!

It's not just about "it won't be on Steam". It's "even if you have a physical copy, you need Origin to play" that gets me.

 

[SpAc3man]

Seems to me like EA want to still have Origin as a requirement even if it is sold through Steam. Valve are saying "no, if you want Steam you have to deliver patch support through Steam."

EA is trying to get in on the market.

 

[shadowform]

The blame is once again being laid at Valve's door, with Priestly saying that Steam's restrictive policies regarding downloadable content and interaction with customers.

What EA says:
Steam's restrictive policies regarding downloadable content
What EA means:
Steam wants to take a bit off the top when a player buys DLC through steam

What EA says:
Steam's restrictive policies in interaction with customers
What A means:
We want to force people to sign up for Origin, and we can't do that if they're using Steam

 

[jericu]

What bothers me the most is that they won't just ADMIT that they want people to use their service. Which is an equally stupid, but at least less dickish press release.

At least then, it's "We'd prefer a larger cut of the profits" rather than some bullshit about Steam being a restrictive platform, despite NO ONE else having any sort of problems.

I don't mind you guys wanting a larger cut of the profits, but at LEAST be honest about it.

 

[kebab4you]

"Playing Mass Effect 3 multiplayer will require a constant connection."

Well there's plenty of other games to play anyway, looks like ME3 can wait.

...But it´s multiplayer! I see no reason for not needing an constant connection then.

OT: Seeing how often other developers patch and releases expansions packs for their games I doubt Valve have any really strict rules on how you´re allowed to do it.

EA want to sell their DLC directly to it's customers, Steam does not allow EA to do this. Steam wants a cut of the DLC money. That is the issue EA have with Steam.

But that´s just silly on EA's part, of course they want some of the money for the dlc if people are going to download it through steam and as such stress the download servers more.

 

[Daymo]

Oh noes, EA is forcing us to do what Valve has been doing for years, and that was with a service that started out as a piece of shit, screwing over people who brought half life 2 early on. At least Origin worked at launch. I don't get how people are fine with something that has become the standard for steam, but the second another company tries it, it's a sign that they are the devil.

 

[Luke5515]

Damn, now I have to wait for it to go onto Steam.
I hope it makes it there eventually.

 

[GartarkMusik]

It's a good thing that my Shepard is on my 360 then, because I won't install Origin on my computer.

Damn straight dude! Who cares if the graphics are better on PC? Not worth the damn hassle.

 

[theultimateend]

"Playing Mass Effect 3 multiplayer will require a constant connection."

Well there's plenty of other games to play anyway, looks like ME3 can wait.

But...if the multiplayer is online wouldn't you NEED a constant connection to...y'know, stay connected?

I feel so old. Nobody Lan Play games anymore?