Mass Effect 3 PC will require Orgin

DustyDrB

Made of ticky tacky
Jan 19, 2010
8,365
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I hadn't seen this here so far, and I know it concerns a number of Escapist users. Mass Effect 3 on PC [http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/323/index/8975536] is going to require Origin. Even though I'm not a PC gamer, am a massive fan of the Mass Effect games, and am anticipating ME3 unlike any game since ME2, this disappoints me.

My preorder stands firm (360 version), but I know I've seen a lot of you say you'd think of cancelling if this came to be. I don't pretend to understand the issue fully, but back gamers' right to vote with their wallets on issues that concern them.
 

LookingGlass

New member
Jul 6, 2011
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It's certainly what I expected, including the part where they say it won't on Steam at launch.

It's not a complete deal-breaker for me... but it's definitely an extra thing to think about. If I think the game will be amazing, I'm in and I'll just have live with Origin, at least during my playing time. If I think it will be good but not great, it'll go the way of Ubisoft's PC releases where I deem it not worth it overall.
 

Nurb

Cynical bastard
Dec 9, 2008
3,078
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And now buying it pre-owned will be required for me to play Mass Effect 3 on PC
 

Valanthe

New member
Sep 24, 2009
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It's unfortunate, but expected, you basically -cannot- play EA games on the PC without Origin anymore. I will spout up as the Devil's Advocate a bit and say that Origin is not as bad as it was when it first came out. It's got a long way to go before I'll actually like it, but right now it's sitting at begrudged tolerance.
 

evilneko

Fall in line!
Jun 16, 2011
2,218
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Not purchasing ME3 now.

Objectionable portion of Origin EULA:
In addition to information that you give EA directly, EA collects non-
personally identifiable (or anonymous) information for purposes of improving our
products and services, providing services to you, facilitating the provision of
software updates, dynamically served content and product support as well as
communicating with you. The non-personally identifiable information that EA
collects includes technical and related information that identifies your computer
(including the Internet Protocol Address) and operating system, as well as
information about your Application usage (including but not limited to successful
installation and/or removal), software, software usage and peripheral hardware.
Egregious unnecessary spying clause highlighted.

Translation: "We get to peek at what else you have installed on your system and how often you use it, as well as peek at whatever hardware you have, and we get to do it all without letting you opt out. Nice tax returns by the way, hey, we see you use TaxCut, did you know TurboTax is better? Yeah, might wanna try it. Oh, if you don't consent to all this, you don't get to play Mass Effect 3. Have a nice day."

EA doesn't need to gather this information silently, behind users' backs and essentially without their consent. Sure some of it could be useful during troubleshooting, such as which antivirus or firewall you might be running, but they could ask for that if and when necessary. They could even have a button to click to generate a problem report containing the relevant info. Instead, this gives them carte blanche to look at everything, silently, with no way to stop it.

It's disgusting.

It's spyware.
 

Zhukov

The Laughing Arsehole
Dec 29, 2009
13,769
5
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Well, shit.

I'm still buying it, Origin has proved to be generally functional for me so far, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

I'm actually somewhat glad to see a bunch of people in the linked thread saying they won't buy it. Hopefully they'll stick to their guns.
 

AlternatePFG

New member
Jan 22, 2010
2,858
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Well, certainly not buying it full priced now. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to ME3, but I just don't want to download another service to my computer unless I absolutely have to.

I'd get it on PS3, but then I'd have to buy ME2 again.
 

Rack

New member
Jan 18, 2008
1,379
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Meh. I have the first 2 on PC but I'm not installing this Spyware and after the train wreck that ME2's plot was I'm not playing the console version just to see how much further they run it into the ground.
 

omega 616

Elite Member
May 1, 2009
5,883
1
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To the PS3!

I don't like the sound of Origin, it's like having a camera installed in your bathroom ... just makes a fella feel uneasy! So I will get it on PS3, I doubt I will suffer for it.
 

Moonlight Butterfly

Be the Leaf
Mar 16, 2011
6,157
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I have it already because they decided that people who have already bought The Sims 3 and expansions would be forced to use it -.-

I would recommend that if you do use it you don't get the download version as EA download managers are notoriously crap and it's hard to get your money back if it screws up
 

Andy Shandy

Fucked if I know
Jun 7, 2010
4,797
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I'll still be getting it. Then again, I'm getting it for Xbox 360 anyway. To be fair, I can't say I'm all that shocked at them saying it will require Origin. It makes sense for them to use one of their big name games to make people download it. And even this makes people decide not to buy it on PC, chances are people will choose to buy it on console and EA is still making money on it.
 

joe-h2o

The name's Bond... Hydrogen Bond
Oct 23, 2011
230
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This has removed it from the table for me completely. Origin will not be installed on any machine I own.

Not that I could run it yet, but a new machine is in the works for 2012 and I have some gaming to catch up on. Nothing Origin-necessary is going to be on that list.
 

VoidWanderer

New member
Sep 17, 2011
1,551
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And this is where I feel ironically smug about this.

I do own Mass Effect 1 & 2 on PC, but am playing ME2 on my PS3, mainly because I trust my computer to behave like my dice do in pen-and-paper roleplaying games (not well), so I am going to enjoy playing it on my PS3... If I ever stop playing Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (aka Fable 3.0)
 

Adam Jensen_v1legacy

I never asked for this
Sep 8, 2011
6,651
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I just love the hypocrisy of these guys
4) Will ME3 be available on Steam?
During initial release Mass Effect 3 will be available on Origin and a number of other 3rd party digital retailers, but not on Steam at this time. Steam has adopted a set of restrictive terms of service which limit how developers interact with customers to deliver patches and other downloadable content. We are intent on providing Mass Effect to players with the best possible experience no matter where they purchase or play their game, and are happy to partner with any download service that does not restrict our ability to connect directly with our consumers.
Steam is restrictive, but making us use Origin isn't? Fuck you. EA is shooting itself in the foot by not releasing it via Steamworks. They're actively pissing off their customers. Why wouldn't they want to expand their user base with Steam release? It's so obvious that they see Steam as a competitor, which they shouldn't. And they know Origin sucks. If they had any faith in their Origin, they wouldn't make it mandatory to play their games, and they wouldn't exclude Steam. Fuckin' imbeciles. Instead of not releasing their games on Steam they should draw people towards Origin by offering exclusive bonuses for Origin version. Dumb fuckin' idiots. How did they stay in this business for so long?

Just wait and see how many people will pirate Mass Effect 3 because of this.
 

PlowmanMk

New member
Oct 7, 2010
76
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This was quite obvious unfortunately.
It's nothing to do with Origin being 'Spyware', it's just less convenient then Steam.

Also, Origin is far from 'Spyware'. It gathers information about your peripherals and software. So what? So do several other programs and websites (Facebook included). Not to mention credit cards and store loyalty cards.
I've said this in other threads, and I'll say it again. It's purely for marketing. Nothing else.

Believe it or not, consoles operate in a similar way.

People need to stop getting so upset over little things.
 

Redlin5_v1legacy

Better Red than Dead
Aug 5, 2009
48,836
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Seeing as I lack both a 360 and a PS3... Guess I'm not getting Mass Effect 3.

Which is fine with me seeing as I'm still playing the first one for the first time. Still, I'm very anti-origin. My computer, my business.
 

Ultramatic

New member
Jan 12, 2010
48
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I don't see how this is any different to Fallout 3 making us play it through Games for Windows LIVE, or New Vegas making us play it through Steam. I hate both of those programs, but no big deal. Deal with it. Won't make the game any worse.