So I just installed Origin...

[Catalyst6]

I've been kind of fed up with EA recently. They've been acting like asses towards their peers, and the whole invasion of privacy thing was kind of weirding me out. Plus, pulling their games from Steam so that they can make them Origin exclusive was kind of a dick move.

However, I do recognize that EA has the right to make their own digital distribution platform, its just how they handled it that was the real issue.

However, I am somewhat sated from what has occurred recently. Apparently they've been forced to change the EULA to promise not to spy, which they probably will anyways but now we can sue them for it.

Also, the whole thing with being asses to the MW3 group has been rectified in my mind now that MW3 has sold more copies than the Bible and now EA has to eat a MASSIVE slice of humble pie.

So, what's your opinions of Origin now? Can Steam and Origin still coexist, or is your opinion unchanged?

EDIT: Don't get me wrong, though. I'll still be using Steam for anything that's NOT Battlefield.

 

[Something Amyss]

They revised the terms for Origin ages ago. If it hasn't stopped anyone yet, I don't see why it will now.

Anyway, I'm not installing Origin. I'm not a PC gamer primarily, and don't need another platform for games. I will buy EA games for console or not at all. They may have the right to their own platform, but I don't want to start having to deal with multiple accounts or sources. I'm not rally pro-Steam either, but they got me to sign up due to actually offering me a reason to want to.

Origin, far as I can see it is the same thing with no perks.

Even without the whole "EA IS SPYING ON YOU!" crap, I bet they're losing customers. Maybe not a lot, but at the point you're trying to sell your games, telling a chunk of your fanbase to go fuck themselves is probably a pretty bad move.

 

[Amnestic]

Well since TOR doesn't require Origin if you get a physical copy (Source [http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=8488436#edit8488436]), the only other real game I'd want is Mass Effect 3.

Dunno if it's been stated whether ME3 will require Origin constantly (fingers crossed it won't. I wouldn't mind a one-time authentication assuming I could then delete the thing), but forcing me to have Origin on my PC for the one game that I want that uses it is...repulsive, and pretty wasteful for my PC resources too.

 

[Catalyst6]

Origin, far as I can see it is the same thing with no perks.

Even without the whole "EA IS SPYING ON YOU!" crap, I bet they're losing customers. Maybe not a lot, but at the point you're trying to sell your games, telling a chunk of your fanbase to go fuck themselves is probably a pretty bad move.

Really, the only reason why I'm putting it on is for Battlefield. It's legitimately good game made by people that care about it and put a lot of work into it. The problem is that a bunch of nitwits ruined the whole thing for DICE and now they're losing business unjustly. I highly doubt Origin will ever compete with Steam (Their "X million" users are all probably just BF players) but I shouldn't have to lose patronage to a good dev just because the publishers are jerks.

And I am very very bad at shooters on console, I'm a PC gamer through and through heh.

 

[Worgen]

I'm not touching it, I don't trust ea with that kind of information, plus I don't trust them in general, they are one of those companies I would rather have a physical disk from since I don't trust them to not pull access to games or something. Hmm I used "trust" allot in that sentence, weird.

 

[Something Amyss]

And I am very very bad at shooters on console, I'm a PC gamer through and through heh.

I don't like FPS in general, so I won't be buying Battlefield for anything.

But it kinda makes my decision not to bother with Origin easier. Good or not, it's not for me.

And I doubt they really care.

I think they're hoping BF3 will get people locked into the service, though. This is one of the ways Steam gets you, too. The biggest obstacle is getting you to use it in the first place. A free game or great discount gets you pulled in.

Will it work as effectively as Steam? Well, unless they start doing the above, probably not. But for all the people who claim people mostly use Steam for deals, there sure are a lot of people preloading hot games at full retail price....

 

[shrekfan246]

Well since TOR doesn't require Origin if you get a physical copy (Source [http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=8488436#edit8488436]), the only other real game I'd want is Mass Effect 3.

Dunno if it's been stated whether ME3 will require Origin constantly (fingers crossed it won't. I wouldn't mind a one-time authentication assuming I could then delete the thing), but forcing me to have Origin on my PC for the one game that I want that uses it is...repulsive, and pretty wasteful for my PC resources too.

On the subject of Mass Effect: There's been rumors that the Origin version will be a special Collector's Edition thing (with extra weapons/armors etc. The usual EA DLC crap) not available on Steam, but that it will be available on more than Origin. Again, rumors, and that was probably two or three months ago that I saw it so it may not still be true.

OT: Nope. Don't have Origin. I'll hopefully never need to deal with it either. The only reason I have Steam is because this laptop came pre-installed with Portal on it.

 

[Amnestic]

On the subject of Mass Effect: There's been rumors that the Origin version will be a special Collector's Edition thing (with extra weapons/armors etc. The usual EA DLC crap) not available on Steam, but that it will be available on more than Origin. Again, rumors, and that was probably two or three months ago that I saw it so it may not still be true.

OT: Nope. Don't have Origin. I'll hopefully never need to deal with it either. The only reason I have Steam is because this laptop came pre-installed with Portal on it.

Gets a big 'meh' from me then. Most of my Mass Effect 2 playthroughs I ran around wearing the Cerberus Officer's Uniform [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v280/Amnestic/shep10.jpg] which I modded into my wardrobe, so I'll probably attempt something similar with Mass Effect 3.

If the only incentive to use Origin with ME3 is the extra DLC crap, I'll be more than happy to go to my local brick and mortar store and give them my money instead.

 

[shrekfan246]

Gets a big 'meh' from me then. Most of my Mass Effect 2 playthroughs I ran around wearing the Cerberus Officer's Uniform [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v280/Amnestic/shep10.jpg] which I modded into my wardrobe, so I'll probably attempt something similar with Mass Effect 3.

If the only incentive to use Origin with ME3 is the extra DLC crap, I'll be more than happy to go to my local brick and mortar store and give them my money instead.

It's all just rumor and speculation at this point, but that's pretty much what I remember reading on the subject. But who knows, by the time it's released it may be Origin exclusive. What better way for EA to push it on people who aren't fans of multi-player military shooters?

 

[jthwilliams]

***EDIT BECAUSE OF THE TLDR ISSUE***

No I will not install origin.

***/end EDIT***

The problem with EA is that they act like a company with a monopoly. The question a business should ask is how can I improve my relationship with my customers so that they keep buying from me. This is not to say that you can?t become more profitable, but if you can?t come up with a reason as to why your customers would be happy that you are making a change, then you shouldn?t make it.

They have also made the mistake of believing that people who buy their products second hand aren?t their customers. There is some justification in this thought, but the it is still the wrong way to look at it, they should think of every second hand purchase as a potentially first hand purchase and work out what they could do to make it more appealing. Instead they have decided to work on how to make second hand games less appealing, but this has simply made the games less appealing both to the first and second hand player.

Ultimately what it comes down to is EA has no respect for their customers. They have decided that no matter what they do, they?ll be a major player in the gaming entertainment space. They?ll blame the flop of any particular game on the studio rather than the publisher. I don?t think any of the studios that publish with EA have any choice in the mater.

In EA?s defense, they seem to be right no to respect their customers. So far no matter what they do, people keep buying their games. Heck, I still plan to buy ME3 when it comes out. It may be that one day they?ll do something that pisses people off enough that they turn away and not buy any more EA games, rather than just posting in the internet about how annoyed they are as they install origin. Until then, they will keep pushing the line.

I realize that it may not be obvious how this ties back to the OT. But it is because the only person that Origin is meant to benefit is EA. They have made no improvements over the steam service, if anything the terms of service are slightly worse. They have made the service extremely intrusive probably because they want to know if you have a pirated version of one of their games and even if you haven?t they want to know everything about you so they can make more money selling it to others. They have pulled their titles from steam, because it is the only way to get anyone to even consider installing origin. (Don?t get me wrong steam/Valve is no angel either, but they do seem to be asking the how can I like my customer like me more question)

 

[Vrach]

Well since TOR doesn't require Origin if you get a physical copy (Source [http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=8488436#edit8488436]), the only other real game I'd want is Mass Effect 3.

TOR won't require Origin even if you buy it via Origin.

OT: If you ask me, the whole invasion of privacy was a result of bad wording mixed with EA's reputation (which is a result of them being a large and successful company).

Can Origin and Steam co-exist? Of course they can. Not only that, but they'll be able to co-exist with a bunch of other similar applications from other companies that are inevitably coming along. There's no essential difference to them, merely how good they are (currently, Steam is miles better, but unlike some around here, I happen to remember the days of Steam's infancy, when its reputation was much like Origin's right now).

On the whole BF3 vs MW3, have you ever considered the fact that what an ad says is not exactly what the company thinks will happen? Do you ever watch sports? I'm not the biggest fan frankly, but I've watched a few matches here and there and I've yet to hear a team/player advertise the fact they know they're gonna lose, especially in a match between the top two in a category. That doesn't mean they don't know they're up against a player/team that's gonna win, merely that it's a better marketing strategy that gets them more support (and this goes double for a product).

BF3 sold 5 million copies in the first week. It took BFBC2 1-2 months to achieve that figure. I'd say they've done their job financially and despite the fact MW3 beat them with 1.5 million on the first day alone (we'll see how it pans out for the whole week), it doesn't diminish their success or the fact they've done well against it.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Origin, far as I can see it is the same thing with no perks.

What do you mean? Like, no easy friends list, watch list, no sales, etc?

OT: If all that stuff I mentioned is true, then I can live without Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 3, Crysis 2, Battlefield 3 and a HD version of The Run. Besides, it's not like the Wii is that bad at running "modern" games. It runs Modern Warfare almost exactly like the 'proper' versions, and I still have trouble telling the difference between Blu-ray and DVD...

 

[dessertmonkeyjk]

I don't trust EA as much as I used to pretty much. Besides, I would like to have Mass Effect 3 on a physical disc without having to install extra junk that scans my stuff and sends it off across the world somewhere.

I'll wait for an Origin bypass patch.

 

[Something Amyss]

Origin, far as I can see it is the same thing with no perks.

What do you mean? Like, no easy friends list, watch list, no sales, etc?

OT: If all that stuff I mentioned is true, then I can live without Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 3, Crysis 2, Battlefield 3 and a HD version of The Run. Besides, it's not like the Wii is that bad at running "modern" games. It runs Modern Warfare almost exactly like the 'proper' versions, and I still have trouble telling the difference between Blu-ray and DVD...

Well, I referenced deals/sales in the topic, one could probably connect the two.

 

[Atmos Duality]

But it is because the only person that Origin is meant to benefit is EA.

That's exactly the idea here. EA wants to transform the relationship with their customers from buying a product on neutral ground to holding the games hostage (even AFTER they've secured their sales) and disallowing the customer even one inch of negotiation.

Right now, I see Origin as this: "You can purchase access to our games, but know that we're going to eventually fuck you over. Take it or leave it."

Everything else that they want to do with Origin is just another cost to the consumer. EA doesn't give a fuck if your identity gets stolen because of their system snooping around your computer as long as you can't threaten them legally (and by agreeing to Origin's terms, you waive your right to sue them, so you'd have to file criminal charges against them in order to get anything done. Good luck with that).

(Don?t get me wrong steam/Valve is no angel either, but they do seem to be asking the how can I like my customer like me more question)

Steam looks saintly compared to either of the current proprietary distribution/DRM systems right now (Origin and Bnet 2.0, plus whatever Ubisoft uses), but again, looks can be deceiving. Unless you have some sort of leverage (preferably legally), NEVER implicitly trust a large for-profit organization. It's your job to keep them honest as a consumer after all.

Gabe Newell is exploiting the most basic principle of economics that companies have fought against for decades: selling closer to the marginal cost to increase yields/revenue.
Companies want to engage in cartel practices so that they can jack up prices; so they don't have to increase the cost of production to meet rising demand. The problem lies in that you always lose revenue efficiency when you rate-hike above the normal market (barring demand factors like those of necessity or the effects of inflation; which is a scalar for macroscale economies and not specific markets).

(ASIDE: This is a HUGE part of why China has completely raped the United States' economy. You can't compete with near-slave-labor prices. Due to over-population, China's average worker is quite expendable, so even if a strike or revolt occurs, there's another hundred-million near-slaves waiting to fill the void. If/When China's economy breaks...oh boy.)

The day Steam changes their philosophy to stop doing that, is the day you see Steam fall.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Dunno if it's been stated whether ME3 will require Origin constantly (fingers crossed it won't. I wouldn't mind a one-time authentication assuming I could then delete the thing), but forcing me to have Origin on my PC for the one game that I want that uses it is...repulsive, and pretty wasteful for my PC resources too.

EA's download manager program (Sims, etc) keeps processes active in your system even if you uninstall it. You'd need to go in and scrub your registry to be truly rid of it.

For me, if ME3 does require always on Origin (even if it doesn't) I will be running it off a Virtual Machine. If EA want to read all my personal info, they are gonna have to work for it, and come hell or high water I will make them pay for it. We Australians take our privacy laws very seriously.