That's it, EA

[KennardKId5]

Look EA, I gave you a chance. You haven't always been so evil. When others doubted you, I always asked you what you had to say.
But then you said too much.
I just wanted to play the Battlefield 3 Beta, so I downloaded your Origin program and got ready to play. But I couldn't! I had to allow you to get through my firewall! Even my computer thought you were bad!
I should have stopped right then and there, should have read the signs, but alas, I thought that Battlefield 3 looked like a cool thing to test out. So I downloaded it. But that wasn't enough.
I downloaded it for 5 hours, and when I was finished... I wasn't.The progress bar was stuck at 100%, and you kept downloading I don't even know WHAT until the size of the file was 5.5 gigabytes, which is 1.5 more gigs than necessary! That was strike two.
But the worst offense was the way you ignored me. I hit up the live chat support. I was on the queue for an hour and no one talked to me.
So I'm sorry EA, but I'm going back to Steam. She was always nice to me and we always clicked. We had rough points now and then, but the deals made it all worthwhile. One game can't change that. if you want to be like this, fine, but it's your fault.

[TLR] Read it anyway! But the gist of the story is that Origin was a broken mess that was not ready for the public.

 

[KennardKId5]

I thought I've heard rumors that Steam was a steaming pile of shit when it first launched as well...

I wasn't there, I wouldn't know, but maybe Origin needs some time to come into its own. If anything, it's got to be better than Games For Windows Live.

Yeah, but the thing is, Steam didn't really have much huge competition at the time.
Nowadays, Steam is a juggernaut, and you have to be DAMN GOOD to get past Steam.

 

[Fusioncode9]

I thought I've heard rumors that Steam was a steaming pile of shit when it first launched as well...

I wasn't there, I wouldn't know, but maybe Origin needs some time to come into its own. If anything, it's got to be better than Games For Windows Live.

Pretty much this, just give it some time. It will become better.

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

If anything, it's got to be better than Games For Windows Live.

God, anything is better than that pile of garbage. I don't know who said "Yeah...yeah...this looks good enough. Release it to the public."


They should be slapped...and fired. GFWL is atrocious at best.

 

[Owen Robertson]

That was pretty funny. It was a break-up letter to EA. I kinda stopped seeing that bloated whore around 2003.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

You're right about one thing: they haven't always been evil. Having played some of the games they published in the 80's[footnote]yes, EA really is that old -- and Activision was founded by a bunch of ex-Atari employees, and their early games were made for the 2600. These companies have been around for a while.[/footnote], I can vouch that once upon a time, they were willing to take risks on niche titles -- something they haven't done in quite some time.

That said, Origin isn't as bad as you think it is. Pretty much anything that accesses the internet -- from Origin to Steam to individual online games -- will need to have an exception set in your firewall. That's just how firewalls work. As for the Origin downloading way too much data, it's a bug, but it's not a sign that EA is evil. It's just a bug. Personally, I've been very happy with the basic functionality of Origin. It's not quite as good as Steam, but it's comparable to Impulse, which is a pretty darned good piece of software. If you were willing to put up with some of the other crap EA has pulled over the years, I'm at a loss as to why this is the final straw; there's really nothing evil about it.

 

[Riddle78]

Doesn't Origin's ToS state that you MUST give EA permission to snoop through every aspect of your system and networks remotely,AND you cant sue them for shafting you?

 

[The Virgo]

I wanted to get Battlefield 3 until I heard about their privacy policy. Now I would never trust them enough to actually buy any of their games, with the exception of current Sims 3 expansions.

 

[KennardKId5]

Also, help would be appreciated on the over 100% bug.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Doesn't Origin's ToS state that you MUST give EA permission to snoop through every aspect of your system and networks remotely,AND you cant sue them for shafting you?

That's an exaggeration. What it states is that they can look through your program files folder and get a list of what programs you have on your hard drive, as well as scan your hardware so they have a database of system specs. Steam literally does the same thing, they just allow users to opt out of it. Or have you never seen <link=http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey>this page?

 

[Illithidae]

Doesn't Origin's ToS state that you MUST give EA permission to snoop through every aspect of your system and networks remotely,AND you cant sue them for shafting you?

That's an exaggeration. What it states is that they can look through your program files folder and get a list of what programs you have on your hard drive, as well as scan your hardware so they have a database of system specs. Steam literally does the same thing, they just allow users to opt out of it. Or have you never seen <link=http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey>this page?

I decided a while ago that I wouldn't bother with Origin because A: I have Steam B: I don't have a PS3 or xBox 360 and C: what kind of online store needs a ToS that means it can snoop on your computer and is unsueable?

Edit: As for Steam's surveys, well, at least they're optional and aren't constant.

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

It took 5 hours to download for you?

Mine finished in under 30 minutes from Origin. No installation problems at all.

Now if they'd just bring the servers back up...

 

[KeyMaster45]

What exactly makes Origin so different from any other rival digital download service that's tried to combat Steam? Is it the selection of games or something? I ask because the way people are talking I feel as though I missed some vital piece of info as to why there's such a polarizing war over it. I know about the privacy issues and the no class action lawsuit thing, but I was under the impression those debate had long been swept under the table.

 

[MoNKeyYy]

I thought I've heard rumors that Steam was a steaming pile of shit when it first launched as well...

I wasn't there, I wouldn't know, but maybe Origin needs some time to come into its own. If anything, it's got to be better than Games For Windows Live.

Yeah, but the thing is, Steam didn't really have much huge competition at the time.
Nowadays, Steam is a juggernaut, and you have to be DAMN GOOD to get past Steam.

Also, Steam was basically a pilot. The interface and buisness model and software had only been minimally tried. They didn't know what worked and had a lot more technical limitations. Origin is coming into a market with a high number of tried and tested competators and a wealth of experts who know exactly how things should work. If it's not quite as good as Steam, fine. If it outright doesn't work, not fine. The tech is there, it should work.

OT: Mehh. EA can do whatever it wants with it's software for all I care; releasing a shitty program won't make me hate them. The other stuff they do, particularly with their marketing department, yeah that'll do it.

Also, captcha: runtdua ss, and despite. The Fuck?

 

[ecoho]

You're right about one thing: they haven't always been evil. Having played some of the games they published in the 80's[footnote]yes, EA really is that old -- and Activision was founded by a bunch of ex-Atari employees, and their early games were made for the 2600. These companies have been around for a while.[/footnote], I can vouch that once upon a time, they were willing to take risks on niche titles -- something they haven't done in quite some time.

That said, Origin isn't as bad as you think it is. Pretty much anything that accesses the internet -- from Origin to Steam to individual online games -- will need to have an exception set in your firewall. That's just how firewalls work. As for the Origin downloading way too much data, it's a bug, but it's not a sign that EA is evil. It's just a bug. Personally, I've been very happy with the basic functionality of Origin. It's not quite as good as Steam, but it's comparable to Impulse, which is a pretty darned good piece of software. If you were willing to put up with some of the other crap EA has pulled over the years, I'm at a loss as to why this is the final straw; there's really nothing evil about it.

Owyn my friend i have to disagree a little and it hurts me to do so. EA is one of my favored companies but origin is just bad maybe not evil but its defiantly bad. i think EA needs to rethink their business strategy any system that requires you to let it look at your specs on your computer or you cant play the game you own is just madness EA will take such a huge beating on BF3 for this.(besides the fact that they screwed up the PC version) Please EA go back to being just greedy i can support that but not crap like this that intrudes on privacy.(by greedy i mean id like to just hear all the bitching about project ten dollar instead of this

 

[Slitzkin]

It took 5 hours to download for you?

Mine finished in under 30 minutes from Origin. No installation problems at all.

Now if they'd just bring the servers back up...

Well, I would be lucky if it finished in 2 days. Well that is price you pay for living in Australia, poor internet speed.

 

[Najos]

What exactly makes Origin so different from any other rival digital download service that's tried to combat Steam? Is it the selection of games or something? I ask because the way people are talking I feel as though I missed some vital piece of info as to why there's such a polarizing war over it. I know about the privacy issues and the no class action lawsuit thing, but I was under the impression those debate had long been swept under the table.

EA is taking their games off of Steam and forcing customers to go through Origin for digital copies. It isn't that big of a deal, but it is sort of silly of them.

 

[Thaliur]

Owyn my friend i have to disagree a little and it hurts me to do so. EA is one of my favored companies but origin is just bad maybe not evil but its defiantly bad. i think EA needs to rethink their business strategy any system that requires you to let it look at your specs on your computer or you cant play the game you own is just madness EA will take such a huge beating on BF3 for this.(besides the fact that they screwed up the PC version) Please EA go back to being just greedy i can support that but not crap like this that intrudes on privacy.(by greedy i mean id like to just hear all the bitching about project ten dollar instead of this

Actually, I can understand the fact that Origin wants to check the system specs.
At least I could if they include a feature which warns you before buying a game. Something like "You can buy it, but your computer might not be able to run it properly".
Accessing the whole hard disk is completely unnecessary to do that, though.

I really gave EA plenty of chances. I bought Black & White and its expansion, The sequel and its expansion, Alice, Command & Conquer 3 and even Spore and it appeared to me that they used this money to produce more and more copies of their sports games with different years printed on them.
Now I have to force myself to not buy Madness Returns...


Also, I don't believe defiantly means what you think it means...

 

[Still Life]

I thought I've heard rumors that Steam was a steaming pile of shit when it first launched as well...

Oooh boy, it was. I remember when Steam started up. It has come a long way since then. A very long way. It also received a lot of criticism and flak; I think quite a few Valve followers have forgotten that. Hell, sometimes even I forget how much of a love it/hate it relationship one could have with the service.

Personally, I've found Origin to be quite functional, if somewhat sparse. It doesn't have the options and community clout Steam has -- not by a long shot. However, it has potential. It is certainly more stable than Steam was at the time of its launch, though, this a different time so it wouldn't be an excuse if Origin was grossly undercooked. I do remain wary of issues surrounding terms of service, etc.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Look they don't care, they will only care once peoples money does the talking.