Electronic Arts

Mostly PC, but console and mobile too
Post Reply
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 65253
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Electronic Arts

Post by Leisher »

Crysis 2 now "Origin" only.

Before I even get into the issue at hand, let me start by saying that naming this service "Origin" is a huge loogie in the face of gamers. However, this is a rant that's been done, so I won't go into it. If you want to know more simply look at Origin's body of work, and then what happened once EA bought them.

Anyway, this is going to get annoying. I like having Best Buy around the corner from Target which is around the corner from Costco and so on. I also like that Amazon and other website are out there competing not only with each other, but with these brick and mortar stores.

What I don't like is the idea of Steam, Origin, Games for Windows, etc. all running on my PC. I've got no issue with one service running, but I don't need 10. I don't need my computer slowed down to a crawl just because the various distributors want to squeeze every nickel they can out of me.

This is not only going to be very annoying, but yet another thing that will turn off the casual gamer to PC gaming.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TPRJones
Posts: 13418
Joined: Fri May 21, 2004 2:05 pm
Location: Houston
Contact:

Post by TPRJones »

I find I've gotten to the point where I have no interest in purchasing a game until it's on Steam.

This just means I wont be buying anything from EA, I guess.
"ATTENTION: Customers browsing porn must hold magazines with both hands at all times!"
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 65253
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Post by Leisher »

More proof EA is leaving Steam.

Look, I get what EA is doing. They want to cut Valve out of their profits with their own service. They have that right.

However, there are already Steam competitors, which will keep prices down for both the consumer and those getting their software distributed through those services.

What we don't need is every developer creating their own distribution services.

The near future:
Guest: "Wow, you have a ton of game icons on your desktop! There must be 25 games on there."
PC Owner: "No, those are all distribution software icons. To launch my games I have to open the appropriate distribution software..."

This kind of shit is why consoles continue to dominate the gaming landscape. The fact that PCs should be winning hands down is a no brainer. The problem is the people behind PC gaming are all too stupid to get on the page.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TPRJones
Posts: 13418
Joined: Fri May 21, 2004 2:05 pm
Location: Houston
Contact:

Post by TPRJones »

Good riddance.

I looked over all the EA games I've bought recently, and it just comes down to a handful of games I found on sale on Steam. If it weren't for those Steam sales I'd never have bought 'em. So in the end it'll just save me some money.

I may still buy SWTOR, but only if I can get it individually like any other MMO. If I have to purchase it through some crappy EA game downloading service then forget it. I don't intend to install more unnecessary software.

All they're really doing is limiting their market and cutting out any casual purchasers from the big download clients. It's like pulling your games from the shelves of GameStop and Target because you want people to buy them from your roadside cart. It's a very good way to cut down on game sales if your revenues are just too darn high.
"ATTENTION: Customers browsing porn must hold magazines with both hands at all times!"
GORDON
Site Admin
Posts: 54397
Joined: Sun Jun 06, 2004 10:43 pm
Location: DTManistan
Contact:

Post by GORDON »

And at this point why would any developer want to work under the EA umbrella, when your product will be sold from the roadside cart?
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
WSGrundy
Posts: 1506
Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2005 4:25 am

Post by WSGrundy »

What I read was that Valve kicked Dragon Age II off of Steam. That was a while ago so the story may have changed but Valve wasn't happy that DLC was purchased through dragon age II and not steam and then installed.
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 65253
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Post by Leisher »

Battlefield 3 not coming to Steam.

EA says Steam's rules are too restrictive.

Valve's restrictive policy? "If you sell a DLC for your game, and you sell that game on Steam, then that DLC must be available for Steam users."

It's an interesting fight.
-Valve, who does make money off these sales, is willing to throw that money away to fight for their customers' access to DLC. Of course, one could argue that in the long run, it's about them getting that money too.
-On the other side, EA can't hide that their stance in one purely based on profits.

I think a lot of folks are taking Valve's side for two reasons:
1. PC Gamers want a one stop shop, and Steam has established itself as that shop.
2. EA has a looooooong history of corporate creed and treating its consumers/employees like shit.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Malcolm
Posts: 32040
Joined: Fri May 21, 2004 1:04 pm
Location: Minneapolis

Post by Malcolm »

Fuck EA. They deserve the same crash that Interplay got hit with.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 65253
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Post by Leisher »

EA: "We aren't putting Battlefield 3 on Steam because they have draconian rules about DLC. That's it. We're not trying to compete with them. Oh, by the way, on a totally unrelated note, did we mention that you'll need our distribution software, Origin, to run your EA game?"

If there is an "evil empire" in gaming, it's EA, nobody else is even in the top 10.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Malcolm
Posts: 32040
Joined: Fri May 21, 2004 1:04 pm
Location: Minneapolis

Post by Malcolm »

Leisher wrote:If there is an "evil empire" in gaming, it's EA, nobody else is even in the top 10.
Activision.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 65253
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Post by Leisher »

Gabe Newell talks about EA's Origin.

Nothing earth shattering, but interesting to see him speak on the situation.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 65253
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Post by Leisher »

Old Republic only on Origin.

EA admits they want Origin to rule the world.

I'd honestly have no problem with Origin if they were the only game in town. I am NOT looking forward to multiple gaming platforms on my PC. That's not a criticism of EA, not am I saying they don't have a right to do this, I just hate that this "war" is coming, and my PC is going to be the battleground.

I do have a problem with Origin's name. Origin was a great gaming company who made classic games that stand the test of time, and in some cases are around even now. EA's handling of Origin, its properties, and its employees are exhibit A when people discuss why EA sucks.

EA is the evil empire of gaming. (Yes, they beat out Activision.) This is a company run by suits who know shit about gaming and don't care. They just want money. From a capitalist aspect, more power to them. From a consumer aspect, fuck them. If I'm buying their games, I want quality games. EA is very much hit or miss in that area. Most of their hits were started at other companies, so they themselves don't actually create much good stuff. They just ruin everything they touch. I guess EA is the Borg of the gaming world.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
WSGrundy
Posts: 1506
Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2005 4:25 am

Post by WSGrundy »

While ea are dicks this really doesn't bother me. Origin is just where you will buy the game online. According to bioware you aren't going to need to log into an origin account and have it connected to play the game. This just like if they said you can only walk into the store and buy it from Target. Not sure why you would want to limit the places selling your game but I don't think this harms the gamer.
WSGrundy
Posts: 1506
Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2005 4:25 am

Post by WSGrundy »

Of course all of these little things that only bother a few people eventually adds up to a real crappy service.
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 65253
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Post by Leisher »

While ea are dicks this really doesn't bother me. Origin is just where you will buy the game online. According to bioware you aren't going to need to log into an origin account and have it connected to play the game. This just like if they said you can only walk into the store and buy it from Target. Not sure why you would want to limit the places selling your game but I don't think this harms the gamer.


Sorry, those two articles aren't meant to be "meshed".

Read the second article:
“But in general it’s not just a retail site, it’s a community, it’s a platform, it has traits much like you see with Steam or PSN or Xbox Live, but it’s unique to EA.”


Bioware's plans for how The Old Republic will be handled by Origin isn't the issue. EA's plans and concept for Origin is the issue.

EA doesn't plan to use Origin as just a digital distribution service, but as an actual platform...like Steam. Steam runs constantly when playing Steam purchased games or just games that require Steam to run for DRM, for updating, or for matchmaking. EA wants Origin to do the same.

And please don't fool yourself into thinking that EA can't jump in at any point and make Origin launch every time you launch Old Republic. They can release patches to dump DRM, they can release patches to add it.

To your other point, while more stores should good for gamers to drive prices down, go back and read the chain again. Apparently, EA took their games off Steam and actually raised prices once they were Origin exclusives. See, that's the problem with a distributor owning the only outlet for their game...they set the price to whatever they want and they have no competition to drive the price down.

The biggest concern of all, however, is EA's track record. It is a road littered with broken bridges, bodies of employees, franchises, and customers. The only reason they still exist has nothing to do with their ability to churn out good games, but rather their ability to buy folks who make good games. Not to mention that instead of competing in a fair market, they rather squash competition rather than boost their quality of work.

For example:
Back in...2000? 2K Sports released an awesome NFL game. What's more they did it at $19.99, while Madden was $49.99 (I think it was still that low, and not at the current $59.99). Needless to say, a LOT of people gave the game a shot and LOVED it. So what did EA do in response? They negotiated with the NFL (and other pro sports league) for the sole right of using stadium, team, and player names, logos, etc. This effectively killed their competition.

Is that a good business move? For EA, yes. However, is that good for gamers? No way.

Back to Origin, it joins Steam as a digital platform (software that's more than just distribution), and Microsoft's Games for Windows, and according to reports, MS is going to refocus it so it's more like Steam too.

Fucking Hooray. I'm sure all of these digital platforms running on your PC will significantly help performance...

I'm all for progress, I'm just not thrilled with EA being one of the options, and again, I'm certainly not thrilled about my PC being the battlefield. This will be yet another reason given when people argue that consoles are better for gaming.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TPRJones
Posts: 13418
Joined: Fri May 21, 2004 2:05 pm
Location: Houston
Contact:

Post by TPRJones »

Is that a good business move? For EA, yes.

I disagree. It's stupid and shortsighted.

Make a list of all the games that will only be available on Origin. There's a list of games I will never be buying. And I was already committed to playing Old Republic, but not anymore. I've got enough shit on my computer. I don't need more shit.

And I don't think I'm alone in that. They're limiting their potential sales. Maybe not a whole lot, but enough to hit their bottom line. So, no, I don't think it's a good business move at all.
"ATTENTION: Customers browsing porn must hold magazines with both hands at all times!"
TheCatt
Site Admin
Posts: 53725
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 11:15 pm
Location: Cary, NC

Post by TheCatt »

Question is...what % of revenue they lose to Steam, and what % they lose by not using steam at all.

If they lost 30% of each sale (standard digital distribution cut on other products)... then a 10% loss of sales on their own platform only is nothing.




Edited By TheCatt on 1314144102
It's not me, it's someone else.
TPRJones
Posts: 13418
Joined: Fri May 21, 2004 2:05 pm
Location: Houston
Contact:

Post by TPRJones »

It would also depend on what percentage of their sales was through Steam in the first place. If it's, say, 20%, then that's only 6% of their bottom line paid to Steam so losing 10% of sales would be worse.
"ATTENTION: Customers browsing porn must hold magazines with both hands at all times!"
GORDON
Site Admin
Posts: 54397
Joined: Sun Jun 06, 2004 10:43 pm
Location: DTManistan
Contact:

Post by GORDON »

And, what did it cost them to create their own platform?
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 65253
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Post by Leisher »

“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Post Reply