EA inks deal to bring third-party publishers' games to Origin

Shawn Knight

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Electronic Arts has announced that their digital distribution platform known as Origin will be offering third-party PC games starting next month. The first group of publishers to sign a deal with Origin includes Warner Bros., THQ and Capcom.

Hit titles like Batman: Arkham City and Saints Row: The Third will be the first to launch with more games joining the mix over the next several months. Origin already has over 100 EA games in its library and adding more publishers will only strengthen the service’s desirability against Valve and their Steam platform.

“Since launch, we’ve had overwhelming support from both publishers and developers across the gaming industry, recognizing Origin as an opportunity to deliver more of their great content straight to consumers across the globe,” said David DeMartini, senior vice president of Origin at EA. “We’re excited to welcome Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, THQ and Capcom as the first publishers to offer their games via Origin.”

Just last week we reported that Origin had over 5 million users but according to EA, that’s old news. Figures mentioned in today’s press release indicate the service now has over 6 million registered users. That's not bad considering EA launched Origin less than five months ago at the Electronics Entertainment Expo. This figure will likely swell over the next few weeks as users flock to the service to play Battlefield 3.

In addition to the new licensing deals with these three publishers, Origin users also have several other games to look forward to this year. Star Wars: The Old Republic, an Origin digital exclusive, is scheduled to launch on December 20 while the next version of The Sims and Mass Effect 3 will likely drive plenty more users to EA’s digital storefront.

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Its almost as if...maybe...EA wants to compete with Steam...maybe.

Normally competition is good, but EA is evil, and has been evil for the past decade, give or take a few years.
 
Think of EA right now as 'The Nothing' from the Neverending Story.
They want 'Origin' to swallow everything and eventually overtake Steam.

Valve is a brilliant developer with some untouched titles... Half Life and Left For Dead 2 for example, and Steam's sail's have caught wind.
Just the possibility of Half Life 3 and/or Episode 3 will keep me using Steam for a long, looong time.
 
I'm starting to like Origin. You can run your games without needing Origin open (unlike Steam), and you can actually call or live chat with support (unlike Steam)
 
Heck, even I'm considered an Origin user, and I've never used the service. I got Madden for the 360 and signed up for an EA account, and now its considered an Origin account. I think their numbers misleading. I will stick with Steam for my PC games.
 
I think I'll still be using Steam.

+1 - Having used it for the beta release of Battlefield 3 I can safely say I won't be again. Horrible platform, and while you might be able to contact support and speak to them as others have said above (which is a shortfall of Steam I freely admit) it is nowhere near enough of a reason to consider yet another game client service.

I'm happy with Steam, and if EA want to get their knickers in a twist and force its top titles through its own platform and not Steam I'm cool with it. I'll just spend my money on games Steam do sell instead.
 
Wonder if they will offer third party products for higher prices than physical copies of the same products just like they have with BF3. That's not going to compete with Steam sales and general pricing. Found it interesting to see that Steams in come from a title remained constant regardless of it being sold at discounted price or full price due to the increased sales during discounted periods. Mass market = cheaper prices...
 
@Guest. You can run steam offline and they have a support number (425-889-9642) or FAX (425-827-4843) found on the steam website. However, email support works fine too.
 
Guest said:
I'm starting to like Origin. You can run your games without needing Origin open (unlike Steam), and you can actually call or live chat with support (unlike Steam)

Whatever benefits EA may offer right now, even to the point of offering cheaper titles than Steam, will only last as long as Steam is a competitor. If Steam ever is displaced by Origin, rest assured EA will bend you over a barrel and go to town.

They're an evil company, this is not hyperbole. If they treat their employees like ****, how do you think they feel about their customers?
 
I have to agree with gwailo247, I have not really liked EA since back in the Commodore 64 days. I have tolerated them at time when I really wanted one of their games however they have always rubbed me the wrong way. It seems like Valve/Steam really tries to make a good experience for the user at a reasonable price, hence why most people like them while EA does the least amount for the highest price. I guess it’s kind of like big heartless corporation (EA) vs a caring organization (Valve).
 
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