Battlefield 3 Will Require Origin

[Atmos Duality]

I wonder if EA is going to take the "Blizzard" approach and just require that the game be online 100% of the time a few weeks later?

No, really. I wouldn't put it past them to not reveal that critical bit of info until Day 1 in their EULA.

 

[Xrysthos]

Doesn't really bother me. I'm terrible at FPS games in general, so playing it on the PS3 is probably the best option in any case. But then again I'll be getting sick (correction: even sicker) with Skyrim fever by the time this is coming out anyways. And by the time I'm finished with Skyrim it'll be Treyarch's turn again. =/

 

[sinn3r]

I love how you can't verify the integrity of games downloaded with EADM2.0 (Read Origin... as if they were the first ones...:}).

So say, you have a corrupted file of 2mb in your download, you can't just simpled download THAT single file (like Steam can). No. You have to redownload the whole 9 gigs of game.

That's what i am calling usefull software.

 

[cfehunter]

Argh not more steam-like software. I've already got steam and impulse.

When will people realise that managing your games through a website and having no extra software on your computer (like GoG, D2D or gamersgate systems) is a much better way of doing things.

 

[migo]

I'll add my voice to the chorus of those who don't see what the big deal is. This is EXACTLY the same thing that Valve did with Half-Life 2 and you might think that Steam is pretty shit-hot now but believe me, it was a piece of crap when it launched. So why is it okay for one but not the other?

Because Valve hasn't got a reputation for being an evil company.

EA held that throne for a long time, and has only recently (just) lost it to Activision. I have no reason to trust them.

Valve is earning one, and it's because of Steam.

How? What is Steam doing?

Creating a poor customer experience. If you buy a game through Steam and have problems with it, and you contact Valve for support, they just quote the part of the EULA that says you don't own the games and they're not responsible for any problems, so they won't fix the problem or refund it. If you then try contacting the dev/publisher directly and they've got a patch that solves the problem, you can't apply it on the Steam version because only the Steam specific patch will work. So Valve passes the buck to the developer but makes it impossible for them to actually fix it. Since all your games are tied to an account, if you have a significant library they just have you by the balls, because you can't dispute the charges with your credit card company - if you do that, they'll just ban you entirely. It's a complete lose-lose situation.

If it's a Valve game I don't have a problem getting it on Steam, because if something's wrong, Valve has to deal with it either way, so in this case problems get solved. Anything else though I won't touch unless it's activating a game on Steam that I can get through another source (such as something through the Humble Indie Bundle). If there's a problem with it on Steam, I just install and play it in the non Steam way.

If Steam actually had good customer service, this wouldn't be happening, but just pay attention on forums and general discussion on blogs - more and more people are becoming less and less happy with Steam, and Valve is barely even making any good games now, so people aren't even forgiving them because they make games they want.

Origin on the flip side is a service for EA games, and EA publishes a lot of games. For the same reason I don't have a problem getting a Valve game from Steam, I have no problem getting an EA game from Origin - there's no passing the buck if something goes wrong. Also, Since Mirror's Edge, I don't really care for any of the games Valve has put out. Being unable to easily climb up stuff (Alyx Vance has to do it for you, since Gordon can't do it) or crawl under stuff just makes the games frustrating. Eventually people who are playing TF2 or L4D2 and nothing else will come out and take a look at some other games and realise that they're much, much better. Then Valve as a developer is no better than id - they used to make good games but now they're shitty and make engines that unlike with id, nobody wants to use.

 

[Worr Monger]

Oops... there was already a slim chance I'd get a physical copy.

No BF3 for me, it would seem.

 

[Dumb_Joe]

Like we already didn't know that.

 

[CD-R]

Well Shamus Young predicted this.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/7058-Experienced-Points-I-Have-Seen-The-Future-And-it-is-Annoying

What can I say. We have no one to blame for this but ourselves. We all went out and bought episode 2. We all went out and bought the games that required Steam. We didn't make good on all those threats to boycott Steam and instead signed up to take advantage of Steam sales. So it was only inevitable that a another big publisher was going to jump on the whole drm that's also an online store/social network whatever thing. Pretty soon Activision is going to have their own. Their already doing some wierd call of duty subscription map thing or whatever it is.

Times they are a changing. I remember a simpler time. When you didn't need internet connections or have to sign into stuff before you could install games you legally purchased. A time when more than 2 PC games came out every month. I remember... railroad times.


On the plus side. Now EA has no excuse whatsoever to not put out
PC versions of all the games they release every year.

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

Now, will you have to be connected to the internet to play it?

 

[migo]

Would love to see these sources because I've never heard of Steam quoting the EULA outside of violation tickets.

It's not hard to find. It's been discussed on the Escapist. They quote the EULA for anything. Got a problem, they just respond back that they're not responsible for anything.

 

[F'Angus]

It seems game developers are just full of terrible ideas nowadays.

 

[nYuknYuknYuk]

Comparing a just launching service with a mature one is hardly fair, unless you can say when steam launched it 100% perfect.

And before you say I love EA. I don't I hate both services requirement to have their bulkware for games not purchased on-line. Especially for ones that have nothing to do with valve and are single player.

You're right. It is hardly fair. The mature service wins out in every aspect, so why wouldn't I choose it?

 

[Vigormortis]

I'll add my voice to the chorus of those who don't see what the big deal is. This is EXACTLY the same thing that Valve did with Half-Life 2 and you might think that Steam is pretty shit-hot now but believe me, it was a piece of crap when it launched. So why is it okay for one but not the other?

It may be because, when Steam started out, it was a wholly new idea. Something that had not really be tried in that capacity before. Ergo, new and uncertain ground. Add to that Valve being rather small at the time and not having heaping piles of dough to throw around and you start to get the idea as to why it wasn't "that great" at the beginning.

Flash forward almost a decade. There are now dozens of DD services. Within and without of the gaming industry. Suddenly, along comes EA with Origin. Their own (current) attempt at the DD game. (because they've tried, and failed...horribly, before)

Now I've actually tried Origin. While is has some (very few) redeeming qualities, it's overall lack of features, capabilities, and over-bearing DRM restrictions are practically inexcusable. Why? Because EA has almost a decades worth of examples to look back on as to how to do it right, not to mention a large development team and piles upon piles of cash to fund it.

So, as some keep asking, why are we willing to accept Steam now and not Origin? Especially given that when Steam started out it was really crappy too? It's because Valve had an excuse back then. EA doesn't have one now.

 

[r_Chance]

It took me awhile to grin and bear it with Steam. It went from horrible in the beginning to decent later. I don't think I'm up to it for another service. Origin. No. I think my list of PC games just shrank by one. I'm lined up for more than I have time to play anyway.

 

[TCPirate]

Jesus! What is it with game companies forcing people to remain online to play their game.
The Settlers 7, BC3, Diablo 3. I'm getting really sick of this.

I have annoying internet connection that sometimes drops out, I hate the idea that I will be punished because I don't have a secure connection to the internet.

 

[Wintermoot]

I wasn't planning to get BF3 anyway but I don,t like where this is going.

 

[migo]

Would love to see these sources because I've never heard of Steam quoting the EULA outside of violation tickets.

It's not hard to find. It's been discussed on the Escapist. They quote the EULA for anything. Got a problem, they just respond back that they're not responsible for anything.

All I'm seeing is discrepancies over Terms of Service violations, and if you think telling someone to look through 482 different posts on the Escapist is providing a source, then there's no point in you responding.

Just pay more attention next time a discussion about Steam comes up.

 

[migo]

Jesus! What is it with game companies forcing people to remain online to play their game.
The Settlers 7, BC3, Diablo 3. I'm getting really sick of this.

I have annoying internet connection that sometimes drops out, I hate the idea that I will be punished because I don't have a secure connection to the internet.

You're not being forced to remain online with Origin. It just has to be present.