What EA and many other Publishers seem to forget is that once the cat's out of the bag, and you've got your initial sales, you've got the money back for the game and are just churning out extra profit, their games are basically advertisements for the sequel. Sell the older game cheap, and get your IP out there into as many hands as possible. If it's a good game, all the more reason to sell it cheap - your customers will appreciate it and they'll be chomping at the bit for the next installment, which you can then provide at full price, and start the whole cycle again.
Games also don't hold onto sticker value for longer then a year anyway. It always floors me when I see games that are years old still being sold for 50-60 bucks. Very few games are worth that when compared to new games, and with digital distribution, this becomes even more egregious. I think one problem is that publishers are just not accustomed to having this sort of selling power. Retail Stores mark games down after a certain time, once the buzz wears off and they need to move product. Digital stores need to do the same thing to fit ANYWHERE in the niche that they're trying to replace.
Origin will suffer for not providing a percieved value - Lots of people just won't look there for games if there's nothing to entice them to look. Sure, they can hold their own IPs hostage, but that's really a dick move, and they'll suffer in the end for that too.
