from the point of it being competition, its a good thing, really good thing, i wouldn't mind seeing more of the big boys try this.
but, to be a competition, you have to compete. When it is cheaper to get in my car, drive around a few Canberra suburbs, looking in every EB games, GAME and Dick Smith for it at a better price (and paying for parking at every point). That's not competing, that's punishing people for buying it directly from you. The thing about digital distribution is that there is no disc to buy and burn, no shipping cost, no retailer taking a huge cut and screwing you at every turn, no shelf space limit and no 2nd hand games to compete with.
oh, there's soooo much more wrong with origin, where it fails to compete with steam (and come on, its not rocket science, they could hire a couple of uni programming students and get a better digital distribution system).
so, the only good thing i can say is that their trying, er no, trying isn't the right word, their almost attempting to compete with steam.