There have been a lot of threads about Origin, and everyone I've read has been filled with overwhelming hate for the platform and statements of what a terrible idea it is.
My question is: Why? Why so much hate for another distribution service?
Lots of people love Steam. I get that. I love Steam for the sales and catalog, but it's far from perfect. For example:
[ul]
[li]Slow download speeds (I get up to 1.2 megs/second VERY rarely, compared to 2.1 megs/second frequently on Impulse)[/li]
[li]Server problems ("Steam servers are too busy to handle your request")[/li]
[li]Required internet connectivity (yes, it has an offline mode, but that has been less than stable for myself and for people I know. Sometimes I lose my connection and still want to play games, Steam generally prevents that).[/li]
[/ul]
Some reasons for hating Origin that I've read:
[ul]
[li]"I want all my games in one place" -- Steam let's you launch other games from Steam. Hell, you can launch Microsoft Word from Steam if you want to.[/li]
[li]"I don't trust EA" -- Fair enough. But EA actually SEEMS to be trying to get better. They stopped using their draconian DRM (at least for their digitally distributed titles, and they have been publishing more varied games lately). I mean, it's not Activision or anything.[/li]
[li]"It won't have all the great features that Steam has, like voice chat" -- Your friends being on Steam, I can understand. However, Steam's voice chat is terrible (cuts out during load screens, at least during Portal 2).[/li]
[li]"It's a dumb move, Steam provides a bunch of customers for EA" -- Blizzard doesn't sell their games on Steam. EA's high-profile games will not hurt for attention.[/li]
[/ul]
With that said, even if you never want to use Origin, competition is still an essential part of capitalism and absolutely necessary for improvement. Valve is going to experience some amount of pressure from Origin, which will cause them to make Steam even better.
So why do you think Origin has so much stigma surrounding it? Are you excited to see Valve's response? Do you just hate EA for some great wrong they have done to you? What are your thoughts?
My question is: Why? Why so much hate for another distribution service?
Lots of people love Steam. I get that. I love Steam for the sales and catalog, but it's far from perfect. For example:
[ul]
[li]Slow download speeds (I get up to 1.2 megs/second VERY rarely, compared to 2.1 megs/second frequently on Impulse)[/li]
[li]Server problems ("Steam servers are too busy to handle your request")[/li]
[li]Required internet connectivity (yes, it has an offline mode, but that has been less than stable for myself and for people I know. Sometimes I lose my connection and still want to play games, Steam generally prevents that).[/li]
[/ul]
Some reasons for hating Origin that I've read:
[ul]
[li]"I want all my games in one place" -- Steam let's you launch other games from Steam. Hell, you can launch Microsoft Word from Steam if you want to.[/li]
[li]"I don't trust EA" -- Fair enough. But EA actually SEEMS to be trying to get better. They stopped using their draconian DRM (at least for their digitally distributed titles, and they have been publishing more varied games lately). I mean, it's not Activision or anything.[/li]
[li]"It won't have all the great features that Steam has, like voice chat" -- Your friends being on Steam, I can understand. However, Steam's voice chat is terrible (cuts out during load screens, at least during Portal 2).[/li]
[li]"It's a dumb move, Steam provides a bunch of customers for EA" -- Blizzard doesn't sell their games on Steam. EA's high-profile games will not hurt for attention.[/li]
[/ul]
With that said, even if you never want to use Origin, competition is still an essential part of capitalism and absolutely necessary for improvement. Valve is going to experience some amount of pressure from Origin, which will cause them to make Steam even better.
So why do you think Origin has so much stigma surrounding it? Are you excited to see Valve's response? Do you just hate EA for some great wrong they have done to you? What are your thoughts?