Regardless of what EA decides to tell the public about their Origin service, we all know that it’s out there to compete with one program. Steam. Steam, for those of you who have never touched a PC, allows gamers to purchase games and download them on the same service, allows a gamer to get achievements, chat in-game or out of game, launch all games on their computer compatible or not, and much more. It’s probably one of the most popular PC platforms that can be download, free of charge to the player.
To compete with this, EA has now come up with Origin. Origin is a service painfully similar to steam which allows you to download many of their newer and popular titles, chat with friends, and claims you can import contacts from Xbox Live or PSN. However when trying to find friends on Xbox Live the following, buggy notice pops up. “Sorry, we couldn’t find any of your friends that also user Origin.” Well there’s a reason for that. It’s because it’s crap.
Origin is a service that EA claims was not created to compete with Steam, yet copies the functionality, store front, and features, and then implements them poorly. In it’s current state, Origin is a disaster. Let’s look at why, and how EA could fix it, but wont.
Problem 1 – It only plays EA’s games.
Brand loyalty is something that you need to earn, especially for a new product like Origin. Telling a user that you can only download your products, play your games, and launch your titles from a new service is like telling a person who wants a burger that they can only get it at McDonalds. If it cost’s the same amount on my current product, Steam, what incentive do I have to download it on Origin? None.
Allowing other games to launch from your platform is not going to hurt your sales, but what will is telling me I can only play Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows when I want to play some Call of Duty. What’s the first thing I’ll do instead? Uninstalling Origin.
How to fix it. Let Origin launch other games.
It seems obvious to you and I, but apparently not to Electronic Arts. If there’s one thing that gamers hate more than anything else, it’s a service that imposes limitations. Well guess what? Telling someone that they can only launch titles that EA has deemed worthy is a huge limitation. If you’re going to make a service that you want to be a destination for games and gamers, get rid of the barriers! Speaking of barriers…
Problem 2 – It’s another barrier to your product.
You know what I don’t want to be doing when a new game comes out? Downloading and installing a new product, so I can download and install a new product. The fact that this is going to be the only location that you can get their games on when it’s not even out of beta yet is, to put it mildly, worrisome. Most players just want to get into their product as soon as possible and Steam has successfully made this a streamlined process. This is another example of taking away options from your players as soon, certain EA games will only be available on Origin. While your at it, why not have them fill out an application before they can sign up. Oh wait, you already do.
How to fix it. Make Origin web based, give us options, and incorporate it into your existing products.
I have community accounts for Dragon Age, Need for Speed, and Mass Effect all of which are EA products. Why hasn’t anyone decided to make Origin a service that ties all these accounts together so that I log onto one of them and I immediately have access to everything? Why not go one step further and instead of making Origin a mandatory download, make it a client that can be opened in your web browser? This would be a grand undertaking, but it would do more than their storefront and a crappy chat system is currently achieving. It would combine all of the social aspects of every EA game a person has ever played into one place.
The final suggestion I have is making it more like a storefront that circumvents Steam. Steam let’s you install games that weren’t necessarily purchased via their service, so why not let people by EA games in this web client version of Origin, and then have a link that automatically installs it onto Steam. As long as this isn’t illegal for some reason, it would eliminate the need to pay Steam, (as they usually get a cut) keep your profits up, and give the player the option.
While your at it, let me buy games in that browser based product and send them to the application of my choice. Perhaps I want to buy Mass Effect 3 on Origin, but play it on Steam, Raptr or any of the other services out there. Give the options back to the player and stop thinking about your bottom line. A bottom line that is going to be hurting because of the following mistake.
Problem 3 – It limits your sales.
Star Wars: The Old Republic, Battlefield 3, and the first piece of DLC for Crysis 2 are a few examples of what I’m sure will be a series of games only available on Origin. It’s like EA is trying to fail. You are going to take some of your biggest games of the year and launch them on a product called “Origin Beta?” Are you mad?
No, they’re not mad, they’re trying to save money. Steam gets a hefty chunk of sales (I’ve heard as much as 30%) and EA is trying to get more bang for their buck. Well they’re cutting themselves off from millions of users if they force people to use Origin. To give you some perspective, at any hour of any day there are 3.5 million people online and ready to buy your product on Steam. Steam has given EA titles great placement, hosted some amazing sales, and been great for the company. As a matter of fact, EA predicted in 2010 that 20% of their revenue came from digital sales, and I’ll bet Steam contributed to that. Big time.
How to fix it. Keep. Your. Games. On. Steam.
Origin is a beta product, it doesn’t work properly, it’s cumbersome to your players, and will have a devastating effect on your sales. Get back on Steam, and come back when Origin is a finished product. It’s as simple as that. People don’t like this product in the stat it is in and it isn’t ready to be shoved down the public’s throat.
If you haven’t figured it out yet I dislike Origin… immensely. I actually see it doing a lot of damage to EA. Regardless I think I know a few ways the can fix it, but won’t. This is a bad product for so many reasons than the ones I listed. I don’t think they know it, but I know it, and I’ll bet you know it.
I guess some companies just need to learn for themselves.
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Posted by: Destin
Posted on: July 12, 2011
Destin has a penchant for video games and sarcasm. He's written for ScrewAttack, Destructoid, and GoNintendo, but has also produced episodes of the Video Game Vault series for Gametrailers, and created, produced, and edited every episode of The Armory on IGN. To put it mildly, he knows his shit. 
I made a digital purchase for medal of honor yesterday , and its not downloading , till this time it shows preparing this is the second game I am having this issue and before this Battle field 3 yet to launch same issue it shows preparing , For last 5 years I am using Steam and it’s excellent!! I think I lost money , I contact the customer service EA and they say do this , do that , but of no use!!!
*long post short*
Origin is going to use EA’s leverage to try and force people over slowly. Chances are they’ll do just fine, do not underestimate the draw of triple A titles and short attention spans. Its going to be bad for us the gaming community but hey, whatcha gonna do?
*long post*
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Origin’s fate probably won’t be as bad as you’re thinking. Don’t kid yourself, there’s no such thing as an unexpendable pillar in the world today. People thought Atari was so well established they’d be around forever. People thought Sega and Nintendo were so solid that Sony was mad to try and compete with its dinky little console.
Plenty of people will see Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3, and plenty of other big titles become Origin only. People WILL sign up for it. Maybe not a lot, but enough. They’ll blame any lack of sales on piracy, the economy, and operation costs.
How they’re going to get devs like Bioware to agree to Origin only is beyond me. But, when I think that the next probable publisher to turn to is Activision, part of me dies inside. My greatest fear us that EA will force Origin somehow. Like, its the only way to play multiplayer. Or prevent you from adding the product to your Steam list. Purchase the retail game at a brick & mortar store and all you get a a piece of paper with an Origin redeem code. It would appear that the only way to fight back is to not buy it. But we all know people are going to buy it.
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Most likely I imagine they’ll launch their titles Origin first for awhile then let other retailers sell the product once they feel their sales are starting to top off. Don’t kid yourself, EA could spit in Valve’s face and they’d let them back onto Steam. It’s called money, and people care about it far more than they should.
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As far as bugs go, I’m sure EA will address them in time.
In time.
They have other more important things to take care of. Like making sure the store front is finished, making sure payment systems work correctly, making sure their DRM is in place. Then they’ll work on fixing some of the program issues, catalog variety, securing customer info, and finally making sure their DRM doesn’t break your computer. Probably in that order.
Now that’s a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. We all know how often things get released unfinished and they’ll probably only manage the first half of that before they do anyways. The rest they’ll do as they become publicly problematic.
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I agree wholeheartedly. Further more, Valve has been well known for taking care of its customers, EA has not.
EA are being so stupid it’s unbelievable
If Mass Effect 3 is only on Origin. I’m going to be verrrry dissapointed.
There is nothing more frustrating than having to download service after service or sign up for account after account just to play a game.
Why alienate 30 million potential sales and DLC with a beta service?
While I am at it….STEAM bring back SWAT4.
Okay, that’s all.
Luckily, I don’t have to worry much about Origin or Steam because I just don’t have a gaming PC, and that sucks… But I know an exec of EA said that other publishers on their service would be welcomed if it came to that in the future. Hmm, not a shot at Steam? Also, I believe that the Mass Effect 3 Digital Deluxe Edition is Origin only but I wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled a Battlefield 3 with the basic version game too.
It’s not that they’re taking on Steam. It’s that they’re taking on Steam with a buggy, unfinished, poorly made product that is still in beta.
EA are becoming idiots! How can you take on a well established service such as steam! I mean sure you can try doing new things, but people are already familiar with steam. Can you imagine their publisher sales on origin? oh that’s right its only “EA” games. Enjoy the “Every Madden Game Ever Made” pack. Only reason why I got origin is cuz my friend gave me his me2 game code :P
EA is going to lose alot of money on this and got i hope steam dont let EA back on