Origin is horrible...

[frowertr]

Multiple titles are not activating on Origin right now as confirmed here:
http://help.ea.com/en/article/some-games-wont-activate-in-origin/

And it isn't just those titles that are affected either. The forums over on Origin's Answer HQ is lit up with complaints. I was going to purchase Titanfall this evening but I guess that's out until they straighten this crap out.

So in the meantime I thought I'd download my on the house free version of Plants vs. Zombies they are giving away. Never played it but have always heard good things. Well guess what? It won't activate after I downloaded it... Priceless...

Edit: Link no longer works as of 6/6/2014 however games are still affected.

 

[Red Storm]

I've bought 3 Origin games in my lifetime. All three had issues, and were eventually purchased through Amazon (game code). I really do not like Origin.

 

[frowertr]

I've bought 3 Origin games in my lifetime. All three had issues, and were eventually purchased through Amazon (game code). I really do not like Origin.

I was hesitant to purchase Titanfall through Amazon as I assumed it would still need Origin to activate. Is this not correct?

 

[Anteaus]

I've got numerous games on Origin and haven't had any problems. That said, they suffer from the same occasional technical problems that other services like Steam also deal with. I'm not pro EA in the least, but Origin is actually pretty solid overall.

Frowertr, that's correct. Origin is needed not only for activation but operation in general as the Origin servers host the online component. This also goes for Battlefield 3 and 4.

 

[Red Storm]

I was hesitant to purchase Titanfall through Amazon as I assumed it would still need Origin to activate. Is this not correct?

Mine was a purchasing issue. Apparently I can't buy anything off of Origin directly and EA can't tell me why. So I have to get the games via Amazon or other game code sellers.

 

[Anteaus]

Mine was a purchasing issue. Apparently I can't buy anything off of Origin directly and EA can't tell me why. So I have to get the games via Amazon or other game code sellers.

I had a similar problem with a particular credit card a while back depending on where I purchased things online. In that case it was because for whatever reason the credit card company added an additional layer of security that required a password override through a dedicated bank app. Any place that didn't support that app got automatically rejected. The fix was to disable the additional security on the banks website and everything was fine thereafter. I have no idea if your problem is similar, but it's worth looking into. Good luck.

 

[dud]

I only play FTP games via Origin and have never had a problem. That said ... I'm not risking any funds using it. If not for the occasional game of PvZ or BF 1942 ... I would probably never use the client/service.

 

[coolpurplefan]

I downloaded Battlefield 3 through Origin for free. Does anyone know how often you get free games like that?

 

[StinkyPinky]

I downloaded Battlefield 3 through Origin for free. Does anyone know how often you get free games like that?

They did Dead Space a couple of months back I think. They also did another game I forget the name of a few months prior to that one.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I just recently got Plants vs Zombies for free. Personally, I dont like to have to have another client besides steam to deal with, but have not had any problem with origin.

Actually the one I hate most is Blizzard and Battle.net. They have locked my games several times, claiming I had tried to sell them, and I have no clue as to why they would think that.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

People use Origin?

lol

 

[BFG10K]

It's not just Origin - Steam and Uplay are equally bad. DRM blows chunks but it's even worse when it's cloud based.

 

[BrightCandle]

I dislike them all. I would much prefer to have a standard for updates built into the operating system to get rid of all these launchers.

 

[Genx87]

It's not just Origin - Steam and Uplay are equally bad. DRM blows chunks but it's even worse when it's cloud based.

Is Steam really equally as bad as Origin? The few titles I have come across on Origin have been nothing but a pain in the ass on a good day and a nightmare on a bad day to get going. Steam has never given me a single issue.

 

[MeldarthX]

I've had more problems with Steam than Origin; right now they got some pretty decent sales going on - plus dead space for free; pvz free *owned through steam but hey another copy doesn't hurt* dead space 2 is like 2.99 right now....

I'm about to do my run through dragan age again; and DA II is on sale for 4.49; *yes its not great but need to run through both before DA I shows up *

None of them are perfect;

 

[Dahak]

Haha, that's funny, I cannot get the the article about the games not working

Personally I have only used origin for ME3 was pretty much the extent so far with it
Although do have more games in my library but haven't tried them yet

 

[frozentundra123456]

I've had more problems with Steam than Origin; right now they got some pretty decent sales going on - plus dead space for free; pvz free *owned through steam but hey another copy doesn't hurt* dead space 2 is like 2.99 right now....

I'm about to do my run through dragan age again; and DA II is on sale for 4.49; *yes its not great but need to run through both before DA I shows up *

None of them are perfect;

I would agree that I have had more technical problems with Steam than with origin. Of course I use steam a lot more, so I suppose that is to be expected. The "technical support" from Steam when I have had problems has been absolutely atrocious as well.

 

[frowertr]

Yup, the link is broken that I posted yesterday but activation is still borked for many games on Origin. Plants vs. Zombies still doesn't activate. Same with others. The HQ forums are still full of complaints.

It's amazing to me that EA doesn't get any negative press. According to some of the time stamps on the forums this has been going on for days.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

Is Steam really equally as bad as Origin? The few titles I have come across on Origin have been nothing but a pain in the ass on a good day and a nightmare on a bad day to get going. Steam has never given me a single issue.

Not unless people start backing these claims with evidence.

I have 400 games on steam and never had an issue with any of them.

 

[DeadFred]

I would agree that I have had more technical problems with Steam than with origin. Of course I use steam a lot more, so I suppose that is to be expected. The "technical support" from Steam when I have had problems has been absolutely atrocious as well.

Same here. Except that I barely have touched Steam since BF3's release in 2011, and now Im hooked on BF4. Steam's tech support is virtually non-existant, I found that out when I was locked out of my games for over a month several years ago. The one issue Ive had with Origin (damn Russian hackers stole my account) was cleared up in less than 10 minutes with a simple phone call.

 

[darkewaffle]

By way of BF3, ME3, and BF4 I've at least had Origin open a lot and haven't had any problem purchasing through it or running games. I would say while it lacks a number of the bells and whistles of Steam (many of which I don't miss/want, but something like "gifting" games would be a nice addition), but what it is able to do so far it does pretty well. I like that it gives you more customization in viewing your game library (Steam does a horrible horrible job of this) and credit Origin for finally getting Steam to let users install games to the directory they choose.

I have many more games in Steam and have used it more, but it's also given me a lot more problems over the years. I've lost two or three games to Steam simply deciding it couldn't read the game data anymore, had significantly more connection/authentication issues, and [I think they've done a better job with this now] their offline mode used to really suck. Steam's sales practices are sometimes questionable as well - I and many other people were a bit annoyed having pre-ordered Civilization V:BNW at $30 only to have it go on sale literally a few days after release for $20. Similar situations occurred with Witcher2 and Portal2 iirc.

If nothing else, while they're differentiated primarily by their games, having two solid clients available will at least foster competition and hopefully stop Steam stagnating (which I would say it did for some time - or at least lost focus and did goofy crap like cards/badges/more "inventory" crap/etc)

 

[frowertr]

While I know that all DRM services experience problems, I don't think I have ever had one issue with Steam that I can recall and I've been using it for damn near 8+ years now.

I know talk is cheap, but Gabe Newell has stated that if Steam were to ever go offline due to it going out of business, they they would make attempts to remove all DRM from your gaming libraries so you could play them forever.

Of course this is no guarantee of anything but I bet that is more than Origin/EA would do for us if they ever went out of business.

 

[BrightCandle]

I know talk is cheap, but Gabe Newell has stated that if Steam were to ever go offline due to it going out of business, they they would make attempts to remove all DRM from your gaming libraries so you could play them forever.

Of course this is no guarantee of anything but I bet that is more than Origin/EA would do for us if they ever went out of business.

Well actually its a lot easier for EA and Origin to do this than Steam. The problem Gabe has with making such a promise is that he doesn't have access to the code of most of the games they sell, only the Valve games are under his control. They simply wouldn't be in control for any of the other games, that would be entirely up to the publishers of those games, and as we know from the Gamespy shutdown those publishers are only willing to do it to a limited subset.

However on Origin and EA most (all?) of the games on there are certainly the EA exclusives are entirely EA so they can change the code and platform as they choose to. They might choose not to but they at least have the ability to fix it it.

Gabe's words are hollow because he has absolutely no way to follow through on it, simply put its not in his sphere of influence to make it happen. It was said to make people feel better about the DRM and not to actual be able to deliver anything. If its not in the Terms and conditions and you don't have a contract saying that is what happens then you aren't going to get it and Valve have not forced that requirement onto the games that publish with them. That promise is worth as much as the paper it isn't written on.

 

[Anteaus]

I know talk is cheap, but Gabe Newell has stated that if Steam were to ever go offline due to it going out of business, they they would make attempts to remove all DRM from your gaming libraries so you could play them forever.

There is a bit of catch-22 in the comment that he made. Steam and Origin both serve similar purposes, but they operate on a different scale. Steam distributes games for many developers, whereas Origin primarily only deals with EA titles.

For me, it has never been a Steam versus Origin thing. Origin can't replace Steam. Steam is like the Walmart of gaming, whereas Origin focuses on only a few aisles. Origin is required for titles like Battlefield 3/4, Mass Effect 3, Titanfall, etc. Using Steam has never been an option if the gamer chooses to play these games.

As to my point, EA owns the rights to the vast majority of titles that Origin supports, whereas Valve/Steam only controls a very small portion of the Steam catalog. Gabe Newell can't do anything about DRM for third party titles. All he can do is request that they patch DRM out. If steam dies, all games that use Steamworks are dead unless the developer provides a download independent of Steam with a different installer. Your Steam backups will be worthless unless someone provides a method for decompressing the files outside of Steam and then patches the executables. For games that use other DRM in addition to Steamworks, Valve has zero power. All they can do is beg. Sure, the Source catalog of games might be saved, but third party titles will be a crap shoot. This problem is compounded by the fact that if Steam were to shut down due to going out of business as you suggest, they wouldn't have the money to pursue any of this anyway. In other words, Game Newall is playing the PR card if he made that statement.

Origin is different. EA simply has to decide to remove the DRM and then do it. For the most part, they don't have deal with anyone. Therefore, from a legal standpoint your EA/Origin titles stand a better chance of surviving a shutdown than Steam titles. This doesn't mean EA will lift a finger to do it, but they are in a better position to get it done.

 

[Anteaus]

Well actually its a lot easier for EA and Origin to do this than Steam. The problem Gabe has with making such a promise is that he doesn't have access to the code of most of the games they sell, only the Valve games are under his control. They simply wouldn't be in control for any of the other games, that would be entirely up to the publishers of those games, and as we know from the Gamespy shutdown those publishers are only willing to do it to a limited subset.

However on Origin and EA most (all?) of the games on there are certainly the EA exclusives are entirely EA so they can change the code and platform as they choose to. They might choose not to but they at least have the ability to fix it it.

Gabe's words are hollow because he has absolutely no way to follow through on it, simply put its not in his sphere of influence to make it happen. It was said to make people feel better about the DRM and not to actual be able to deliver anything. If its not in the Terms and conditions and you don't have a contract saying that is what happens then you aren't going to get it and Valve have not forced that requirement onto the games that publish with them. That promise is worth as much as the paper it isn't written on.

Haha you win! When I started my post yours wasn't up yet. Excellent points.