The future of EA games on Steam

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
197
106
Is this a sign of things to come? Crysis 2 has been removed from Steam, at this time there is no trace of Crysis 2 in the Steam store.

If you go to the EA store, and look at where to buy Crysis 2, only Origins is listed.

http://www.ea.com/crysis-2/1/buynow

Is it going to get to the point where we are going to have a client installed for every game publisher? Maybe a program to play Blizzard games, EA games, Valve games, Bethesa games,,,,, and so on.

Crysis 2 is still on direct2drive, but for how much longer I dont know.

I understand why a publisher would want to have their own store and download program, but I like having all of my games in one central location.
 

jackstar7

Lifer
Jun 26, 2009
11,679
1,944
126
I think they're doing this all wrong. They should continue to push out games through as many avenues as possible and include their own hosting. Then once people actually believe the system they have is actually reliable and not a steaming heap of crap then start introducing exclusives.

It frustrates me that I might have to pick up a physical copy of BF3. I just want it in Steam for frigs sake.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
I suspect when enough people like me refuse to use their store instead of Steam they'll re-think their cunning plan.

If not, I might never get to play Dragon Age 3. I can live with that.
 

SlitheryDee

Lifer
Feb 2, 2005
17,252
19
81
They did what?! Steam has got to be one of the biggest game retailers in existence by now. What kind of sense does this make? I was waiting for a sale. Now I'm just not going to buy it at all I suppose.
 

SMOGZINN

Lifer
Jun 17, 2005
14,202
4,401
136
I suspect when enough people like me refuse to use their store instead of Steam they'll re-think their cunning plan.

Pretty much this. Steam works because it is simple and convenient. Start having a dozen different applications that all want to run and constantly nag you about new products, friend requests, updates, and whatnot and it will be neither easy nor convenient. At that point I might as well buy the DVDs again. EA will eventually capitulate and put their products back on Steam when they see their sales slump (although they might try blaming piracy first, I know that is what I would do if I was the project manager responsible for the Origins store.)
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,085
5,618
126
EA's attempt at a Steam like service is pretty pathetic. If they want to do this, they have a lot of work ahead of them.
 

KaOTiK

Lifer
Feb 5, 2001
10,877
8
81
They better wake up and realize this is not a good idea by the time BF3 is getting ready to come out. I'll buy BF3 retail before I use Origin. I can't even remember the last game for the PC I had bought that wasn't a digital download.
 

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
197
106
EA will eventually capitulate and put their products back on Steam when they see their sales slump (although they might try blaming piracy first, I know that is what I would do if I was the project manager responsible for the Origins store.)

Piracy is always the reason for slumps in sales, the quality of the product is never an issue.

I can see having maybe 2 programs to keep track of my games. But there comes a line when there are too many friends list and games list to deal with. How many people have more then 1 instant messenger program? When I run an IM program, its yahoo. Rarely do I hear of anyone that uses yahoo, msn, icq,,,,, all together.

If game publishers splinter into their own distribution networks, I see consumers buying only from 1 publisher. I am not going to download EAs client just to play their games.
 

fatpat268

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2006
5,853
0
71
They better wake up and realize this is not a good idea by the time BF3 is getting ready to come out. I'll buy BF3 retail before I use Origin. I can't even remember the last game for the PC I had bought that wasn't a digital download.

Yea. I have a feeling that BF3 will be Origin exclusive, and at this point I'm not sure if I'll buy it right away. I mean sure, I have Origin installed and most of EA games are already registered on it, but I'd rather get it through Steam. So if I do end up getting BF3, I'll probably get it on sale.

Which will actually probably work out fine since most BF launches are notoriously buggy for the first month or so.
 

AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
ea is the worst thing to ever happen to pc gaming.

Eh, I think Activision is worse. Although you could argue that EA did the "evil game publisher" thing first.

EA's attempt at a Steam like service is pretty pathetic. If they want to do this, they have a lot of work ahead of them.

Agreed. Far as I know, it's impossible to back up your games and they don't let you re-download them after six months without paying extra. I'm still hoping to figure out a way to back up my Shift 2 Unleashed before my six months are up. I would never buy a non-bargain bin game or any game that I intend to play for more than a short while (such as Battlefield 3) through Origin.
 

SandInMyShoes

Senior member
Apr 19, 2002
890
2
81
They better wake up and realize this is not a good idea by the time BF3 is getting ready to come out. I'll buy BF3 retail before I use Origin. I can't even remember the last game for the PC I had bought that wasn't a digital download.

My thoughts exactly. I just hope the physical discs don't require you to install Origin.
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,085
5,618
126
Eh, I think Activision is worse. Although you could argue that EA did the "evil game publisher" thing first.



Agreed. Far as I know, it's impossible to back up your games and they don't let you re-download them after six months without paying extra. I'm still hoping to figure out a way to back up my Shift 2 Unleashed before my six months are up. I would never buy a non-bargain bin game or any game that I intend to play for more than a short while (such as Battlefield 3) through Origin.

Fortunately the only game I have on Origin is NFS Hot Pursuit and I have the DVD of it. If it charges extra for Downloading after X Time, that sucks monkey nads. I'll stick with Steam, even if that means I won't have access to some games.
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
5,677
916
126
EA Activision ubisoft all suck; they all take the approach; our bugs your loss (i.e, their DMR servers are frequently down and gamers get the fingers). This ignores the horribly crappy DLC models where they sell portions of the completed game to leach off a few more dollars.
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EA has the most confusing system with bioware and ea games requiring ea ids but not the same ids.
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Anyways there are plenty of great developers and indies out there these days that I've actually started avoiding those three vendors games just to avoid the hassle of dealing with their various sub systems.
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Steam? It simply works. If htere is a brief outage; sure i can't download a newly purchased game but I can play the stuff already installed. Their system doesn't yank out 1/2 the features like EA or kick me out of a single player game like UBI soft.
 

duragezic

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
11,234
4
81
Wow I don't see how that makes any sense. I'd have to think a good portion of the Crysis 2 sales were from Steam. That's where I bought my copy.

If they want to push people their garbage store, they should offer some type of exclusive package or reduced price (like GFWL had some killer deals a while ago), but still keep selling the games on other places like Steam.

But heck, if I can't redownload them after 6 months or back them up, then I'm not going to bother with the service no matter what the price is. How dumb could they be there to think that a service that doesn't let you download after 6 months can even begin to compete with Steam?
 

Wordplay

Golden Member
Jun 28, 2010
1,348
1
81
Wow I don't see how that makes any sense. I'd have to think a good portion of the Crysis 2 sales were from Steam. That's where I bought my copy.

If they want to push people their garbage store, they should offer some type of exclusive package or reduced price (like GFWL had some killer deals a while ago), but still keep selling the games on other places like Steam.

But heck, if I can't redownload them after 6 months or back them up, then I'm not going to bother with the service no matter what the price is. How dumb could they be there to think that a service that doesn't let you download after 6 months can even begin to compete with Steam?
According to the FAQ it's one year but still that does suck.
 

AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
I'm not sure what Origin's restrictions are on re-downloading purchased games. They're very good at hiding that information on their website. I know it used to be one year, then they reduced it to six months, but that was before Origin.

I can't help but feel like if they offered unlimited re-downloading, they'd advertise it. And EA doesn't exactly have the best track record. Not only that, but the downloaded files are auto-installed in most cases, meaning you can't just save the downloaded setup file.

EDIT: Well this is an unexpected surprise! The information wasn't on the Origin FAQs but it is on EA's main site:

http://support.ea.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5291/~/origin-frequently-asked-questions

Q: Will my game download ever expire?
A: Digital download rights remain available for at least one year after purchase. Origin typically doesn’t retire games, and we’ve only retired around 10 of the 150 games we sell, and these have generally been because of the expiration of licensing rights. If you come across an issue, simply contact Origin Help and we'll reconfigure things for you.

That's very good news. It sounds like they only guarantee one year but that's only the minimum.
 
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sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,085
5,618
126
I'm not sure what Origin's restrictions are on re-downloading purchased games. They're very good at hiding that information on their website. I know it used to be one year, then they reduced it to six months, but that was before Origin.

I can't help but feel like if they offered unlimited re-downloading, they'd advertise it. And EA doesn't exactly have the best track record. Not only that, but the downloaded files are auto-installed in most cases, meaning you can't just save the downloaded setup file.

EDIT: Well this is an unexpected surprise! The information wasn't on the Origin FAQs but it is on EA's main site:

http://support.ea.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5291/~/origin-frequently-asked-questions



That's very good news. It sounds like they only guarantee one year but that's only the minimum.

Not that impressive, IMO. I can still Download Half Life on Steam and I bought it many years before Steam even existed.
 

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
14,946
1,077
126
Surely you all didn't think that Steam was going to be the sole major player forever? Everyone wants a piece of that action. It's only a matter of time until all major companies have their own mandatory clients that do pretty much what Steam does. Welcome to the digital age. And while you all will complain about it, you will do it, because they control you.
 

AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
Not that impressive, IMO. I can still Download Half Life on Steam and I bought it many years before Steam even existed.

According to their FAQ, you'll be able to re-download any purchased game for as long as EA has the rights to host it. For EA games, that would be forever.

It's nice to see a change in their policy. I don't think EA could possibly compete with Steam as long as they impose any sort of download time limit.
 

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,504
12
0
ea is the worst thing to ever happen to pc gaming.

What about Ubisoft?

To answer the question about each publisher forcing their own client in the future, its definite. And they likely won't be free like Steam is. Anything to keep you paying ad infinitum.
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
Irritating, yes. But will it actually stop every one posting above from buying Crysis 2 on EA's store? Nope.

Fact is, we bitch and and complain about the actions of Ubi Soft, EA, Activation, etc, and then everyone turns around and buys their crap anyway. They have no motivation to change because the money keeps flowing in.
 

KaOTiK

Lifer
Feb 5, 2001
10,877
8
81
Irritating, yes. But will it actually stop every one posting above from buying Crysis 2 on EA's store? Nope.

Fact is, we bitch and and complain about the actions of Ubi Soft, EA, Activation, etc, and then everyone turns around and buys their crap anyway. They have no motivation to change because the money keeps flowing in.

Speak for yourself. If I purchase Crysis 2, one it will be on sale for very cheap, and two if it isn't on Steam then it will be a retail copy.

I wont buy something that I don't like for whatever the reason. I haven't bought any of the Ubisoft games with that always on DRM (and even the new patched version of it checking online each time you launch it). I want to play Assassins Creed 2, Settlers 7, and Silent Hunter 5. But with that DRM they will not see a single cent from me.

But I do agree with your statement in general. Too many gamers say they wont buy something and then the next you know they are bought it when release day rolls out. That MW2 boycott group is the perfect example.
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,085
5,618
126
Speak for yourself. If I purchase Crysis 2, one it will be on sale for very cheap, and two if it isn't on Steam then it will be a retail copy.

I wont buy something that I don't like for whatever the reason. I haven't bought any of the Ubisoft games with that always on DRM (and even the new patched version of it checking online each time you launch it). I want to play Assassins Creed 2, Settlers 7, and Silent Hunter 5. But with that DRM they will not see a single cent from me.

But I do agree with your statement in general. Too many gamers say they wont buy something and then the next you know they are bought it when release day rolls out. That MW2 boycott group is the perfect example.

Settlers 7 is a great game. Twice I had the DRM lose contact, but only for 5 seconds or so. The DRM is stupid, but it's not the end of the world, at least it hasn't been for me.