I notice you seem to take to name calling when someone dosnt agree with you, this is meant to be a friendly forum and to be honest we could do without people getting shirty and resorting to this.
I'm sorry but it's like you're calling Google Apple... Steam: Open platform. Supports all publishers. Will flog anything. Origin: Closed platform. Supports EA games. Will flog dead horse. If you can't see the difference between Steam and Origin I suggest you should depart from the debate.
Your attitude is way out of line and dragging the Apple flamebait in is making you look like a troll. It only serves to damage your arguments and those of anyone who might agree with you, which I do on a number of things but I can't stand the way you post or your caustic approach to making your points. If anyone is due to depart from the debate, it's you.
Erm.....? whats that got to do with me asking if you could refrain from name calling? and besides, this is a debate, if I have an opinion and want to make it, I will, only ill make it in a manner which is not flaming people for having a different opinion. Edit: ninja'd...damn you Zu
Now days you can't mention the Jobsian overlord with out drawing the wrath of someone or being called a troll. Apple: Closed. Google: Open. Origin: Closed. Steam: Open. This is the analogy I was attempt to draw. I appologise if you seem to assume I'm trying to bait someone into a Mac row, I couldn't give two about it. I was trying to draw a parallel in something he said to something that is widely established to be true. I don't understand how drawing parallels weakens my argument. Specially when they're pretty spot on. Would you like my arguments better if I put a smiley face at the end of them? That way it makes me seem as if I'm not talking in a scathing voice. To be honest, saying Steam and Origin are in "competition" with each other is stupid. If you said something like "Direct2Drive" rather than Origin I might agree... Load this list. Look at the variety of games and publishers that are on it. If you're suggesting Origin can ever or will ever compete with that, good luck. The system is designed to gain profit in multiple forms (Transactions, Advertising, User Details) and that's all it is built for. Edit: I'm sorry for calling you stupid Bede, but just remember that saying dumb things usually leads people to think you're dumb. What you said wasn't an opinion, it was a false statement.
If you've not already done so, check out GOG's interview with Tony Zurovec. As for EA, I've ditched them since they put online activation on Dragon Age 2. The original Dragon Age (and the Awakenings expansion) was the last product I bought from them and I don't plan on changing that anytime soon.
I'm quite often wrong, rarely stupid. Competition really is a good thing - if Origin remains as terrible as it is now (for it is terrible, I agree about the prices etc) then it will not flourish. My point was that both Valve and EA use their IP to push their proprietary distribution program. Steam really kicked off with HL2, which was available at retail, but requires installation of Steam. Origin will get its boost with BF3 and then whatever else EA is releasing down the line. If you look at Impulse and D2D you see that, without a massively popular game being made available only through that site, consumer inertia can prevent the natural flow of customers to the lowest price available. Most people use one supermarket, but if we were really concerned about getting the absolute best price we would use every supermarket. However, if milk were only available at Tescos there would suddenly be a huge influx of customers to Tesco. It's not pleasant, but it is the best way for a new online distribution platform to gain widespread market share. I have absolutely no doubt that in the future EA will offer other publishers' titles through Origin. It may even have competitive sales. One day we may actually like Origin and compare it favourably to Steam (with its broken offline mode, resource-hogging and poor layout).
I read it somewhere that EA had already said that will be opening up to other developers and not making origin EA only. Edit: And here it is Edit: And again - http://gamergaia.com/home/gaming-news/2-news/1301-ea-is-open-to-other-publishers-using-origin.html
I doubt major publishers will pick up on Origin. Valve aren't really a threat compared to the big publishers and no one wants to plough money into their largest rivals hands.
I'd disagree with that, Steam as a platform supplies millions of games, if Valve ever released distribution numbers, as in; how many products sold, we'd probably see a shift from "Omgz PC gaming is dying!" to "Actually; It's doing pretty good." The massive userbase, numbering in several Million who log in daily, then the likely extra million or so who only log on on occasion likely has an impact on publishers, simply because it helps them reach more of the market. Steam as a Distribution platform is only limited by prices, and that's only because Valve have to negotiate with the developers every time they want to put a product on sale, Rather than just choosing to mark it down like the average store. My suspicion with Origin is going to be that EA are going to open it up to other developers, but disallow them from using any other distribution platform, so things like the Humble Bundles, which can be partly, or wholly reclaimed through steam, or run without them, wouldn't work on Origin, because EA would demand that it's only sold through them and them only.
Valve don't have any stake in the rest of the market. ONLY digital distribution. I wasn't suggesting Valve isn't running a great business, I'm suggesting that the publishers don't feel threatened by their market dominance. EA is a major publisher, losing all EA games from Steam would by terrible for Valve and for EA. The only thing that's pushing people towards Origin is the fact that major titles will be exclusive to it. Valve did the same with Half-Life 2, but at the time it was considered DRM not "creating competition in the digital market place". If Origin focuses too much on EA products rather than providing healthy competition, it will be classed DRM.
Agree with you on this but sadly origin is here to stay, BF3 is the game which is going to push it then on top of that mas effect 3 etc etc, origin has stopped me from buying BF3 i wanted it on steam so i can have 1 friends list, 1 platform even on consoles EA make you sign into ea account but atleast then you still get the psn/live friendslist and no origin on ps3 atleast
Valve do have a stake, they're game devs and publishers. They produce their own games, and sell other peoples'. Publishers certainly feel threatened by their dominance, anyone with half a brain would; with such complete market dominance Valve can take (within reason) whatever cut they like. Your arguments are all mixed up, from one sentence to the next you make different and inaccurate statements. My part in this discussion is over. I've just installed Origin and frankly it is a pleasure to use. It lets you choose where to save your games, it lets you save the installers, it (to my eyes) has a pleasing appearance. It is well laid out. It has automatically linked my 2142 account, and I can download BF2142 any time I like now - that I am genuinely surprised by. I am certain there will be teething problems (even Origin is released as a beta right now), but all the signs are that EA have put a lot of thought and effort into Origin. They cannot afford for it not to work well.
Word. Exclusivity is always a giant pile of dick. Heavy Rain and Red Dead Redemption were the worst offenders - wonderful games that I will never be able to play thanks to jealous corporate bull****. You'd think EA would have paid attention and learned from the massive, colossal, Biblical failure of Games For Windows Live. GFWL and GTA4 being inexporably twinned killed sales of GTA on PC and killed any remaining hope for the GFWL platform by making it the most hated thing since pedophiles. EA are about to do the same thing.
playing gta 4 was just so horrible, i had the steam version so , STEAM + GFWL + R* SOCIAL CLUB + SECUROM took ages to get into the game, ms should stop with GFWL but oh no they want some of that money STEAM is deservedly getting
I agree. There are still problems, but gaming has improved in a lot of ways. You didn't mention the technical side of things, either - games tend to actually WORK now, whereas in the 90s and early 00s, convincing a game to play on a normal computer was like trying to resolve the Israel/Palestine conflict. Also, I agree that we're overreacting, but I also think it's a good thing. Gamers screaming and throwing tantrums is exactly what forces change, and in this case there is something wrong that needs to be forced to change (even if it isn't nearly as bad as we're making it out to be) - namely, that EA are forcing exclusivity. Exclusivity is never good for consumers, developers or retailers. It hurts sales, hurts public attitude towards the developers, and doesn't allow for the natural market competition that keeps prices reasonable. One thing I'm still unclear on after reading all the articles and reports, though, that might make all this a moot point: does EA's planned exclusivity to Origin for future titles mean that they'll only be available as online purchases, or will they still be sold in retail stores and places like Amazon and then activated to Origin, like Half-Life 2 was? Because if that's the case, this really is a total non-problem - if retail shops are still in the picture, price competition can still occur, and everything will be fine (assuming Origin doesn't turn into one of those monstrous pieces of software that nobody can stand to use, like GFWL.)
