I have an assignment for you. Go look up a news story about EA’s Origin service on any website. Okay, now find me one where there isn’t a reader complaining about Origin or that they simply won’t give Origin a chance because “Steam is better.” You can’t do it. That is because in just seven months EA and Origin have earned the ire of the PC gaming community at large.
Is Origin a good service? Right now, it is middling. Its future remains to be seen. Is it already improving? Sure. When Origin launched last June it was pretty basic. It was a little more than the EA Store in a different wrapper. Why did they tow the Origin name out of storage (for those that didn’t know, EA purchased Origin Systems in the early 1990s when Garriot and crew were on a large hot streak)? They needed a re-branding.
The EA Store was a real piece of crap. Purchasing extra licenses for $5 to re-download the game you already purchased, horrible customer service, and an overall poor experience was to be had whenever you had to connect to the EA Store. So, EA recognizing their shortcomings called an audible and threw some muscle behind a new client and store: Origin. Origin is already leaps and bounds better than the EA Store, so that is already a small victory. Next step, is it better than Steam?
Not at the moment. Steam is a powerhouse. Steam is the ’86 Celtics of the digital distribution world. The content that they hold is unmatched and the Steam user experience has few flaws (few, but they do exist for some). Friends, groups, and great deals; the Steam experience is very tight. That said, Steam absolutely does not have to exist in a bubble. Competition only makes for better products.
Origin can easily become a top tier digital distribution store. How many of you remember Steam before and just after the launch of Half-Life 2? It really wasn’t any good. As a matter of fact, people reacted to the introduction of Steam in a similar way they are reacting to Origin.
Steam gained a head of steam in a hurry. Within five years they were pulling in publishers from all over the place. However, it took them nearly four years to make a distribution deal with another publisher. Even when those initial deals were made in 2006, it was very limited, not until mid-2007 did Steam as a major distribution platform really take off.
Origin is going to make its own way by bringing you content that you want. EA is already pulling in other publishers; THQ, Warner Brothers, Capcom, Paradox, CD Projekt Red, and many more already find themselves in EA’s house ready for the party. Soon, the rest of the industry’s major publishers will be joining them all at the dinner table (except for Valve).
I think that Origin can hit it big. They had a rocky launch that dropped the public perception of them out of the gate. The way Crysis 2 was unceremoniously ripped from Steam along with some harsh words towards Valve regarding their DLC policies put off the PC gaming community from taking a liking to the new platform. EA and several other developers including Mojang (of Minecraft fame) have said that the nature of Steam’s DLC policies don’t mesh with their content releases. Over the years EA has had a hard time getting out their downloadable content on Steam without trouble. Complaints ring out on forums for every game from The Sims to Dragon Age.
Any new platform will have its share of wrinkles. What EA does with Origin moving forward will prove whether or not it is viable for long-time use. I am confident that Origin will eventually clean itself up and be an excellent service for those looking to expand their digital distribution horizons Perhaps Origin will do well enough to match Steam’s popularity.
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