Origin: exclusive ME3, BF3 game content

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 3 June, 2011

EA launches Steam rival today.

Sign up to Origin, EA's Steam rival, and you'll get "exclusive game content" for games such as Mass Effect 3 and Battlefield 3.

EA is yet to reveal exactly what that exclusive game content is, however.

Exclusive limited edition copies of Battlefield 3, FIFA 12 will be available from Origin. Future additions will include access to the latest online betas as well as demos and try before you buy opportunities, EA said.

Exclusive game content and trailers for Mass Effect 3, FIFA 12, SSX, Madden NFL 12, Need for Speed The Run, Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Sims 3 and Battlefield 3 will be available.

Exclusive content from EA Partners games Alice: Madness Returns and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning will also feature.

We already knew that the digital download of Star Wars: The Old Republic will be available exclusively on Origin later this year. At least that confirms the MMO will launch in 2011.

Origin launches today at 5pm UK time.

The Origin beta application, which you'll be able to download from the official Origin website, sits on your desktop and allows direct connection to EA content, and allows you to create and manage a personal community of gamers. You can find and connect with friends, see what they're playing, and download and play PC games from EA.

There's a mobile version of Origin, too, which allows users to play EA's smartphone games. Yep, there's a mobile version of Battlefield 3 in the works. "This is our first step in the evolution of Origin, and in the weeks and months ahead we will look to enhance the features and services as well as an expanded range of content," said EA executive David DeMartini.

"From exclusive demos to full-game downloads, Origin is the place consumers will go for the best game experiences."

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (41) Latest comment 11 months ago

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  • bad09 #1 12 months ago

    "Sign up to Origin, EA's Steam rival, and you'll get "exclusive game content" for games such as Mass Effect 3 and Battlefield 3."

    And with that I walk away without even checking it out. I'm not supporting the nonsense they pull with the consoles nowadays on PC. No matter where you buy a game from you should get exactly the same content. Pass.

  • king26 #2 12 months ago

    Pass, but I never realised the amount of quality games EA make

  • Shikasama #3 12 months ago

    I'm with bad09

    I'm not encouraging that sort of utter shite. The ridiculous nature of pre-order bonuses is bad enough.

  • DirectAim #4 12 months ago

    I'm also with bad09!!

  • DozyKipper #5 12 months ago

    Remember people! Vote with your wallets and buy from Steam! Don't be hypocrites!

  • Rack #6 12 months ago

    Dear EA. Please stop being douchebags.

    Gamers.

  • Durandle #7 12 months ago

    Yay, another gaming/social network! Just what we need! People argue that competition is good, which I agree with, however I also feel that I only want one source for my online games buying - and that is Steam. To make some games "exclusive" to force people to install it alongside their Steam is pain in the bum - I don't want a multitude of web-store-social-messenger-networking apps running!

  • dfunked #8 12 months ago

    Erm... I thought EADM was supposed to be their rival to Steam...
    What's happening with that now, then? Seems kind of pointless to have two products that do the same thing

  • DwarfyP #9 12 months ago

    @dfunked
    If you load up EA Download Manager you get your answer. It is updating to become Origin at 5pm today.
    Edited by DwarfyP at 03/06/11 @ 13:54

  • rojjer #10 12 months ago

    is this why BF3 isn't listed on steam? I'll be pissed as hell if its not available on there too!!

    -1? Err.. ok. Enjoy your one platform you can buy EA games from in the future - how single minded..
    Edited by rojjer at 03/06/11 @ 14:06

  • Negotiator1 #11 12 months ago

    Good on them I say, why should valve with steam have a monopoly on digital distribution, not to mention steam is a load of shit anyway.

  • arcam #12 12 months ago

    Unable to compete on service or quality, so instead muscle their way in by withholding content. To be fair it's a well-used tactic in that games industry, but I'm not sure its the best way to go about building a community.

    Steam's biggest asset isn't its technology, its staff or even its install base. Its biggest asset is the relationship it has built with its customers. Bullying people into using your service is a dick move and I hope its not their primary strategy.

  • rojjer #13 12 months ago

    @Negotiator1

    Time to move forward to 2011 my friend. Steam used to be crapola, constant updates, game updates freezing - but that was about 5 years ago maybe more?

  • dfunked #14 12 months ago

    @DwarfyP
    Ah, that makes a bit more sense!
    Love the way they try to brush their first failed attempt under the carpet and start again with a shiny new name that they probably paid someone a fortune to come up with...

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #15 12 months ago

    There well in there rights to distribute there own games, why should they have to give steam a cut, always best to buy direct from the source if possible, make sure your money doesn't go to any middle men.

    Altho i agree pre order bonuses are annoying, There also very rarely worth your time caring about.

  • apoc_reg #16 12 months ago

    If Bioware let EA release exclusive me3 stuff then that's the final sell out straw

  • thiagots85 #17 12 months ago

    From the sites I keep buying games, EAstore is the worst. (I have 2 The saboteour in my EA account due to some error they made and some of my friends have already lost games for no reason, some of them talked with the support and got'em back, others gave up)

    From the apps I use to download the games I bought, EADM is the worst. (was not once or twice... was a bunch of times that I had a backup of some game in my HD, and EADM still forced me to download the game all over again... and the games not being updated by their service [at least I have never being able to update a game from EADM], some I used Gamespy arcade to look for some upate)

    Thanks, EA... just give me Battlefield 3 at STEAM and I'll forget that you made Dead Space 2 and Dragon Age 2

  • roz123 #18 12 months ago

    I welcome any healthy competitor to Steam as well, but EA is not a healthy competitor.
    They are basically rapists of wallets

  • Zaiz #19 12 months ago

    Oh gosh do they honestly think they can beat Steam, which offers good service and good value(for USAns) and is supported by the majority of the industry with their little side-shop? Microsoft already tried and failed to beat Steam, what makes them think that EA can do it?

    Plus, I'd' rather just have everything on Steam so EA can't fondle my RAM and CPU cycles anymore than it does.

  • DjchunKfunK #20 12 months ago

    Why is everyone going on about competitors to Steam as if there aren't a load of other digital distribution sites already out there. You already have Gamersgate, Direct2Drive, GetGames and Greenman Gaming to name a few. I'm not sure I want another digital portal on my desktop.

  • OrangesJoel #21 12 months ago

    I really don't understand this being billed as a "Steam rival". They're only selling their own games, so they've essentially lost that fight already, surely. Either people will use both this and Steam if deals justify it, or continue to just stick with Steam. No one's going to convert - platform loyalty is nuts enough, but what crazy feckers harbour publisher loyalty?

    And haven't EA had their own digital sales platform which no one uses for years already? Isn't this just a logical progression of that? ... Skimming other comments, apparently yes, it literally is. So again, "Steam rival" how?

  • loginsrun #22 12 months ago

    aww I hope ME3 doesnt force me to use this...program thing...it's the last Bioware/EA game I want to buy. Maybe I'am too old and/or odd for all this DLC/digital download/Exclusive content/Steam/Games for Windows/social media/ post your achievements here crap,
    it seems like a nice idea, no doubt...but I dont want to be forced to install it :(

    I just want to play the damn game I bought outta the box like them olden days.

  • StooMonster #23 12 months ago

    Here's a historical analogy for you, from the not so recent past...

    Four big record labels hate iTunes and paying 30% distribution fees, even though earning 70% of price is more than 50% they earn from retail.

    Each of the big four record labels sets up its own download and distribution systems, as they want 100% of price.

    Where are those services today?

    Their key problem is that they fly in the face of human nature, because the arrogant publishers think they are more important than anything or anyone else they think people know who they are. Whereas in reality if I wanted to buy an Arcade Fire album I can go into the shops or to iTunes or Amazon to buy it because 'music' is in one place, but do I know which of the big four publishers they belong to and thus which of their websites to go to? No I do not, and neither does anyone else.

    The games industry publishers should think about that before pissing away too much money on their vanity/greed projects.

    Sure there's room in the market for more aggregators and digital distributors, competition is good, but ones owned by publishers selling only their own content are bound to fail.

    Moreover, ones that are attempting to hold their customers hostage with "exclusive content".

  • trooperdx3117 #24 12 months ago

    This is supposed to be their steam rival right, well its probably be going to be undermined by the fact that the same games will end up on steam anyway!

  • Bravestinsane #25 12 months ago

    this has pissed me off, because im really looking forward to BF3, and now im going to be essentially punished for being a "Loyal" customer from buying the game albiet from Steam.... so by supporting the games industry and as a consumer wanting all my content to be in >1< place, it's a load of crap, i feel like im being punished and forced into using a service i have no interest in using...

    Load of bullshit imo
    Edited by Bravestinsane at 03/06/11 @ 15:07

  • Rajin #26 12 months ago

    I really hate al lthis signing up and account management for EA games.... So now i need a origin account, a boiware account, and a EA account to properly run bioware games in the future if i don't choose steam?

  • Xardan #27 12 months ago

    I dont know about everyone else but i hate EA way more than i do Activision these days.

  • IronCladChicken #28 12 months ago

    Bah! - I'd preferred a new Ultima game instead.

  • Inmediasress #29 12 months ago

    I detest the gaming industry for this very reason.
    When will people learn that you shouldn't buy a game because they give you stuff most of the time cheats in the form of superior items and, well actuall cheats. You also shouldn't pay for content that diablo1-2 randomly generated in the form of loot.
    The only thing that will stop this madness if people get a brain and stop buying these stuff called DLC(Downright Lawful Crime).

  • geeza2020 #30 12 months ago

    aahh the good old, publisher friendly, exclusive DLC. Fuck you EA. Fuck you right up the arse.

  • sabbede #31 12 months ago

    Wow. EA is trying really hard to justify piracy.

  • TormDK #32 12 months ago

    "I really hate al lthis signing up and account management for EA games.... So now i need a origin account, a boiware account, and a EA account to properly run bioware games in the future if i don't choose steam?"

    No you don't. It's the same thing. I was able to log into my EA account just fine and could setup Origins without any further accounts. Give it a try before you knock it, although it's just the newest version of EADM atm even if it features Xbox Live, PSN and Facebook integration as well as a Steam like overlay.

  • PearOfAnguish #33 12 months ago

    I'd sign up for this if they did classic EA titles, except that GOG has just announced old EA stuff is being added to their catalog, including Ultima Underworld, Crusader No Remorse and Privateer...

  • Gastrian #34 12 months ago

    Post deleted at 17:56:43 13-04-2012

  • Adaptor #35 12 months ago

    Companies giving bonus content to people using their services. That's like, so evil!

    .....

  • silversun #36 12 months ago

    Origin- oh man ultima memories and that ultima online 2 wake i remember it , the name maybe not best choice for this service.

    On a more important note what kind of drm does this service use, that is what will sway me to try it out or not.

  • Negotiator1 #37 12 months ago

    Yeah steam is great now, just ask witcher 2 gamers who downloaded the 1.1 patch a week ago, they'll tell you how great it is.

  • silversun #38 12 months ago

    I like steam, but for the witcher 2 i like GOG more.
    : )

  • Gastrian #39 12 months ago

    Post deleted at 17:56:43 13-04-2012

  • Trigg3rHippie #40 12 months ago

    It's bad enough that you need to run i.e. Steam and Games for Windows simultaneously. Now EA is adding it's own game client (I know it's gonna be Steam or Origin running). How many more of this stuff wil be released? How many more gaming communities do I have to sign up for to get best stuff with my preorder? This is getting out of hand and soon will backfire in those greedy bastards faces.'

  • Shadders #41 11 months ago

    If they were to give me a free game or two, then I'd be glad to register an account.. as it stands, I'll pass.