Mass Effect 3: exclusive Origin version

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 8 July, 2011

Digital Deluxe edition has special items.

EA will release a Mass Effect 3 N7 Digital Deluxe Edition exclusively on its download service Origin.

It costs £54.99. Here's what it includes:

  • Digital commemorative artwork of Commander Shepard.
  • 70-page Digital art book featuring hundreds of unique and gorgeous illustrations from the BioWare development team.
  • Limited edition Mass Effect digital comic by Dark Horse Comics, complete with unique cover artwork.
  • Exclusive Digital 4x6 lithographic featuring a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork.
  • A full collection of in-game content that can’t be found anywhere else!
  • N7 Arsenal Pack – Bring the firepower with the N7 Sniper Rifle, Shotgun, SMG, and Pistol.
  • Robotic Dog Companion – A faithful sidekick to keep you company on board the Normandy.
  • Squadmate Alternate Outfit Pack – New appearances for your favorite squad members.
  • N7 Hoodie – For Commander Shepard’s casual days on board the Normandy.
  • Relive all the greatest moments of Mass Effect 3 with the digital soundtrack.
  • Display your initiation in the N7 ranks with a collection of forum and social badges, avatars, and perks.

Really.

Origin is EA's Steam rival, and it comes as no surprise to find that Mass Effect 3 is not available to pre-order from Valve's shop.

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 (77) Latest comment 11 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • neilka #1 11 months ago

    Pass the digital sick bag

  • mumblyjoe #2 11 months ago

    Now put all that in a retail release a la Mass Effect 2

  • magicpanda #3 11 months ago

    Haha. Fuck That.

  • Vortex808 #4 11 months ago

    \m/ Wooo. Digital. \m/

    How many times is digital mentioned in the descriptions FFS? Soundtrack by Digital Boy no doubt too.



    Edited by Vortex808 at 08/07/11 @ 14:28

  • Ashcroft #5 11 months ago

    Paying extra for LEs is one thing, but a virtual item LE? Most of which is just jpgs (a digital lithograph, yeah, I've got the digital Mona Lisa, anyone want to buy it?). I think I'll pass.

  • Darren #6 11 months ago

    No, EA, I will *not* be paying your ridiculous prices for the Origin version of Mass Effect 3. I'll buy it from GAME Online for £24.99, thank you kindly. All the other guff will no doubt be freely available on The Pirate Bay anyway, should anyone want it! ;)

  • bobfish09 #7 11 months ago

    Only three things on there at interest me, but they aren't worth the extra £20, sorry Origin.. sticking with Steam!

  • somnolentsurfer #8 11 months ago

    EA can fuck right off.

  • Darren #9 11 months ago

    "A full collection of in-game content that can’t be found anywhere else!"

    ... except all your favourite torrent sites! :p

  • thiagots85 #10 11 months ago

    I'll be just happy with the standard version of the game, thank you... and on steam or any other site, like gamersgate...

  • StuDevo #11 11 months ago

    This stuff best be in the collector's edition on console.

  • lockload #12 11 months ago

    55 quid for a pc game lol

  • chaywa #13 11 months ago

    Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...

    No.

  • TheRealBadabing #14 11 months ago

    Wow, that's a really great way to entice people to use your shitty download service. I don't understand why everyone else doesn't charge £20 more for using up my bandwidth!

  • YenRug #15 11 months ago

    [link url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lithography
    ]http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/l...[/link]

    li·thog·ra·phy   /lɪˈèɒgrəfi/ Show Spelled[li-thog-ruh-fee] noun

    1. the art or process of producing a picture, writing, or the like, on a flat, specially prepared stone, with some greasy or oily substance, and of taking ink impressions from this as in ordinary printing.

    2. a similar process in which a substance other than stone, as aluminum or zinc, is used.

    Methinks someone at EA/Bioware needs to invest in a dictionary.

  • DozyKipper #16 11 months ago

    I don't know why people bother buying all this extra shit. It's the game that matters.

  • geeza2020 #17 11 months ago

    So those of use who have supported the development of this game by buying it on its original platform (360) upon release each time, dont get any of this stuff? Granted, most of its crap, but I wish EA would stop with this community splitting shit.

  • jonbwfc #18 11 months ago

    To be fair to them, the soundtrack albums to the first two games are excellent and cost you about a tenner if you buy a CD or digitally. I don't known if Clint Mansell's work will be as good, but let's be charitable and say that'll be worth the same.

    So in effect you're getting the game plus some digital stuff for £44.99. So the question is how much is the tat worth? I don't care about 'lithographs' (plus the idea of digital ones is indeed ludicrous) but the background art book will be OK - the one they sold as part of the deluxe game guide for ME was genuinely nice. Say a fiver. The DLC stuff (guns & skins) will probably go for a couple quid of each, so say another tenner for that all in.

    So you're actually paying about 30 quid for the game and about 'normal price' for everything else, more or less. So it's not a rip off of itself. I suppose the question is - are you the kind of person and/or a big enough ME fan who would buy the art book and the soundtrack anyway? If you are, you might as well get this and get it all on day 1. if not, just buy the standard edition.

    I can see why people would say 'I don't want to pay for all that stuff' and fair does to them. But I don't get all the nerd rage to be honest. They're bundling up a load of stuff they'll be selling anyway into one download. Either buy it or don't. But it's not as if this is the only version of the game and they're forcing you to pay for it, is it?

    Jon

  • Darren #19 11 months ago

    People have made a valid comment about the worthiness of digital "collector's" editions like these.

    If this came with additional physical content and even a steelbook case on the consoles then the extra cost would psychologically justify the additional expense because you have something to show for it. Although, I'm not a fan of all the rubbish they put in these collector's editions (bar those lovely steelbook cases), I see why others might want them. I say you'd be mad to pay extra for digital equivalents though. Each to their own and all that though...

    For all those people that enjoy buying these collector's sets it'll be a sad day when games go digital-only. Publishers will surely have a very hard time I'd imagine getting people to part with more of their money for these digital equivalents because they just can't have the same sense of worth IMO.

  • darleysam #20 11 months ago

    Robotic dog?

  • gribb #21 11 months ago

    Dear EA,

    Nobody cares about digital extras.

    Yours Sincerly,

    The game-playing public

  • munki83 #22 11 months ago

    I've given up buying special editions, except dark souls as I have no choice. The extras are just not worth the extra coat especially with "digital delux" editions

  • icematt12 #23 11 months ago

    Console versions of N7 Edition are exclusive to Game/Gamestation, known about them for a few weeks. Content looks pretty much identical, just replace digital with something more physical. Pricetag of either £59.99 or 69.99 IIRC.

  • Darren #24 11 months ago

    @jobbwfc - The game aside, which is obviously meant to be played, the reason people presumably buy deluxe/special/collector's editions is so that in years to come they can look at them fondly, knowing that they were limited edition and that they have some value. This is the appeal of collecting stuff. You just do not get that with digital versions even with MP3 soundtracks thrown in (personally I'd want them on disc in a case even if I would rip them to my PC and only listen to them that way anyway).

  • Lunatic4ever #25 11 months ago

    The problem is,things like DLC and extra goodies really don't interest me.
    I want the game and if they keep saying "additional two laserguns" it in no way could persuade me to
    either pre-order or buy some super deluxe versions of a game.

  • evarofzentral #26 11 months ago

    Robotic Dog!!!

  • Stuz359 #27 11 months ago

    I don't are about most of it, but a robotic dog?!?

  • deadstoned #28 11 months ago

    US Version$59.99, UK Version £54.99 or $87.68 . EA Rip off -_-

  • Matchstick #29 11 months ago

    What on earth is a Digital Lithograph ?!?
    I'm not sure the english language is capable of parsing that concept.

    (and that completely skipping over the concept of a Limited Edition digital comic)

  • YenRug #30 11 months ago

    I decided to contact EA through their contact/support page:

    Concerning the "Mass Effect(TM) 3 N7 Digital Deluxe Edition":

    [link url=http://store.origin.com/store/eaemea/en_GB/pd/productID.230773600/sac.true
    ]http://store.origin.com/store/eaemea/en_...[/link]

    Specifically:

    Exclusive Digital 4x6 lithographic featuring a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork.

    Might I draw your attention to the following:

    [link url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lithography
    ]http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/l...[/link]

    Essentially:

    Someone in your company needs to buy a dictionary, a lithograph is a physical object that is printed in a manner that restricts the number of copies that can be produced. You might be supplying a high-resolution image when printed off at a specific set of dimensions, but it will never be "lithographic".

  • HenryFitz #31 11 months ago

    Of course people will pay the extra money. The world is not suffering from a shortage of idiots.

  • raffmonkey #32 11 months ago

    How much for just the dog? Is it romanceable?

  • tankboi #33 11 months ago

    I would rather the version that comes bundled with 'zero bloatware' thanks.

  • deadstoned #34 11 months ago

    Total rip off when the US version is only $59.99.

  • Xardan #35 11 months ago

    It has been confirmed that yes, the dog is indeed romanceable.

  • sonsonate #36 11 months ago

    And so it begins. We don't want to compete with Steam, but we're going to compete with Steam. Too bad Origin, at the moment, is crap.

  • bad09 #37 11 months ago

    Fuck off EA the more you withhold content from the rest of retailers the less inclined I am to buy your games at full price and certainly it strengthens my resolve never to use your overpriced crap store.

  • jablonski #38 11 months ago

    Not really sure how a 'digital' coffee table book works, unless you've got one of those funky touchscreen Microsoft tables.

  • bemaniac #39 11 months ago

    Origin is exclusively SHIT

    Long live STEAM

  • Eraysor #40 11 months ago

    Isn't that a full £15 over the price of the Steam DDE version of ME2? For basically the same stuff?

  • Lord_BeeJee #41 11 months ago

    Ill get the complete pack a year or so after launch.

  • Futaba #42 11 months ago

    I hope this idea fails horribly.

  • Seehuusen #43 11 months ago

    I would agree that these digital exclusive editions are pissing me off. However i think EA has done good with Origin, which is actually quite a nice client now. It surpassed GFWL by miles in just half a year, if that counts for anything.....

    But i am sick of people shouting out that they want to pirate it. To whoever you people are, fuck you, it's because of you some devellopers dislike PC gaming!

    Now regarding the actual game.....i can't frickin wait. Hopefully they'll an inventory and some bigger skilltrees again. Removing it was an epic fail.

  • Subdominator #44 11 months ago

    Developers don't care for PC because they have four times as much work with it, three times as much support is needed (both due to various system specs and driver problems) and in the end it gives you barely 1/10 of the console sales. Why? Because of achievements/trophies, because of comfort, because it's cheaper. It's actually a paradigm shift, in the past the PC always rose to the top when the consoles were getting old. This time it's different, PC gaming still struggles. I guess that money now goes to smartphones and tablet PCs.

  • Centrifugal #45 11 months ago

    Don't know why anyone would want a Collector's Digital Edition.

    Part of the reason for getting a Collector's Edition is so you can actually add it to, you know, a collection.

  • Subi #46 11 months ago

    "Digital commemorative artwork of Commander Shepard"

    But not my Commander Shepard.
    Edited by Subi at 08/07/11 @ 16:14

  • Ror1984 #47 11 months ago

    What bothers me is there doesn't appear to be a bonus disc for any LEs, like there were with the previous two games. Although, going by the docs on the ME2 bonus disc, we won't be missing much. It's a shame, the ME1 bonus disc was absolutely rammed with interesting development tidbits and supplemental material. ME2's disc was pretty rubbish in comparison.

  • neilka #48 11 months ago

    I trust that EA will be accepting my digital money in exchange. It's lithographically printed!

  • septimus #49 11 months ago

    Fuck EA Origin.

    It's as bad as ubisoft forcing you to sign up for crap you do not want.

  • The-Bodybuilder #50 11 months ago

    Physical Collectors Items = Over time gets rarer, so over time appreciates in value (ergo "collectors item";).
    Digital Collectors Items = Torrent-friendly, massively easy to pirate and duplicate. No value.

    So why would anyone collect this, EA?

  • Rens11 #51 11 months ago

    What are they thinking!? Weres my cheap plastic tat!

  • sabbede #52 11 months ago

    Hey guys, I'm sorry. This is all my fault.
    I bought the Digital Deluxe versions of DA:o and ME2. I encouraged this nonsense so I deserve the blame.

    I promise, I'll never EVER do it again.

  • sabbede #53 11 months ago

    @deadstoned - REALLY??? Did someone at EA forget to check the exchange rates?
    Jeasusfuckingchrist.
    Maybe somebody just figured that "Pounds" was British for "Dollars" so they were probably the same thing.
    You know, like how ya'll think "flat" means "apartment", "Prime Minister" means "President", "cricket" means "baseball", and "football" means "gay pride parade".

  • Vixremento #54 11 months ago

    549.99 ZAR = 51.0536 GBP
    Ok so it's a little cheaper than the £54.99 quoted...but it's still too much for me I'm afraid (especially considering it'll cost me about that price to download it lol, I mean cry!). Just give me a physical copy that I can install in 10 minutes rather than having to wait a few hours to download (if I get "Gateway Timeout" errors when trying to view the product on their "origin" then I seriously have to question what their download speeds will be like anyway).

  • StooMonster #55 11 months ago

    £54.99

    When EA's rebranding of its download service was launched I wrote plenty of posts on this site explaining why Origin is about charging higher prices for PC games, we're just lucky that it's not exclusive ... ATM.

  • MasterOfTheStick #56 11 months ago

    Sooooooo the normal version will still be available from steam? If that's the case I'm a ok with this. Else, wth EA?

  • Neil__ #57 11 months ago

    To the Pirate Bay and beyond......................Only joking.

  • organica #58 11 months ago

    "Robotic Dog Companion – A faithful sidekick to keep you company on board the Normandy."

    What.

  • Bluetooth #59 11 months ago

    When are they releasing Mass effect 2 GOTY edition?

  • Scimarad #60 11 months ago

    I never thought I'd say this about Mass Effect but after DA2 I think I'm going to wait for some reviews before buying this.

  • Sgt_Petter #61 11 months ago

    70-page art book, that sounds nice, ohh, it's DIGITAL. Yay, a PDF... or probably something else, something they can slap some DRM on. I'm sure Peter Molyneux would need the digital dog, but for me this looks like wasted money. It's not that I'm against collector's editions, this could've been a GREAT collector's edition, if only it had a box. With a physical art book and comic, and commemorative artwork possibly (what is that anyway? A digital statue of Shepard?). Also the lithographic and a real N7 hoodie, not just some in-game clothing.

  • Lemming81 #62 11 months ago

    Not for all the 'special bonuses' in world.

  • strangerism #63 11 months ago

    bah, it s just digital stuff that will be sitting on your computer hard drive along with all the windows clutter and spyware

  • Dapper_Dan #64 11 months ago

    Ugh. I REALLY hate games with DLC like this, i.e. little useless nickel-and-dime shit. Robot dog? Alternate appearance pack?
    It was the same with ME 2 and DA 2. Soooo much crappy little DLC's.
    imo they should take a leaf out of Fallout 3's book when it comes to DLC (At least as far as the amount of content goes). Granted, some of the FO 3 DLC was less-than-stellar, but size-wise it was spot on. Only 5 DLCs total, and each of them had a decent amount of content.
    The latest Bioware stuff on the other hand is mostly just more and more little item packs/appearance packs etc.
    I don't mind getting new awesome items, but I'd rather get them as a reward for completing a DLC story mission, not just added to inventory at the start of the game. A big draw of RPG's is character building, slowly getting more and more powerful over the course of the game, either with new levels, more and better loot, or both.
    Giving people amazing gear from the get-go breaks that whole aspect of character building to a greater or lesser degree. Sometimes DLC will only last a little while before getting outclassed, but more often than not Bioware seem to be in the habit of making DLC items that are either best in slot (Looking at you Bergen's Helm), or at the least best until later stages of the game.
    "But I like nickel-and-dime item-only DLCs and pre-order gumph!" someone in the back mutters.
    Fine, then AT LEAST do the DLC items like Red Dead did it with assassin outfit - Place it somewhere that matches the power of the item, so that it has to be earned in game, i.e. as a quest/achievement reward or in a remote location or something.

  • digitalash #65 11 months ago

    Next they'll be charging you to go on the game's website.

    Also: I hope they accept bitcoins for all this purely-digital fictional product.
    Edited by digitalash at 09/07/11 @ 01:06

  • ilmaestro #66 11 months ago

    wjw, EA.

  • Miths #67 11 months ago

    I don't care much about the digital art book, sound track etc. (they barely would even if they were physical items), but all the extra in-game items could easily convince me to pay (way too much) extra for this version.
    And even if some of those items are released as DLC later, it's going to be too late since I'll already have finished the game by then, and ME3 is most certainly a release day purchase for me.

    Unfortunately for those of you who hate rip-offs like these, there are probably too many people like me - who can't be bothered complaining or boycotting for pocket change - to not make it worth it for EA.

  • MasterOfTheStick #68 11 months ago

    That robotic dog better stay away from my lovely spacehamster or I'm gonna go mental!

  • Inmediasress #69 11 months ago

    Well I told people that Bioware is going downhill since EA aqired them but oh never mind...

    @Scimarad
    Yes anything out of Biowares hands is suicide to preorder better of waiting for reviews real ones at that not the paid off kind and then decide if it is worth buying. You don't lose much anythign just some digital preorder nonsense.
    To be honest that's the practice with every game wait and see I have been burned by too many devs hyping their products to unimaginable hights just so that people buy it.
    As I said most of the time you only loose some shity items and appearance pack nonsense that nobody cares about. (or at least nobody should but then again people are sheep that's why we have DLC)
    Edited by Inmediasress at 09/07/11 @ 11:04

  • WinterSnowblind #70 11 months ago

    If this was £35-40, it would have been impossible not to buy the game from Origin. For this price, I'll gladly stick with the regular one. Developers/publishers need to learn that digital content does not hold this kind of value. More importantly.. people need to stop paying these prices for it!

  • Daeltaja #71 11 months ago

    Piss off, that's a complete and utter rip-off. This is why digital will never take over.

    Anyway, it's almost a bloody year away. I'll start thinking about this game come February and I'll pick up a normal edition for €30 euro in Gamestop. With a box.

  • BeachGaara #72 11 months ago

    and all the people who are sticking to Xbox for the 3rd time get...?

  • YenRug #73 11 months ago

    I'm not sure whether to shake my head in disbelief, or resign myself to the fact I should have expected something like this; EA support responded to my message pointing out that you can't have a digital lithograph:

    Hello ####,

    Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts Customer Support.

    We have gone through your issue but sorry to say that we are unable to understand what you actually want to say. So if you do not mint [sic] could you please clarify your issue.

    Yours sincerely,

    Monica
    EA Support Centre, UK and Ireland
    http://electronicarts.co.uk
    http://electronicarts.ie

  • apoc_reg #74 11 months ago

    EA Origin.... f@#k off and die.

    No one buy this as if Origin isnt doing the business EA will give it up sooner rather than later and this exclusives thing will cease

  • Smoped #75 11 months ago

    This and the PSN Red Faction: Armageddon download pricing just proves how publishers have decided that it's possible to eat their cake and still have it. Clearly they don't want to piss of retailers, but pricing the digital editions that high just pisses off the fans and is hardly going to give their service a boost.
    If you're too chicken to price it at £29.99, then why bother at all?

  • Caimbeul #76 11 months ago

    I am sick to death of all these "buy it from us and get this stupid item" crap deals.

    Dear Publishers,

    Remember when you just bought a game and that was it until maybe an expansion or sequel? Yeah, me too. No stop fucking around and bring it back.

    Signed

    The world

  • Shinetop #77 11 months ago

    If this means it won't be available on Steam, then they just made my purchasing decision a whole lot easier. I'd prefer to get the Steam version out of convenienvce, but this way I'll just grab a retail version with some physical goodies.