Steam not in Battlefield 3's sights

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 11 July, 2011

Digital distribution war levels up.

EA's digital distribution war with Steam took another twist over the weekend with the revelation that upcoming first-person shooter Battlefield 3 will probably not be sold on Valve's digital platform.

Steam was not listed among Battlefield 3's digital retailers on EA's Battlefield 3 website (noticed by Joystiq, since pulled).

However, Battlefield 3 was listed for EA's own Origin service, as well as Direct2Drive and GamersGate.

It is the latest development in what is quickly becoming a battle for digital PC sales supremacy between EA and Steam.

Last week EA explained its decision not to sell a number of its games on Steam, including Crysis 2.

"Any retailer can sell our games, but we take direct responsibility for providing patches, updates, additional content and other services to our players," EA's SVP of global online David DeMartini said.

"You are connecting to our servers, and we want to establish an ongoing relationship with you, to continue to give you the best possible gaming experience. This works well for our partnership with GameStop, Amazon and other online retailers.

"Unfortunately, if we're not allowed to manage this experience directly and establish a relationship with you, it disrupts our ability to provide the support you expect and deserve.

"At present, there is only one download service that will not allow this relationship. This is not our choice, and unfortunately it is their customer base that is most impacted by this decision. We are working diligently to find a mutually agreeable solution."

EA launched Origin last month. It will be the only place you can download upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, but it is not necessary that you run Origin to play it.

EA declined to comment when contacted by Eurogamer. Valve is yet to respond on the matter.

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 (90) Latest comment 11 months ago

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

  • PixelPirate #1 11 months ago

    what a load of PR crap to say, when we all know what you *actually* want are:

    1) Users details, so you can spam them with marketing
    2) No middle men so you can take a bigger profit.
    3) lock users in to your platform so they give you a larger cut of sales, when other options arent available.

    Steam works damn well, and the only reasons you would go and create your own service are for the reasons above, and certainly not to "provide patches" which get distributed pretty damn well on Steam as it is.

  • booner #2 11 months ago

    I won't be buying it from the EA store. I buy everything via Steam or in store

  • Shikasama #3 11 months ago

    HAH!

    I have been a first hand recipient of EA 'support' and them wantign to esdtablish a 'relationship' with me as a consumer and I can happily recommend that they die in a car fire.

    I don't care if Steam had the most draconian system on the publishers back end in the world, in terms of a consumer relationship it will have my loyalty for the forseeable future. Especially considering the absolute joke that is the Origin prices.

    If this is a war then Steam won this years ago and all current evidence suggests that Ea simply dont 'get' what is required of their platform to compete.

  • drchocapic #4 11 months ago

    Battlefield 3 not in my sights then, I'm afraid.

  • marmaduke #5 11 months ago

    "Unfortunately, if we're not allowed to manage this experience directly and establish a relationship with you, it disrupts our ability to provide the support you expect and deserve."

    Why can they never say "we just want to keep all of the money"? It's not like we wouldn't understand, and maybe even sympathise. But no, we get a line about how "[Steam] will not allow this relationship. This is not our choice, and unfortunately it is their customer base that is most impacted by this decision."

    Patronising wankers.

  • DaemonSpawn #6 11 months ago

    How I hate this corporate bullshit, aaarhg!

    Unfortunately, if we're not allowed to manage this experience directly and establish a relationship with you, it disrupts our ability to provide the support you expect and deserve.
    Translation: "We want all your money, loser. We don't want Steam's automatic patching and its superior user experience to stand between our Origin and your wallet. We don't want you to have a better service - we want you to give your money and shut up.
    Suck it down, bitch!"

  • carbonic #7 11 months ago

    Well, Valve games ONLY come out on Steam and that's all the way back from CS. I really don't see a problem with this. Even though Steam is a fantastic platform, it's still too closed for any reasonable gamer to buy all his/her games there.

  • Lexx87 #8 11 months ago

    Big risk for EA here can't see them pulling it off.

  • DwarfyP #9 11 months ago

    @PixelPirate
    1) You know when you sign up to EA you can decide whether you want them to be able to email you or not.
    2) What is wrong with a Publisher wanting to make money on their own game instead of giving it to someone else?
    3) Again, what is wrong with that?

    STEAM is over rated, expensive compared to Direct2Drive and disc based media with no European support groups meaning days of waiting for support to get back to you.

    As some people have noticed, you don't HAVE to buy it on EA Store you can still buy it on disc if you are that against EA Store.

  • Eraysor #10 11 months ago

    Off to retail for me then!

  • WMain00 #11 11 months ago

    They can kiss goodbye to any sales within the PC market for BF3 then. Steam is an important factor to many gamers; without the option of buying it through the store they may well be put off, particularly as alternative sources means more downloading programs that may not be wanted or trusted to do the job as well as Valve's service.

  • booner #12 11 months ago

    Surely somebody should start up a petition or something? The internet has spoken! :]

    The point is, EA is deliberately making it awkward so that it doesn't have to use steam. It's a load of BS, Steam has a great auto update feature, great functionality and has years of experience behind it. I had terrible problems with Steam initially, then they managed to help me passed it by deleting a program. I don't wish to have the same teething issues with EA's downloader, nor have to log into multiple platforms for the sake of publishers being F****** greedy.

  • Shrui #13 11 months ago

    I don't care if there is another system to download and install the once, as long as its secure, low cost memory wise and the store is not stupidly priced.

    All games in one place is nice and convenient but you know we did manage fine before Steam came along/got popular (and I'm a happy Steam customer for most of my games!).

    But please EA, stop with the 'relationship' marketing puke bullshit, that's where your going to lose people. I don't want a relationship with you or Valve, I want to buy games I like and play them. I don't want to f**king marry them.



    Ok, maybe I'd let Portal take me to dinner...

  • MrFlump #14 11 months ago

    EA in "lets bash Steam for some free publicity for our new service" shocker!

    Steam prices are set by the publisher so the justification that Steam is more expensive isn't a Valve decision otherwise I'd expect their first party titles to be horrifically expensive by comparison. I can't see any reason why Steams automated patching service and automated update thing is really all that bad as well. I mean seriously, what the hell is Origin going to be doing? I don't expect an EA personalised service with someone coming round to my house with the patches on a USB stick and install it for me. They're going to auto patch it in the same way Steam is.

    And I've got my friends set up on Steam and I like being able to talk to them when I'm playing a game on Steam or the ability to join games and host games via steam without the arsing about.

  • booner #15 11 months ago

    I think we've established that possibly the biggest reason people don't want to listen to EA is the sugar coating, which is see through and will alienate them.

  • Subquest #16 11 months ago

    I have plenty of non-Steam games in my Steam games list. If it's possible to add a shortcut for Origin games into Steam, then this shouldn't be too much of a pain. I just like being able to launch all my games from the same place.

  • Negotiator1 #17 11 months ago

    Steam is trying to get a monopoly on digital distribution, why you steam supporters can't see that is beyond me. EA are working fine with the other services except Steam, that tells you something right there. All you steam users who are too narrow minded need to wake up and see the bigger picture.
    Edited by Negotiator1 at 11/07/11 @ 09:16

  • Roarster #18 11 months ago

    I'd have probably picked up Battlefield 3 if it had been on Steam but seeing as I'm not a diehard Battlefield fan and I've already got a huge backlog I'm not really prepared to go out of my way to buy it. Those who love the Battlefield games will just buy it someone else but I suspect many will just not put in the effort.

    I can see what EA are trying to achieve here, but I think it will have a bigger effect on sales than they expect. I'm not sure what the EA shareholders will think of this either, what kind of company cuts off one of their biggest sales channels?

  • silversun #19 11 months ago

    Would love to get battlefeild on pc but not changing OS till next year so getting console version and also console for mass effect 3 so this not an issue for me.
    I like steam it easy to use and offers good prices.
    Ea origin on other hand , i worry prices will be stupidly high and is still new service so i unsure about it.
    Not to say will never use, it but certain things about it im not too keen on.

  • obscured021 #20 11 months ago

    I love steam, but only buy games during the sale, BF3 will be 50-60 euro on steam and i can get it from a number of online shops for 35 euro. Why dose steam have a massive mark up? even Game is cheaper.

  • ballybeg #21 11 months ago

    But does any1 not see that there is a problem with Steam being the only show in town?

  • KayJay #22 11 months ago

    @PixelPirate
    Is 1,2 & 3 not exactly what steam want.
    I get plenty of spam from Steam. If you don't want it tick the fucking box.
    You think Steam do it for free?
    Are you not pretty much locked into steam once you purchase a game from them!

    /shrugs

    Who cares where you get the game from.

    Edit: or what Dwarfyp said.
    Edited by KayJay at 11/07/11 @ 09:30

  • bobfish09 #23 11 months ago

    I can see this being Valve's fault, but really... sometimes its more important to reach the market than to have your own way EA.

  • Toothball #24 11 months ago

    I'm not particularly concerned with Battlefield in particular, but it is a worrying trend from EA. Steam runs as a platform in much the same way as the Xbox PS3, but EA aren't making a new console and recalling all their previous Xbox and PS3 releases. Getting concerned that Mass Effect 3 won't make it onto there now, which is a shame as I'd just started the series on PC and was hoping to be able to continue it there. For me, providing the best possible PC experience involves making games available on Steam because that's what I use for my PC games. If EA can't provide that then I'm unlikely to be playing their games.

  • Sicho #25 11 months ago

    It's not about patches, it's about DLC.

  • GamesConnoisseur #26 11 months ago

    Seem lots of PC gamers are fanatic about Steam and Valve, that they can do no wrong and motivated solely by non monetary creed?!

    Sure gamers make their choices based on their preference, but to prejudice Battlefield 3 solely on its not being fitting in with the closed platform esque of Steam? If gamers seem to be preferred that kind of environment which is akin to X360 or PS3 kind of structure rather than the supposed versality and open environment of PC?

    As the ability to have all sort of structure or none of any is what defines PC?

    I like Steam but it's not my only mean of gaming on PC.

  • rob_of_the_robots #27 11 months ago

    Wow, even the Battlefield 3 video has a Battlefield advert stuck on it.

  • tankboi #28 11 months ago

    What a crock of shit.

    I seem to remember BF2 being OK on Steam, without affecting your ability 'to establish an ongoing relationship' with the clients via your own servers.

    I hope people can see through this cheap tactic and buy off the shelf instead of Origin.

  • StooMonster #29 11 months ago

    Negotiator1: Steam is trying to get a monopoly on digital distribution, why you steam supporters can't see that is beyond me.

    ballybeg: But does any1 not see that there is a problem with Steam being the only show in town?

    FIrstly, Steam is not a monopoly, there is Direct2Drive and GamersGate and others and I am sure even the likes of Tesco will offer digital downloads one day.

    Secondly, what EA's Origin is doing is odious and not customer friendly. EA should be competing on price, features, customer support, etc but they know that they cannot win on these terms; so instead EA are restricting distribution from the people they cannot compete against.

    In the market the "winner" should be the company that has the best offering for customers, which is why Steam has done so well over the years. It's going to be interesting to see what happens now that EA are attempting to distort the market with restrictive and anti-competitive practices.

  • Exarch #30 11 months ago

    Eurogamer, what is it with the repetitive
    "EA launched Origin last month. It will be the only place you can download upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, but it is not necessary that you run Origin to play it."
    at the end of every article remotely related to games-by-download?
    Reads like blatant product placement.

  • bobfish09 #31 11 months ago

    @StooMonster

    No, EA are saying post launch patches must come from them, not go through a 3rd party submission system.

    And those that are saying it is about DLC, well DAO, ME2, DA2, all have DLC exclusively through EA, none of them work through Steam for that yet they are still available on Steam.

  • aphex187 #32 11 months ago

    I have to say i hate EA Downloader and Origin, it has always been an ugly mess and i much prefer Steam any god damn day of the week! Anyway fk Origin, all i'll do in Steam is 'add a non steam game' to my library and go from there, c*unts!

  • StooMonster #33 11 months ago

    DwarfyP:
    1) You know when you sign up to EA you can decide whether you want them to be able to email you or not.
    2) What is wrong with a Publisher wanting to make money on their own game instead of giving it to someone else?
    3) Again, what is wrong with that?

    EA email me even though I have ticked boxes asking them not to, and also followed their links on their emails asking me to be removed from the mailing list. Steam may pop-up adverts, but you can turn that off and they don't spam your email box.

    What is wrong with it is where it is going, not where it is now. The obvious end result will be that you can only buy games directly from the publisher, at whatever price they set and this price will be high because there is no competition. Simple business logic.

    If PC games were only available as digital downloads from the publisher, how long before they were repriced to match console prices?

    STEAM is over rated, expensive compared to Direct2Drive

    The publishers set the prices on the digital download platforms -- unlike retail where they only set the RRP, and get a small percentage of that, and the physical retailer decides on price -- so they choose to make Steam more expensive than Direct2Drive because they want to try and hurt Steam. See? Again, simple business logic.

  • StooMonster #34 11 months ago

    bobfish09: No, EA are saying post launch patches must come from them, not go through a 3rd party submission system.

    And you don't think they are creating an excuse? And they're not trying to paint Valve as the bad guy?

    "Poor us, we want to launch on Steam, we really do, but they won't let us" cried the crocodile.

  • number3son #35 11 months ago

    I'm getting a little tired of Valve's silence on this whole matter. What the hell is going on over there? Newell needs to start talking and giving his side of the story.

  • Toothball #36 11 months ago

    @GamesConnoisseur

    I think people are quite fanatical about Steam as it wraps the whole PC gaming experience into something not unlike a console experience. While it may not offer quite as much flexibility, it instead presents you with a significant improvement in convenience. Everything that Steam does is available elsewhere, such as games, messaging and voice chat, achievements, sales. Valve have brought all that together into a very well rounded package. It's nice to have those options, but it's understandable that some might want to spend their time playing a game instead of setting it up.

  • anthonypappa #37 11 months ago

    if EA are doing this to promote origin, then they are doing more harm than good.

    people will probably just buy it on disc, or just not bother.

    i wouldn't want another client on my computer... a bit unfair i know, but that's the way it is for a lot of people.

  • WrongShui #38 11 months ago

    In the world I see, you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower and when you look down, you'll see six hundred different services on your taskbar, each belonging to a different publisher.

  • arcam #39 11 months ago

    I'm all for competition for Steam, I don't want to be forced to buy my downloads from one site any more than I want to buy boxed games from one shop.

    But the reason people like Steam is that they have shown they understand PC gaming, they respect their customers, and when push comes to shove they err on the side of the gamer rather than just doing what will get them the most money in the shortest amount of time.

    EA seem to be completely the opposite - they treat the consumer like a fool, the marketing is heavy-handed and console-like and they show no respect for the the things that PC gaming does differently from other mediums. I know EA must look at Steam and say: "no one complains about Valve's selling exclusively on Steam, why do they have such a problem with us doing it?", but until they get it they're never gonna build a loyal following.

    I'm all for more choice in digital downloads, but I want more like GOG.com and Steam, not Origin and GfW.

  • X3Entente #40 11 months ago

    fuck cod and bf, ill stick with timesplitters 2 on gamecube

  • Quickstick4 #41 11 months ago

    Steam has a monopoly that gamers accept because its good and it works well. Most importantly - we trust it! While it is bad only having one service, no viable alternatives have come about. If origin is good and works well im sure people will use it. However forcing us to use it(by not listing BF3 on Steam) will have a backlash. I was planning on buying BF3 on origin just to see how the service performed, however now that i HAVE to I think I will go retail and just wait for Star Wars to test the platform.

  • DirectAim #42 11 months ago

    I think EA are making a fucking brilliant game with BF3 and I will no doubt buy it on release and bash the hell out of it!

    I just wish it was another developer making it.

  • menage #43 11 months ago

    How fucking stupid is this?

    They're taking on MW3 AND STEAM at the same time. Good luck with that. Idiots.

    I'm rooting for BF3 like many but this takes a lot of shine off and doesn't help consumers one bit, they will only cut themsleves like this saleswise. Win one war first before you start another.

    Or how about giving us some great incentives (free map packs for Origin users?) to switch instead of barring people who don't. I thought EA had learned that with project 10 dollar already.
    Edited by menage at 11/07/11 @ 10:40

  • geeza2020 #44 11 months ago

    we're doomed I tells ya, DOOOOOOOOOOMED!!!

  • anthonypappa #45 11 months ago

    remember installing discs and putting in a CD-key... the good old days.

    as convenient as steam is, if people get it on disc instead, they will get a nostalgic kick out of it i think.


    /massive whirring noise

  • arcam #46 11 months ago

    @anthonypappa

    If I buy the retail version I'm gonna have to buy a replacement DVD drive too. Mine hasn't been working since 2009 :D

    *edit: But seeing as a new drive is only about £10, it might still work out cheaper than buying from Origin
    Edited by arcam at 11/07/11 @ 11:00

  • cw- #47 11 months ago

    Ordered BF3 from bee.com for ~£20, and will add it to Steam after installing and launch that way. Only disappointing thing is , this means no steamworks ... but, I'm sure I'll live.


    Origin, can fuck right off.

  • ScepticMatt #48 11 months ago

    Simple solution: Buy BF3 from other DD services or Retail. Optionally, click 'Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library'

    Origins ToS and business practices are deal breakers for me. For example, they 'retire' games (no download, no MP servers) and delete inactive accounts (i.e. you lose all your games). They'll have a hard time regaining my trust.

  • marmaduke #49 11 months ago

    To be fair Direct 2 Drive is undercutting Steam on Deus Ex pre-orders by about £3. Always worth shopping around- there's usually some good deals on getgamesgo.com too

  • apoc_reg #50 11 months ago

    Anyone who has so much as logged into Origin feel bad now

    Ignoring the service is the only way EA will stop this crap

  • Shakey_Jake33 #51 11 months ago

    I don't get it - other games available on Steam patch fine without going via Steam itself, GamesForWindows games for example. What makes EA games a problem?

  • coolbritannia #52 11 months ago

    Steam fanboys am cry. Say what you like, Battlefield 3 will sell a lot of copies on origin.

  • Shakey_Jake33 #53 11 months ago

    ^Of course it will, since you can't buy it on Steam. Unless you're suggesting that the game would sell more on an upstart distribution service than on the market's biggest one.

  • Seoh #54 11 months ago

    Steam for the win, recently just bought a Macbook for work stuff and was delighted to found out several games i own i've been given all the mac versions for free, don't see EA or even D2D doing something like that for me.

  • jetsetwillie #55 11 months ago

    why are PC gamers so gay for steam.

    sure its a good service but what the fuck does it really matter where you download and play it from. and i don't blame EA for wanting to distribute it on the own store. after all Valve does the same with there games as does blizzard.

  • menage #56 11 months ago

    More to do with that we have 250 store clients on our desktop in the future for me. I have to hussle passwords already at this point.

    And drop the gay comments.
    Edited by menage at 11/07/11 @ 11:38

  • Shakey_Jake33 #57 11 months ago

    @jetsetwillie - Well it's an interesting situation isn't it. On a fundimental level, I support more competition in the marketplace to encourage decent pricing. The problem seems to be that publisher-specific distribution services seem to be designed so that publishers don't have to take part in this. This kind of market fragmentation will not achieve better deals for customers, and we will run the risk of seeing the same kind of heavy-handed publisher-controlled pricing that we see with Live and PSN.

    As for why people like Steam so much, I guess the primary reason is that many people have built up large game collections on Steam and like everything to be in one place, rather than having to install games from each publisher's download application. Another reason would be that Valve have earned people's trust with Steam, they went through a few unproductive years but earned their position as a market leader in a market that some claimed would never be possible. EA seem to think they can just waltz in and be entitled to this same trust without actually doing anything to earn it (other than making life very difficult for Steam users - not a smart idea if those are the users they want to entice).

  • Desheep #58 11 months ago

    YOUR SITE JUST SHOWED THE BLOODY BF3 ADVERT BEFORE A BF3 VIDEO

    ALLCAPS: JUSTIFIED.

  • jetsetwillie #59 11 months ago

    @Shakey

    and what would EA have to do to earn the trust of the average steam fanboy.

  • StooMonster #60 11 months ago

    @jetsetwillie: how about ... good prices, fair DRM, great customer service and support, low resource client, transparent updating, fast downloads, anti-cheat system, simple account management, no spamming or other inappropriate use of customer data (e.g. Valve use customer hardware data to ensure their game engine works on widest range of kit, are EA likely to do the same or more likely to advertise and market to you).

    It EA were really creating a platform they would offer other publishers games on platform, rather than making it the publisher's exclusive distribution system.

    That would be a good start.

    Edit: oh, and if you buy the PC version you get the Mac for free, and vice-versa too, even if you bought it years ago.
    Edited by StooMonster at 11/07/11 @ 12:25

  • exorial #61 11 months ago

    Not on steam? Looks like im just going to pirate it then

  • dsmx #62 11 months ago

    jetsetwillie the question you should be asking is:

    What have EA done to earn any trust?

  • Sicho #63 11 months ago

    as I said in posting #25, I think when they talk about "updates", they mean DLC.
    Because as far as I know, you can only buy DLC on Steam when you own the Steam version of a game ... if you buy a game on disc and you buy DLC on Steam, you cannot use the DLC, you have to buy the Steam version of the main game. This could lead to some confusion for the customer so my guess is that EA wants Steam to enable DLC even though you bought the game somewhere else and since Steam does not want to change their DLC policy,EA just won't publish the game on Steam at all.

    But of course, it could all be a scheme to push Origin ...
    Edited by Sicho at 11/07/11 @ 13:16

  • mkreku #64 11 months ago

    Why are everyone defending Steam so vehemently? Don't you remember the $=€ conversion rates? Or how Steam patches work? I can't remember which game it was that had a 15 MB patch when not on Steam, but a 2 GB patch when in Steam, because Steam didn't allow that particular kind of patch and had to replace the entire file..

    Steam is good, but it is not without its flaws.

  • Gastrian #65 11 months ago

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

  • arcam #66 11 months ago

    GOG.com is by far the best service, but the only reason they are allowed to do what they do is because they are selling old games that the publishers aren't so worried about so more risks can be taken.

    Witcher 2 was a DRM-free game (from GOG.com) that can be redownloaded, easily-patched, and accepts DLC from anywhere, but it was very much a rarity. Not many publishers are going to allow games into the wild as freely as that.

  • FilthyPhoenix #67 11 months ago

    Funny origin has never automatically patched any games I have on there. Surely this is a giant leap backwards as I flatout refuse to buy any more games from EA Store/Origin and am going back to buying retail for EA Games. My digital store of choice is Steam so suck on it!!

  • bcxixa10 #68 11 months ago

    No STEAM NO BF3 PC. PS3 yes i will get it. But i still want the awesome PC version. But with no Steam support , humm i dont think so....

  • Gastrian #69 11 months ago

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

  • StooMonster #70 11 months ago

    @Sicho

    DLC integration is certainly something that could improve with Steam.

    For example, I bought all the DLC packs for Fallout 3 on disc -- as it was much cheaper -- and have them installed, but Steam refuses to see them although they work just fine with the game. I plan to buy DLC for Fallout New Vegas the same way, unless there's an awesome Steam sale at Xmas time. So if they were patched, rather than the main EXE, I would have to do that separately.

    Actually, I don't think GfWL sees them either, so it's not just Steam. Similarly, I've bought Bioware DLC for ME2 and Steam doesn't see that either; however, rather than seamless downloads those downloads are EXE installer packs.

    Let's hope Origin keeps transparent downloads and doesn't return to the ancient days of downloaded installer EXE patchers.

  • Quixz #71 11 months ago

    EA are going the wrong way, this might end up harming BF3!

  • loksfox #72 11 months ago

    1 week after evryone going retail "battlefield 3 available to buy on steam"
    ;]

  • ScepticMatt #73 11 months ago

    Besides the dealbreaker ToS and trust issues, I think the Origin client is quite sleek and the customer service is top notch (especially compared to Valve/Steam)

  • deadstoned #74 11 months ago

    WTF are EA playing at? They're pissing away all their good will this year. I have all my Battlefield friends on Steam I want to buy it and keep it there without having to deal with "Add non-Steam game" BS. I'd like to give Origin a chance, but the prices are £10 more expensive than retail on a platform that hasn't yet proved itself. Publishers earn 30% via retail, 70% via Steam and of course 100% via Origin. Yet Origin is overpriced, Steam is non-existant and retail offers shitty returns for EA their killing their own profits. Just because they want their DLC to be bought straight from them, which I disagree with because Steam is so much easier and EA would make it a hassle. Getting Dragon Age/Mass Effect DLC for PC is already a bloody hassle and it'd be easier to pirate it.

  • thiagots85 #75 11 months ago

    well..no steam? Gamersgate will be my option, I love the service there,never had any problem with them... Origin can suck my middle finger...

  • Buran #76 11 months ago

    Good. I don't like Steam too much and the auto-upload from BC 2 works worderfully. No problem with this; I try to avaoir Steam and GFWL as long as is possible.

  • Gastrian #77 11 months ago

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

  • Skire #78 11 months ago

    If it ain't on Steam I ain't buying it. Simple as that.

  • Ord #79 11 months ago

    Fair enough. How many Valve games do you see on other digital download services? I'll personally buy the game cheaper on an on-line store and play quite happily at release. I find it bizarre how some people will slavishly stick to one service.

  • Rarehunter_idol #80 11 months ago

    When it comes to PC gaming, i really prefer to keep my games in one place - Steam. It's a real shame if it doesn't release on the service, all i can say is that EA are just limiting their reach by doing that.

    I also hope Steam gets the Sims 3 Pets expansion. If i have to move the game to origin to play it i'll be very cross.

  • ubergine #81 11 months ago

    I pretty much stopped PC gaming after half Life 2 forced me to accept this shop I did not want onto my computer. If EA are happy to pay to bring it to Valve like they brought it to that Tim Langdell dickhead then good luck to them. I don't see how people can hate on Microsoft's monopoly of operating systems while sucking down Valve's monopoly of online retail. Those arseholes could afford to release the games they committed to rather than Left 4 Dead expansions.

  • azic #82 11 months ago

    Yeah yeah EA.
    Can't fault you for giving us PC gamers the Shift2 DLC for free, but get back to steam EA because really whilst origin is nice, steam far and above owns the DD Market on PC and does it well.

  • Fitz #83 11 months ago

    Like many others here I've had several truly awful experiences with EA, & not one single problem with Steam. I prefer to have an online library of my games for various reasons, so it looks like I will also be a lost sale for Battlefield 3.

  • GibboMayhem #84 11 months ago

    Can you all hear that? It's the sound of Steam fanboys beating their drums of war!

    I wont be using Origin to purchase the game but it will certainly be my pit stop for all BF3's DLC.
    Steam only wants you to buy from Steam. I picked up BC2 on disc a few weeks back and when I went to purchase the DLC from Steam it wouldnt allow me. So I popped onto Origins and bought it there. The service was fast and efficient. It was also the same price as Steam's.

    I was also surprised to find my registered copy of BF:2142 ready for me to Download from Origins even though it was a retail copy which I originally purchsed.

    Also to all those people saying EA only want a larger cut of the profits with Origin. How is that a bad thing? It's their products, which they have invested vast funds to develop. If this allows them extra money to help fund more IP in the future then its a win/win.

    Dont get me wrong, I like using Steam and think it's an amazing product but I dont eat their shit for breakfast like some people seem too whom are commenting here. EA is trying to breed competition and that can only drive for better user experiences for us all.
    Edited by GibboMayhem at 11/07/11 @ 23:33

  • gjgjg #85 11 months ago

    Well id like to see someone such as d2d get some more airtime tbh. Steam's sales and community are good but things like patches always take forever from them for some reason. Not that they are doing it for that reason of course...
    Either way; Competition is a good thing people.

  • StooMonster #86 11 months ago

    GibboMayhem: EA is trying to breed competition and that can only drive for better user experiences for us all.

    If EA were breeding competition they would be promoting their products on a number of digital distribution platforms, rather than building their own. It is apparent that EA's strategy is a "walled garden" rather than open competition.

    gjgjg: Competition is a good thing people.

    Completely agree, competition should results in better prices, better features, better support, and overall better experience for customers.

    "Only on Origin" is not competitive, it is restrictive ... the opposite of competitive.

    If EA were interested in promoting competition they would be publishing their games on Steam, GoG, Direct2Drive, Amazon, Tesco, or whoever wants to offer a multi-publisher distribution platform ... that is competition. Being locked into individual publishers for different franchises is not.

  • Matthew_Hornet #87 11 months ago

    "a battle for digital PC sales supremacy between EA and Steam"

    You mean "EA's pathetic attempt at digital PC sales relevance, that they will soon sorely regret?"

    Yeah, I thought that's what you meant.

  • Gastrian #88 11 months ago

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

  • Camilitus #89 11 months ago

    Companies that build walled gardens live in ivory towers.

  • GibboMayhem #90 11 months ago

    @StooMonster. You mean the way Valve isn't the only digital distributer of its own games through Steam. How is that working with other distributers to promote its product? EA didnt fire the first shot in this scenario Valve did. It's just thats it's been fired from a stealthed submarine called Steam and not many people have noticed it. Steam ring fences itself by only allowing you get to DLC from Steam if you purchased the game off Steam. How is that being competitive? Your not offering the consumer choice or an alternative. I will admit EA have a lot to learn about their product pricing through digital distribution and if they dont then Origin will be set even further back.

    At the end of the day though you cant blame EA for wanting to keep more of the return they get from their games. It makes good business sense and if any of us were in that position we would be doing the same thing.
    Edited by GibboMayhem at 13/07/11 @ 04:06