Steam or Origin?

[sYstEmATiC]

Steam destroys Origin. Who in their right mind would use Origin when getting banned from their forums would cause you to lose access to your games, talk about horrible CS

I agree. I have no reason to visit their forums, but its still one of those bs features.

 

I use both, but thats only because of BF3. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't use Origin it at all it sucks.

Again, I agree. The ONLY reason I have origin is because its mandatory for bf3. Origin doesn't even compare to steam.

[WhenKittensATK]

Can someone explain this graph to me? It's really not making sense to me......

To me a pie graph is a percentage right? How can these percentages add up with things in the current market of game consumers. Also why represent everything as quarters and provide absolutely no reference points?

 

Trying to open my mind and understand it...

How does origin propose to end up with a community equal to steam, game selection equal to steam, achievements equal to steam ect as well as better cross platform (assuming Mac and Linux possibly, does this mean what I think it means?) I just don't see any of this happening.

 

Would rather it not happen and would happily see valve sort it's sh¡t out and actually provide incentives, for other companies that have opposition to working with them, to have their games brought over to the well current and working system.

 

I like steam (hate some of the regional pricing and releases) but I want them to treat publishes and developers in the way they try to preach about the way they position the customer. I don't see it as being too hard or unrealistic. I am certain they can provide a better service to customers and help out other companies to the benefit of both the consumer and the publisher/developer, if they bothered to.

The graphics are relatively easy to understand. More shading equals better. Reference points are where Steam was at months ago when this EA event took place.

 

You would have to look into the press event to find more details. Community can be gained by adding social features, most of which Origin does not currently have. Game selection grows on Origin as we speak (do need to keep mentioning they just added 11 more publishers, more in the past as well). There are zero achievements on Origin, that's an easy thing to add. EA is majority multi-platform publisher, bigger than Valve. If anything they have more experience with cross-platform (cross-platform could mean many things: Mobile devices, consoles, PC, and Mac). Granted Steam has branched out to mobile devices and the PS3, but this event was during early-mid 2011.

 

The chart simply shows the the future Origin plans to be on-par with its competitor.

Edited February 1, 2012 by Krazyxazn

[Deathmineral]

http://i.imgur.com/AspeW.jpg

 

That was from an EA event sometime last year. We'll see how things go by the end of 2012.

Why doesn't show the "leading competitor" improving during the year 2012? Are they just assuming that Steam isn't going to try and improve itself or something? Also they're going to be better in the cross platform area? What does cross platform refer to in the little chart anyway? Is it talking about Windows, Mac, Linux? PC gaming and Consoles? Both?

 

Steam, specifically Valve, have already made it quite clear how much they're interested in these things, they made a big push to support Mac users, they're already connecting PC and console players in their own games. I don't see how EA is going to catch up in that area, much less pull ahead, what are they going to let PC and Console gamers play together on their only multiplayer game, Battlefield? That should make for an interesting experiment. I doubt any Linux lover would even install something like Origin on their machine either, they're all about security and permissions, they probably aren't going to appreciate software that just randomly collects data from you.

 

What's with Achievements and Rewards? Who cares about that? Probably nobody once they get banned on the EA forums and lose all their hard earned achievements, games, etc.

 

Honestly, that image doesn't make any sense. EA should actually deliver instead of promising a future that only an 11 year old could believe in.

[Stonerboy779]

The graphics are relatively easy to understand. More shading equals better. Reference points are where Steam was at months ago when this EA event took place.

I like my graphs, I really do I have spent large periods of time reading X and Ys and to me a good graph, an informative on as they should be, is like the ones Martin (from martins liquid labs) makes.

 

They convey scientific and quantifiable as well as useful data in an easy to understand and clear format. Imho thus graph release by EA/Origin fails on all those fronts and is no better and in fact even worse, in the representation of "more shading is better" with no reference points, than when other companies sell there product with things like 50%, 100% and 200% better but no reference to what the improvement is on......

 

I like clear I can't help it and I am sure I am not the only one. Simplifying is good when it serves a pillar whatever they thought they were showing there it failed imho.

 

However if you have any links to the articles I would be interested in reading them some point.

 

 

 

 

 

Ps - two things I hate most in life - tourists and salesmen.

I just guess that lots of press releases and company induced hype and product showings give of the same salesman feels of interaction. Ie I am going to smile and promise you the world while BSing you and attempting to take more money from you...

[Silas13013]

It's not so much that Origin is horrible (it is) but that EA is horrible (even more so). Ignoring the problems with Origin at launch, I have had nothing but trouble from EA. When BF3 refused to let me play until I updated origin and origin insisted it was up to date, even after multiple re-downloads of every game (thank god for university internet) I contacted EA and they proceed to tell me that I had been banned from origin for hacking and could no longer access my games. I asked for my money back and they refused saying that I could still play the games offline so they were not obligated to do anything about it. I contact them saying the games will not let me play at all (still no sign of being banned from origin itself, just that BF3 needed an update) and 3 days later I get an email saying that they made a mistake and would unlock my account in the next 24 hours. 24 hours pass and when I try to play, origin informs me BF3 needs to update.

 

I uninstalled origin to get that bloated, cancerous malware off of my system and haven't played since.

 

Edit: spelling

Edited February 1, 2012 by Silas13013

[bp9801]

People are comparing Origin, a pretty recent service, with Steam, which has been around for ages. When Steam first got started, it wasn't anything like what it is today and there was a fair amount of rage over the fact that Steam had to be running in order to launch any game on it.

 

Why compare a recent service with one that has been around for nearly a decade? Every service takes time to mature. Steam didn't automatically become what it is overnight, but in years. Give Origin some time before instantly calling it the devil just because EA is attached to it.

[NikoDG]

http://i.imgur.com/AspeW.jpg

 

That was from an EA event sometime last year. We'll see how things go by the end of 2012.

Yet another thing EA fails at... Pie charts!

 

Like Stoner said pie charts are supposed to represents pieces as parts of a whole. I don't see any percentages, or even any proper labels. There's no caption to explain what it all means, it's just a bunch of partially eaten pies.

 

PS: I would never eat a pie EA made

[Waco]

People are comparing Origin, a pretty recent service, with Steam, which has been around for ages. When Steam first got started, it wasn't anything like what it is today and there was a fair amount of rage over the fact that Steam had to be running in order to launch any game on it.

The difference is that, at launch, Steam worked and didn't cause any real problems. When there were problems, Valve worked quickly to resolve issues. They also never locked someone out of their entire account because they said "something naughty" on the forums.

[bp9801]

The difference is that, at launch, Steam worked and didn't cause any real problems. When there were problems, Valve worked quickly to resolve issues. They also never locked someone out of their entire account because they said "something naughty" on the forums.

 

The Steam account and forum account are separate for a reason.

 

Steam was launched as a means to let Counter-Strike players get patches quickly, and then it became a digital distribution platform. Origin started as a DD platform, so I would imagine EA is still working out all the issues with it.

[WhenKittensATK]

Why doesn't show the "leading competitor" improving during the year 2012? Are they just assuming that Steam isn't going to try and improve itself or something? Also they're going to be better in the cross platform area? What does cross platform refer to in the little chart anyway? Is it talking about Windows, Mac, Linux? PC gaming and Consoles? Both?

 

Steam, specifically Valve, have already made it quite clear how much they're interested in these things, they made a big push to support Mac users, they're already connecting PC and console players in their own games. I don't see how EA is going to catch up in that area, much less pull ahead, what are they going to let PC and Console gamers play together on their only multiplayer game, Battlefield? That should make for an interesting experiment. I doubt any Linux lover would even install something like Origin on their machine either, they're all about security and permissions, they probably aren't going to appreciate software that just randomly collects data from you.

 

What's with Achievements and Rewards? Who cares about that? Probably nobody once they get banned on the EA forums and lose all their hard earned achievements, games, etc.

 

Honestly, that image doesn't make any sense. EA should actually deliver instead of promising a future that only an 11 year old could believe in.

 

It's obvious they can't predict what Valve plans to do in the future, that's why they didn't. They are saying they would catch up to where Steam was months ago during that event. That doesn't mean Steam will stay static, nor does it mean Origin will stop when it catches up to where Steam was months ago.

 

Steam Mac games are just games that were already available to Mac, Valve/Steam had very little to do with it other than converting Orange Box to Mac and allowing users to buy already Mac compatible games.

 

EA is a large multi-platform publisher, if cross-platform is possible anywhere this wouldn't be a bad place to start. Valve on the other hand only produces a few multi-platform games, let alone the games that do offer cross-platform are rather limited like Portal 2. CS:GO on the other hand actually connects both platforms. While PC/Mac relationship was always the same long before Orange Box port. PC and Mac users could always play together. Origin already has a mobile platform.

 

Linux is an afterthought for both services.

 

You talk about Origin and security, yet it was Steam who got hacked. While all the things Origin does, it does anonymously. Data collection has its uses, just ask the U.S. Census (also does it anonymous). Neither have affect my day to day life, why complain about something that doesn't even effect you.

 

With every game and service EA offers, we take the satisfaction of our customers very seriously. We discourage cheating and strive to maintain a high level of integrity in both our games and our forums. Therefore when someone violates our Terms of Service, we are forced to take actions that can include suspensions and other measures. We do not take those decisions lightly – however the integrity of our services and the satisfaction of our customers requires a clear set of rules.

 

We have listened to our customers and are planning a policy update which will include more equitable rules on suspensions – we want to make sure the time fits the crime. As with all technology updates, these changes take some time to implement. Meanwhile, we urge any user with a question about suspensions or our policies to please contact us at (866) 543-5435 so we can address their specific situation.

 

I have yet to hear any new reports of user bans. A mishap from something they were suppose to change back during Dragon Age 2, but failed to do.

 

Original source of the chart. My explanation was rather spot on. You can put a circle into a square, but that doesn't make it any less of a circle. If you don't understand that either, then I can't help you.

Electronic Arts E3 2011 Analyst Event webcast audio

E3 2011 Investor Presentation

View Transcript

 

 

Origin is the customer-facing service that ties this cross-platform experience together. Origin

combines industry-leading content from EA and third parties through a persistent, connected social

platform that provides gaming experiences across a broad array of devices anytime, anywhere.

Drilling down in a bit more detail, the heart of the Origin architecture is the proven, highly scalable

Nucleus registration system that tracks identity, user history, user entitlements and preferences. It

is supported by robust security and catalog management. The user interfaces with the persistent

Origin PC client, an efficient 35-megabyte client download, and ties in content from franchise sites

specific to games. Battlefield 3 community site is an example here, and it is backed up by an online

store that serves up a combination of full game content and micro content across a wide array of

payment methods, with support today in well over 20 languages.

 

The Origin feature set is provided here. At the top, we compare what we have today at launch, and

in the middle, we compare with what we expect to have by the end of fiscal ‘12, and at the bottom,

we’re comparing the feature set to the leading competitive platform Steam. As of the end of the

year, we expect to match or surpass the competition on these dimensions, and expect to have a

clear lead in terms of cross-platform support and EA-specific exclusive content. Star Wars, for

example, will only be available as a digital download through Origin this year.

 

EA has a leading position in mobile and social games, and free-to-play browser-based games that

the competition cannot match and we intend to continue to invest in Origin, aggregating more digital

content from third parties like we already do today with Chillingo, and like we have done in the past

with our very successful EA Partners program.

 

The key quarterly releases for Origin are shown here. In Q2, we will add streaming demo

capabilities to drive trial and sales, and we’ll have a unified friends list. In Q3, the mobile version of

Origin will launch on Android, and we’ll have exclusive content for titles like Battlefield 3 and Need

for Speed The Run. In Q4, we will add a rewards and achievements system, and development will

continue on an ongoing basis thereafter.

 

So in summary, EA is well positioned. We start with a centerpiece user registration system of over

100 million users, it’s the heart of the Origin architecture. We have an extensive array of content

that we’re bringing to the customer via the Origin client. We believe that we have a leading position

in terms of cross-platform capability. It’s the sum total of these items, current feature set, and

planned future development for Origin that believes that we’ll be providing a competitive and

differentiating, and highly margin accretive digital delivery experience in the years to come.

 

 

"I think it does some things well. I think there are still some areas where, as a customer, I'd like to see it improve. It's not that different from any other system like this. There are positive things and negative things."

- Gabe Newell on Origin (more humble than most users in this thread)

Edited February 1, 2012 by Krazyxazn

[Deathmineral]

I am going to smile and promise you the world while BSing you and attempting to take more money from you...

EA's response:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByP2pQSbSmE

 

I'm surprised there isn't a better quality video of that but oh well.

 

People are comparing Origin, a pretty recent service, with Steam, which has been around for ages. When Steam first got started, it wasn't anything like what it is today and there was a fair amount of rage over the fact that Steam had to be running in order to launch any game on it.

 

Why compare a recent service with one that has been around for nearly a decade? Every service takes time to mature. Steam didn't automatically become what it is overnight, but in years. Give Origin some time before instantly calling it the devil just because EA is attached to it.

So when will it be okay to compare them? I mean even five years from now you could still say Steam has been around for a lot longer, that's pretty much never going to change.

 

I mean I'm not expecting miracles from Origin or anything, although their pie chart would imply they're quite capable of miracles. I just don't think they really deserve a pass on a lot of stuff is all, I mean the whole banned forum/games incident for example, you just know there was some guy at EA going "Oooohhhh... so that's why Steam separates those accounts!" It just seems to me as though it was kind of obvious I guess. To be perfectly honest though, there's a lot more to that particular issue than just that for me, I personally don't like the idea the EA feels to need to censor every little thing people say. If they respond that way to someone saying something like "fart" then I don't even want to make an attempt at being their customer, they'd probably send someone to burn my house down if I used a real curse word on their forums.

 

Also, I don't think there are as many people condemning Origin as you think. I think it's mostly just that people are hearing horror stories and having their own bad experiences with it and are very wary of it at this point. Personally, I'm not sure I would say that I condemn Origin but I don't intend to support or buy from EA so that pretty much goes directly into Origin as well. As far as how it operates, I've used it a little bit and while I can't say I enjoyed the experience, it wasn't bad either. If my attaching Origin and EA to each other seems silly to you then maybe I really don't understand the relationship between this software and company.

 

To me, this is how I see it. I've seen other people get screwed over pretty bad by EA in the past, I've never exactly been happy with EA myself, where is the incentive for me to give Origin a chance? So far Origin doesn't offer me anything except for more software that I need to have on my computer that I don't want, another account to remember the password for, possibly decent but more than likely unpleasant customer service, and you know what, I'm sitting here trying to think of some positives and I just can't come up with anything. That's really bad, that isn't how it should work at all, I'm not supposed to have to try and think about the positives of something, they should just naturally come to me, the fact that they don't says something to me.

[d6bmg]

Origin Sucks..... Origin Sucks..... Origin Sucks..... Origin Sucks..... Origin Sucks..... Origin Sucks.....

Nice way of relaying.