EA plans “platform exclusives” for Origin download service as titles vanish from Steam

Crysis 2 and Alice: Madness Returns removed from Steam as rivalry escalates

Words: Tom_Goulter on June 16, 2011

As the console wars continue, a new contender in the digital download conflict emerges. Publisher and developer Electronic Arts has announced that it’ll be offering “platform exclusives” in the form of games only available through its own download service, Origin. The announcement coincides with new exclusivity requirements added for rival digital distribution service Steam, which have already seen Crysis 2 and other titles removed from its catalogue.

“You talk about platform exclusives like Halo or Uncharted,” explains EA's Frank Gibeau: “EA's going to have some of our own platform exclusives.” The “Only on Origin” badge has already shown up on advertising for Battlefield 3 and Crysis 2; the latter was recently removed from Steam once its presence on Origin was announced. EA has said this wasn't its decision: “It's unfortunate that Steam has removed Crysis 2 from their service. This was not an EA decision... Unfortunately, Crytek has an agreement with another download service which violates the new rules from Steam and resulted in its expulsion of Crysis 2 from Steam.”

Alice: Madness Returns has also disappeared from Steam, while the digital-download version of EA's upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic's Origin-exclusivity was announced last week. At the time of writing, EA still maintains a micro-store within Steam in addition to their independent Origin service.

Jun 15, 2011

Mystery of Valve's bald mascot revealed (mostly)
Studio staffer reveals how Valve found its mascots

Report: EA loses COO to Zynga
Top level exec resigns from EA, rumored to be nabbed by Zynga

Platforms:

23 comments

View as:
Newest first
Oldest first

Shinn - June 18, 2011 12:12 p.m.

Here's the way I see it. Steam doesn't let you change the download/install location, eadm does. Steam doesn't work on dialup e.g I can't log in so I can't access my games (which is important in NZ because internet is limited and expensive), eadm does. I don't really care where I download games from anyway, I prefer having the disc, i.e actually owning the game.
- Reply
- Report
oni - June 18, 2011 4:17 a.m.

"Unfortunately, Crytek has an agreement with another download service which violates the new rules from Steam and resulted in its expulsion of Crysis 2 from Steam" Sounds like what the game Total War Shogun asked me during the campaign level whenever 2 of my allies are at war with each other. Then it asked me to choose which clan I want to stay allied with. LoL
- Reply
- Report
may.be.vital - June 17, 2011 5:06 p.m.

This is fucking stupid. All you can say. No other digital store will ever perform as well as Steam. Exclusives do not exist on the PC.. This will only cause more piracy.
- Reply
- Report
ParagonT - June 17, 2011 1:57 p.m.

@Unrealslayer92 You my friend need to actually read the comments before generalizing. Fail.
- Reply
- Report
Mayhem62897 - June 17, 2011 6:50 a.m.

Congratulations, EA, you have just lost a few million sales on the PC. Plus, you have lost the faith of many PC players all over the world. What a great way to do business, EA! Keep up the good work and you might just meet your doom.
- Reply
- Report
Spybreak8 - June 17, 2011 3:36 a.m.

Way to split your target audience even more, dumbasses.
- Reply
- Report
rabidpotatochip - June 17, 2011 12:30 a.m.

All I can say is that I hope we're allowed to install it more than three times.
- Reply
- Report
cyanidegold - June 17, 2011 12:09 a.m.

@Pretzelboy: The sooner the better. Screw 'em. This move is simply bad for gamers, at least PC gamers, no two ways about it. I do almost everything over Steam, but I'm also a fan of Sins of a Solar Empire, which is only over Impulse... and my point here is that even that small degree of fragmentation is pretty damn irritating, because I use the Steam overlay to chat with friends... so I run Sins via Steam, which runs it through Impulse. That's just silly. And pointless. This sucks. And I was so looking forward to Battlefield 3... I just hope they reverse the exclusivity BS, everyone is entitled to their own crap platform nobody uses provided that nobody HAS to use it.
- Reply
- Report
onewheeled999 - June 16, 2011 11:52 p.m.

@UnrealSlayer92 We're taking it easy on them? All I'm seeing is negative response in these comments, with people bashing EA and hoping the service will fail..
- Reply
- Report
PretzelBoy - June 16, 2011 11:38 p.m.

Great, yet another service that will eventually be hacked by assholes.
- Reply
- Report
SecretGingerWizard - June 16, 2011 9:08 p.m.

So... EA is taking a platform (PC) that already gets it's own exclusives, and then adding another level of exclusives? Exclusiveception?
- Reply
- Report
UnrealSlayer92 - June 16, 2011 8:40 p.m.

It's kinda ironic how the majority of you guys hate the heck outta of Activision but when EA does things like THIS, you all seem to don't care and take it easy on them.
- Reply
- Report
ThatGuyFromTV - June 16, 2011 8:29 p.m.

Hey EA, stop trying to kill Steam! I thought you were teammates with Valve!
- Reply
- Report
Bloodstorm - June 16, 2011 7:50 p.m.

@db1331 It's not out of spite, I'm just not putting up with another digital download service. Steam is all I need or will use. I get their desire to try and compete, but no one else has, so why does EA think they can? Even the GFWL games I own were purchased through Steam. Sadly, I'm only left with the choice to get the 360 version.
- Reply
- Report
db1331 - June 16, 2011 7:43 p.m.

@Bloodstorm That's a little extreme. I wouldn't buy an inferior version of the game just out of spite.
- Reply
- Report
Snapp3r - June 16, 2011 7:41 p.m.

Well I'm definitely not buying Battlefield 3 now. Steam's the only DRM I'm willing to put up with.
- Reply
- Report
Bladex206 - June 16, 2011 7:12 p.m.

thats real fucking dandy, EA. Just another service, platform, and account to keep track of. Asshats.
- Reply
- Report
Bloodstorm - June 16, 2011 6:57 p.m.

And this comes just when I was starting to ease up on EA, thinking they might have actually seen the light.
- Reply
- Report
Bloodstorm - June 16, 2011 6:56 p.m.

And now I guess I will be getting Battlefield 3 on Xbox. I wanted it on the PC, but I'm not going to use another Digital Download service that isn't Steam. Steam keeps all my games in one place and I have access to them until they are either not compatible with my computer anymore, or Steam tanks and goes away forever (or I run out of downloads...secuRom, I'm looking at you). I;m not using another service, especially one run by EA of all publishers. You think this will hurt EA and Valves relationships? EA does publish Valve's games, and now EA it trying to take a chunk out of Valve by targeting Steam.
- Reply
- Report
GoBlue811 - June 16, 2011 6:54 p.m.

And, let it be known, that on this day, piracy of EA's PC games shalt increase by four-fold. Or something like that.
- Reply
- Report