They promise ”exclusive game content” that only Origin will provide for upcomers like Mass Effect 3 and Battlefield 3. They aim for Origin to go mobile as well.
This new digital store service will host exclusive limited editions of Battlefield 3 and FIFA 12. EA also hope that exclusive content will further entice sales. Already announced as entirely exclusive to Origin is BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO.
The Origin beta program runs in similar fashion to Steam but also pulls friends lists from social networking sites like Facebook as it integrates. Other exclusive game goodies will be offered to SSX, Madden NFL 12, Need for Speed: The Run and The Sims 3.
You can put together your own ‘community of gamers’ through EA’s Origin. It will also extend to smartphones allowing you to play EA developed mobile games.
”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 David DeMartini of EA. ”From exclusive demos to full-game downloads, Origin is the place consumers will go for the best game experiences.”
Personally this is a good and bad. The good thing is it will keep Steam and other digital stores fighting for sales and costs down for us. The bad is that we have yet another portal of digital games that needs another account and program to manage.
Check out the official EA Origin website. It will take a lot to ‘rival’ Steam.
