EA announces it is competing against Steam for the PC digital distribution market as it announces its own DD service and puts the upcoming Star Wars Old Republic MMO game as an exclusive for the service. However, at the moment EA has not cut all ties with Steam for their previous PC games.
The service is being named Origin and is EA's attempt to take on Steam in the PC market while also expanding their own presence in the PC market after ignoring PC games for years in favor of console games. The name comes from a past EA purchase of a company called Origin Systems which was a big name developer for PC games in the 1980s and 1990s.
As part of their plan to be Steam's rival, EA announced as of now they have 150 titles ready for launch and will offer exclusive collector/limited edition of PC games similar to console versions having their own special editions. Battlefield 3, FIFA 12, and a few others were revealed in getting the exclusive PC collector's editions.
The store and overall structure of the service mimics a lot from Steam but also provides for mobile service which is something Steam doesn't do for the store. EA will also tie its mobile games into the new service for easier access to the Origin service.
EA is expected to reveal more of the new digital distribution service along with more games and "exclusive" features at E3 this year.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/03/ea...wnload-the-ol/
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Quick News Round-Up:
1) Team ICO HD remake set given a price and release date for Japan and it could be some bad news if Sony keeps the same price structure. ICO and Shadow of the Colossus are not an actual set but can be bundled together with a $50 price per game and $87 price together in Japan.
2) Take Two clears up some potential worries involving X-Comm reboot by announcing the game has a March 6, 2012 release date and the project is progressing well in development.
3) Sony could be going back on their promise to make the NGP/Vita cheap after continuing explaining how they feel customers will be willing to pay the price the company has for the handheld and how all the crammed features make owning a 3DS or mobile device not needed. As of now, only the non-3G model is getting its specs and stuff lowered down.