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Valve has been attempting to be very outwardly complimentary of EA over the last several months, perhaps in the misguided hope that the publisher will quit it with the Origin exclusives, and start bringing some of its titles back into compliance with Steams terms of service. You’d be hard pressed to find any bad blood between the two companies, at least on the Valve side, but yet the stalemate remains. On the most recent Seven Day Cooldown podcast, Jack Inacker asked Newell what EA was doing right with Origin. His answer? Uhhh (pause), ummm (pause).
Newell not waiting to keep the world waiting eventually admitted that EA has a lot of work to do, and claims they have a ton of smart people working on the problem. He probably won’t win any new fans over at EA with those remarks, but at least he stop short of saying what pretty much everyone else will in the comments below.
Kotaku has an embedded link to the comments about Origin, or you can check out the full interview with Newell at Seven Day Cooldown’s site.
(Image Credit = sevendaycooldown.com)
Comments are closed on this article
sojrner
April 25, 2012 at 10:17am
Really loved each BF iteration on PC, yet even as I loved them, each iteration had progressively worse bugs. (and horrible server browsers)
I really wanted to go with BF3, but the moment they made it require origin... I did not buy. Read all the frustrations with launching, browsing and ingame comms (all mentioned here too) that I realized I'm not giving more money to be tortured again.
Steam has flaws, but even when they crop up they are minor or infrequent. EA has a history of letting bugs remain to infuriate customers... Origin is not different from what I've read. The EA "network" is still a labyrinth of crap just to log in. Steam at least keeps everything centralized. One login and I know what is up. In game? I know what is going on and can access everything.
Steam is near seamless... EA has much to learn, but their history shows that they refuse to do so.
bling581
April 26, 2012 at 9:56am
Well, to be honest I feel that despite all the issues I have with BF3 it's just so fun all that doesn't really matter in the end. Yeah I get extremely pissed when I've been playing for 30 minutes and the game crashes losing my score, but I quickly forget.
I personally have always found it silly when someone says "I'm not buying because it's only on !". Everyone has their reasons but why let a few minor details ruin a perfectly good gaming experience?
axiomatic
April 24, 2012 at 12:19pm
Well it's like this. I am an avid BF3 player. Origin fails at the most basic of features, alerts and in-game chat. Alerts are abysmal. They never tell me a friend is online until my friend is actually already joined to the server I am on and already in my squad, then... MAYBE... Origin will pop up and say "XXXXXX is online." Then 5 min after we have been playing together it will then pop up. "XXXXXX is playing BF3."
In-game chat is wonky at best. its about a 50/50 if a friends chat pops up on my PC and honestly, since it pops up in the lower right corner.... I miss it frequently.
Steam has none of these failures. I know right when a friend comes online and when a chat window pops up, I can move it to wherever I can see and move it to where it is of the least inconvenience.
I could keep going on about advance feature failures like VoIP etc... but if you can't handle the simple stuff, why bother?
chinomon
April 23, 2012 at 3:21pm
I feel that EA has been messing up all these great titles that they make, It's not the games they make that's the problem, It's how they implement them. Origin and other things EA has made have been all against the consumers. I remember when I was so happy about Crysis 2, and when everyone bought it on Steam It later gets taken off the shelf" What the hell EA? Then the long awaited Battlefield 3, the game aimed to beat Modern Warfare 3...what do they do? they put it on Origin where it has to be a browser/gaming experience, Though there big selling point was the Graphics? Also we can't forget the "great" DRM list of game's EA gave us! Where they end up forcing players to play offline games online 24-7 "to prevent hackers from hacking there games"just like Ubisoft "even though all it did is make people frustrated when their internet drops". And finally the games that had a limited activation keygen, that's only good I believe 5 times. all the Keygen limit did was screw the people that actually bought the game, and gave other people a reason to Torrent it. So EA believes they have to stop people from privacy, because people Torrent games like "Crysis 2" one of the top most Torrent'ed games...sorry EA It's not the people that are forced to Torrent your games that are the problem, It's you!
Danthrax66
April 23, 2012 at 9:56pm
No EAs games are pretty fucking mediocre too. BF3 feels exactly the same as BC2, even though they claim there is a new engine. The slight graphics overhaul isn't worth it.
Mortal_M
April 24, 2012 at 6:12am
I hate to say it but I had more fun and played it for a longer time in BC2, and we all know that it wasn't a "traditional" BF game.
I was expecting so much more from BF3 and they had so much great feedback from the players in the forums and they ignored it.
Valor958
April 23, 2012 at 11:52am
I have both as well and personally still side with the Steam platform being superior. That is pretty much expected though as they have a long history behind them to build off of, and Origin is in it's infancy. Though awkward compared to what we're used to from Steam, I kind of like the online link you have to use when playing BF3. They could/should to a better job of joining the two, perhaps using the built-in origin web browser as default. Origin is also in a bit of a bad spot in that Steam's layout and procedures are almost considered the standard now. If Origin takes too much of a likeness with anything it develops, it could risk a lawsuit. I'm not sure if Valve/Steam would sue to maintain it's competitive edge, but the business world can make people less friendly then they would be otherwise.
I'm fine with the situation and can easily overlook any shortcomings of either just by adapting to the fact, they are what they are. IF I have an issue, I do write a support email stating my idea. I won't let it be said I complain and don't do anything about it.
Really though, I don't have a slow start with Origin and think that the Steam platform probably takes maybe 4-5 seconds longer to launch. Finding a game on BF3 has always been easy for me, and now that they're in my history/fav lists... no more issues. Finding and tracking other players I like as well. I don't like the Com Center not linking to Origin friends list though... you'd think they'd sync that and have your Origin friends who play X game in the friends list for that game.
bling581
April 24, 2012 at 9:47am
I like the idea of viewing your stats through the browser, but my problem is how it connects with the actual launching of the game. If you want to change modes you have to close down the game and relaunch something else. Lots of times it doesn't launch properly, freezes on a black screen instead of the spawn screen, or crashes. I don't like having to mess around with game options while I'm playing a match and there's no other time to do it unless I exit out and launch the campaign or something.
bling581
April 23, 2012 at 10:15am
I have both, but only 3 or 4 games on Origin. I have no issues with Origin itself, but I do have some problems with BF3. They're a little better now, but I'm still having crashing issues and I absolutely despise the way the game launch works. I don't like being forced into using my browser to launch the game and sometimes it takes forever or crashes.
TheMiddleman
April 23, 2012 at 2:08am
... probably about as much as Gabe cares about what I think of the fact Episode 3 has yet to ship, which is to say, the proverbial fart in the wind.
Ghok
April 22, 2012 at 6:45pm
The "problem" with Steam is that it's so good that we're willing to overlook its shortcomings. But if its shortcomings are the type of stuff being discussed here, we're doing pretty well. I honestly used to have more problems back when I bought all my games retail. I do have a few problems with Steam, but it isn't any better on any other digital distribution platform. Still, competition is nice, and Valve is the type of company that might do something unexpectedly nice to help keep its customers. I've always liked the idea of being able to return a game for a full refund within 48 hours of first downloading it, or the ability to use separate user profiles with the same games (I have different online aliases). Just some thoughts. :)
ItsNeverEnoughPower
April 22, 2012 at 2:45pm
Steam isnt much better then Orgin.Sure the service runs but I encountered more problems with getting kicked out of lobbies and steam just going down for no reason. They have downtime whenver it pleases then and not once have I seen a notice about when it was going down for maintence it just goes down in the middle of a game. They wont help you out with any of the cheating going on in MW3 thier VAC system is a joke. If you made more then one account then you are left to logging in and out of of other accounts to play games. Yes I was the dumbass and made a new accouint not thier fault but mine. At least let us combine them into one. There is a lot to like about steam but there is a lot to dislike as well. Its not all roses there for people
screff
April 22, 2012 at 5:03pm
It sounds like you're complaining about MW3 mainly. After the last several lemons in that series, you should have learned but you refused and purchased a console game for your PC. This is what happens.
Activision has your money and couldn't give 2 shits about what happens with their game. I wouldn't blame it on Steam, I would blame it on Activision and your own poor choice of buying that game.
For what it is worth there was rampant cheating on MW2 also. The main way that Activision could have given the PC community to deal with it would have been allowing us to run ranked dedicated servers, but they can't be bothered doing something nice just for PC gamers. All they really care about is their bottom line.
Modred189
April 22, 2012 at 4:58pm
The difference is that Steam GIVES BACK far more than they take, and what technical issues they have a few and far between. In -almost- decade that I have been using steam, it hasn't once dropped me from a game, failed to update a game before I even knew there was an update, or fail to launch a game (with one exception: offline mode. I mean, GOOD LORD)
It's not perfect, but it's WAY better than the alternatives.
And re: MW3... I wonder if it has something to do with the Modernwarfare's game code or VAC. I know no other game that is plagued by cheating like the CODs, and it makes me think it's not VAC's problem, or that the underlying game is so insecure that no amount of VAC or other AC can protect it.
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noobstix
April 22, 2012 at 4:00pm
This I wholeheartedly agree with. I get of tired of all the praise that Steam gets which overshadows some of the issues it has. Even if I'm just chatting with my brother, he and I sometimes d/c randomly even though our own Internet connections are fine and dandy. Also, I did hear about the lousy anti-cheating Valve has for MW3. They'll make hell out of modders for Bethesda games but when it comes to CoD (at least for MW3), they don't care about people using "boosts". I still won't forget the time I had to spend uninstalling and reinstalling ME2 since it was corrupted. Even my copy of L4D2 was having trouble loading up for a whole entire day.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Steam has it's faults. I've been royally pissed off on more than one occasion using Steam due to the random technical difficulties it seems to have from time to time. Now I'm not saying that I love Origin (that is also a major pain in the ass), but to say that Steam > anything else like UPlay and Origin is an overstatement. There's some good points and then there are as many bad points to it. Steam is not a perfect digital gaming platform.
georgec
April 22, 2012 at 2:04pm
Sounds like Gabe is starting to worry about long-term trends of companies shifting away from Steam, having their own distribution platforms, etc.
Last year Valve was adamant about not selling EA games and questioned how much EA titles would sell without Steam's support. Now they've done a 180 and want EA to sell their games on Steam.
Looks like the Steam monopoly might be slowly starting to dissipate, and while I'm no fan of EA/Origin, the Steam monopoly is a serious detriment to the future of gaming distribution.
Just read the terms of service for Steam and see how comfortable one feels with having all your games on a platform that can shut down your account permanently at any moment without notice or reason.
AETAaAS
April 22, 2012 at 1:15pm
I like BF3 as a game. But for the framework surrounding it, CoD has to take my vote simply because it doesn't take ages to find a game and get in it. For BF3, you need to use a browser, log into Battlelog, then it takes its sweet bleeding time logging in again into Origin (if and when it works) and then if you don't get disconnected from Battlelog for no apparent reason WHILE loading the game, then you can play.
I'm not buying another EA game if it requires Origin.
Gauntylgrym
April 22, 2012 at 12:11pm
Valve seems to be all about beating the competition by being BETTER THAN THE COMPETITION. What a friggin' novel concept. Business doesn't have to be ugly and "dog-eat-dog", as Valve shows us with Steam.
The Corrupted One
April 22, 2012 at 11:00am
Battlefield 3 on Origin only.
Crysis 2 not on SteamThat defines my dislike for Origin, I don't really have any other problems, I will make an account soon anyways.
I love Valve, they don't even hate their competitors.
