Bethesda - Launches Bethesda.net

[azarhal]

Compare EA Origins. A privacy violating client plus it was implemented as an exclusive sales operation that essentially eliminated competition. EA games became available at full price only. And as a result of that I have not bought an EA game since and do not expect to buy any EA games in the future period. And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

huh? EA games Origin keys are sold at some digital retailers all the time and even for pre-orders...They are usually cheaper there than on Origin too.

 

[KaosWarMonk]

I do not want yet more bloatware running as a service on my PC. I will, under sufferance, do an in game login but I start drawing the line at various shop front clients. I'm sure I'll eventually be dragged into using them but I do not like it.

 

[RPGFool]

huh? EA games Origin keys are sold at some digital retailers all the time and even for pre-orders…They are usually cheaper there than on Origin too.

I've looked many times and have not found any substantial price discounts as compared to the price then offered by Origins for current games. Sure some other digital sellers have offered Origins keys from time to time -- but I haven't seen any offering substantial discounts as compared to Origins for relatively current games.

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[Thrasher]

I've seen some pretty big ME series base game sales over the years not from Origin. So I agree with azarhal. ME dlc, well that's another thing.

 

[RPGFool]

There are no ME games that are current -- and there have been no current ME games for several years. Sure once the games become old and shopworn discounts appear. But when they're hot; in the first several months, no substantial discounts. At least in my experience. And Origins sales have suffered.

But I won't argue any further. And will carefully listen to any differences of opinion. If I'm wrong it definitely won't be the first time and certainly won't be the last. I do strongly believe, however, that current Origins sales tactics have hurt EA sales. I believe that EA has decided that greater profits justify fewer sales. In the end I believe it's a losing strategy.

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[Thrasher]

So you only buy new games? Well thankfully the whole market doesn't behave that way.

 

[CelticFrost]

Just like always, if I don't want their crap on my computer. I will buy the game then download a crack copy of it.

To be honest I prefer it this way....

 

[RPGFool]

So you only buy new games? Well thankfully the whole market doesn't behave that way.

I said I wouldn't argue -- but just to clarify -- I think the big sales numbers are generated when the games are relatively new -- that's when Bethesda gets it's 10 million plus numbers. Games in the sales bins don't generate those numbers or great profits for the publishers. IMO.

And like Celtic Frost and kaos_war_monk, I don't want that crap on my system either.

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[Thrasher]

So, as long as I wait a bit I can get the game at a good price. Even when the market is more open the discounts at launch are miniscule, so I think it's making a mountain over a molehill.

Anyway, I just disable the apps to not run at startup, and only run them when I want them too. No issues there.

 

[Moriendor]

Compare EA Origins. A privacy violating client plus it was implemented as an exclusive sales operation that essentially eliminated competition. EA games became available at full price only. And as a result of that I have not bought an EA game since and do not expect to buy any EA games in the future period. And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

What are you even talking about? You are clearly very uninformed.

There was a single incident when Origin was fresh and new where it was caught scanning your hard drive (program files folder) for EA game executables in the background. This caused an unproportionate shitstorm for some reason and EA disabled the scanning.
No further privacy issues with Origin have ever surfaced to the best of my knowledge. If you know how Origin violates anyone's privacy more than Steam or other services of the kind then feel free to share any info you might have (substantiated info, please, and not the FUD you attempted to spread).

Secondly, Origin does have very regular sales just like Steam and you can also still buy many EA games on Steam, on uPlay and also on GOG.
There are only two publishers who keep everything exclusive to their own platforms. Those publishers are called Valve and Blizzard because you can only buy their games on Steam and Battle.net respectively but not on other digital distribution platforms.
If you want to rag on anyone for excluding competition, you might want to start with Valve and Blizzard, not EA.

I can't believe I'm defending EA but if you bash them then please at least get your facts straight and bash them for the right stuff .

From personal experience I have to say that Origin is a really good client these days. You have to differentiate between EA as a publisher with shitty business practices and the Origin service which is actually decent.
Plenty of free classic games (Origin On The House), a generous refund policy (which BTW they had long before Steam finally moved their ass), generous demos of some of their games (formerly known as Origin Game Time), unmatched download speeds and an interesting (for some people) optional subscription program with Origin Access.

Doesn't mean anyone has to give them business. If you don't like the orange logo, fine, but let us maybe try to stick to the facts and not make up reasons you've read on some random tinfoil FUD blog.

 

[Thrasher]

Actually I got a free ME3 DLC from EA when Origin had some problems, so they aren't all bad. Better than Steam, GoG, or Gamer's Gate ever did for me when their products fugged up.

 

[BoboTheMighty]

Who is Luj? ~.~

Someone who loves Betsy almost as much as you do. I've got some high rez Todd Howard wallpapers if you guys are interested.

 

[GothicGothicness]

Well, there was no reason to purchase Bethesda games before, and now there is even less reason. I still did purchase a few of them on discount though, I don't feel I have the right to complain about how bad games are that I never played, now I will just ignore them, like I am doing with EA I guess.

 

[RPGFool]

@Moriender

Enjoyed your post about your "personal experiences", your opinion that Origins is "a really good client", and your opinions about Steam etc., followed by your contradictory admonition that I should try to stick to facts.

As to privacy, Origins collects all sorts of information about you, your computer hardware and software, and how you use same. You cannot opt out of this. They collect this information because they "need" it. This is set forth online in EA's "privacy" policy. You should check it out.

As to pricing, EA's "very regular sales" are unilateral seller activities that aren't the same or comparable to competitive market pricing. That is, in fact, an elementary economics principle.

Whether the actual facts of these issues bother you is another matter altogether. Your privacy or lack thereof, and your personal preferences on what you pay for games are your own personal decisions. There are nevertheless significant issues here that raise valid concerns for others and for me, even if you are not aware of, or simply don't care about, same.

Best regards.

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[joxer]

Good or not, Origin is spyware that scans your PC outside it's scope (it's not restricted to Origin and Origingames folders).
Do what I did. Add prefix XXX or similar to all standalone files and spam dummy executable files with porn names all oved HDD. Let them think you're yet another perv with nothing but tons of porn on their PC.

The benefit? I let win10 to do their telemetry too. Now both EA and Microsoft and other James Bond wanabees will think the same about me. And I just love it.

 

[wiretripped]

I don't buy Bethesda games anymore, so I'm not going to lose any sleep over this.

 

[Carnifex]

I don't use Origin, Ubijunk, and I won't be using this new thing either. Plenty of older games for me to play, thanks for letting me save future cash! If GoG or steam isn't good enough for them, I'll just do without.

 

[crpgnut]

Where do I sign up for the alpha access of this? I keep sending money, but it comes back to me.

 

[Moriendor]

@Moriender

Enjoyed your post about your "personal experiences", your opinion that Origins is "a really good client", and your opinions about Steam etc., followed by your contradictory admonition that I should try to stick to facts.

Glad you enjoyed it but I fail to see any contradictions .

As to privacy, Origins collects all sorts of information about you, your computer hardware and software, and how you use same. You cannot opt out of this.

Well, then what is this about inside the Origin client? Looks like an opt out to me but maybe my English is a little rusty(?)

So let us check out the FAQ on what info they still collect…

There are two types of information that are always collected through Origin:

(1) System interaction data essential to the continued operation of Origin. This includes anonymous crash reports (including the time and approximate location of the crash); hardware specification data (information about your device’s CPU, graphics card, display, memory, browser, and operating system); and other functional details (successful installs, unsuccessful game downloads, game launch data, errors, and lost network connections). MAC and IP addresses are collected as well, but obfuscated and hashed to protect your anonymity. All of this data is used to improve Origin’s performance, identify bugs, and enhance your overall experience.

(2) Information that you directly provide to Origin. This includes Origin preferences, online feature usage, purchase information, and account information—which is used only to allow specific services to work. For example, Origin needs to collect and verify your personal information in order to process a game purchase.
For more information about EA’s collection, storage, and use of consumer information, please read EA’s Privacy Policy.



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… and…

Can I opt out of data collection?You can opt out of sharing hardware specifications and crash reports at any time. Sharing of system interaction data can be limited and made anonymous, but not completely disabled. Edit your data sharing preferences by selecting the Advanced tab in Origin Application Settings.


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Summary: Contrary to what you were claiming, you can completely opt out of hardware data collection and and crash reports. The only thing that is shared with EA/Origin is some anonymous system interaction data.


Exact same with Valve for example (from Steam's privacy policy):

Valve also processes anonymous data, aggregated or not, in order to analyze and produce statistics related to the habits, usage patterns, and demographics of users as a group or as individuals. Such anonymous data does not allow the identification of the users to which it relates. Valve may share anonymous data, aggregated or not, with third parties.

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They collect this information because they "need" it. This is set forth online in EA's "privacy" policy. You should check it out.

That kind of stuff is set forth in the privacy policy of all gaming clients. Origin is no exception here. See above for Steam.

As to pricing, EA's "very regular sales" are unilateral seller activities that aren't the same or comparable to competitive market pricing. That is, in fact, an elementary economics principle.

What? Again: Contrary to e.g. Valve's or Blizzard's games, you can buy EA games on multiple digital platforms instead of just Origin.
And then there is also all the 3rd party key sellers (GMG, CDKeys.com, G2A, Kinguin etc. etc. etc.) and retail, of course.

Not sure at all what is giving you the idea that EA/Origin games are somehow excluded from "competitive market pricing". You are simply uninformed.

Besides, Origin sales are very competitive. Star Wars Battlefront was down to US$29.99 just two months after release. Dragon Age Inquisition GOTY sold for the same price around xmas last year. Just to give two rather modern game examples.
Generally speaking, the Origin sales have always had some really good deals, just like other storefronts. The only real ripoff is still Mass Effect and Dragon Age 2 DLC since they require BioWare points.

 

[joxer]

You're both mixing things that shouldn't be mixed.

Scam/nearscam business practices like Bioware Points are not Origin's "sin" but belong to old BiowareSocialNetwork crap. These points can be bought on Origin, but also on other sites like Amazon and key resellers too.
DLC spam and advertising of that same spam (for example when you go to EA shop now you see "get access to all 5 expansion packs!!!" cretinism under Battlefield 4) is also not Origin's decision.
On the house, refunds, etc… Again, someone else in EA decides on that.

Origin client however:
- lurks in your tray unless you disable it's automatic start
- apart from being DRM, does god knows what while "idle"
- adds horrible friends/chat system where spam appears on top of everything and ping sound is irritating
- on some systems doesn't work/update properly unless being run "as administrator"
+ updates games automatically when patches are available
+ allows easy backup/restore with verify installation
+ has achievements for those who care plus offers savegames cloud storage where possible
+ key from any EA game bought on Steam can be redeemed on Origin so you can buy an expansion on Steam if the price is better then add it to your game that's on Origin