EA games coming back to Steam?

[Omnomnick]

http://store.steampowered.com/app/108800/

EA have put on Crysis 2 back on Steam after a year of having it EA Downloader/Origin exclusive.

What does this mean?
Does this mean Battlefield 3 + Mass Effect 3 may soon arrive on Steam along with other Steam games they took off last year?
Will Crysis 3 be released on Steam? Since it was recently announced as an 'Origin Exclusive PC Game'.
Does this mean EA are realising Origin sales aren't nearly as high as what they had hoped/should be? (Hopefully)

Discuss.

 

[Edeslash]

They probably just want to increase hype for Crysis 3. The more people play C2, the more buy C3.

 

[Stigmata]

Second for hype.

 

[Omnomnick]

If they wanted to increase hype for any of their franchises - they'd release them on as many distribution places as possible, something EA hasn't grasped in the last 2 years. And surely the same would be said of Battlefield 3? Since if they wanted to 'increase hype' for the game and potentially beat CoD last October, they would've released it on Steam then? If they wanted to hype anything other than their new shiny turd that is Origin they would never have taken the games off Steam to start with.

Building hype just doesn't wash with me, but then again who knows what this means.

 

[ríomhaire]

My guess: The dispute between Valve and EA was about DLC and EA has decided they've released all the DLC for Crysis 2 they want to bother with and as such they're releasing a version on Steam with all DLC included, bypassing the issue of having to sell DLC through Steam vs through Origin.

 

[Omnomnick]

Makes sense, but we can hope the whole EA vs Valve mess is all sorted.

 

[StardogChampion]

Has it been removed again? That link goes to the homepage.

If they put BF3 on Steam I might actually play it. That goes for Diablo 3 too.

 

[Lobster]

Ah now, it sounds like 'nother of them fabled Steam mirages the SPUF folk talk of!! ..though maybe the store page was accidentally flagged for public viewing again. I can't see EA bending on the issue just yet.. though anything is possible I guess.

EDIT - No, no. You're right, its working now. I wonder if they are going to start putting various GOTY and Ultimate editions on steam once the DLC cow has been milked dry. I guess that would kill any chance of BF3 appearing, as it seems they want to turn that into a subscription service.

 

[tabernumse]

It would be nice if only I was able to activate the product codes I already had used on origin
Now I have to use origin for a shitload of games which I, if I had waited, could've played on Steam instead...

 

[Omnomnick]

It would be nice if only I was able to activate the product codes I already had used on origin

Here, here.

 

[Bad^Hat]

If they put BF3 on Steam I might actually play it. That goes for Diablo 3 too.

Haha, good luck with that.

I don't really understand this rabid Steam purism thing. I love the service, but if a game isn't available on there or it's more convenient to get it elsewhere then what's the problem? Oh actually I know what the problem is, Steam keeps wiping my mother****ing shitloving non-Steam games so I have to constantly add them again and they all have abnormal launch parameters and aosahngfnaisfasfkasfagnjskl yeah actually **** Steam.

 

[Omnomnick]

Haha, good luck with that.

I don't really understand this rabid Steam purism thing. I love the service, but if a game isn't available on there or it's more convenient to get it elsewhere then what's the problem? Oh actually I know what the problem is, Steam keeps wiping my mother****ing shitloving non-Steam games so I have to constantly add them again and they all have abnormal launch parameters and aosahngfnaisfasfkasfagnjskl yeah actually **** Steam.

Bad Hat is mad. It's pretty likely BF3, at some point, will arrive on Steam - it just equals more sales for EA. Diablo 3/Blizzard games will almost never be on Steam, they like to run Battlenet entirely separately.

And Bad Hat, you missed the point. I'd be more willing to play BF3 if it was on Steam since it means I don't have to have a separate program dedicated to just have to play that one game, its a waste of memory and time. In a perfect world all PC games should be on all distribution services and people just choose which they want to use - too bad nothing is ever perfect.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

blah blah I hate BadHat... too bad nothing is ever perfect.

I'm the closest there damn well is, though.

BadHat has a point and it's not just at the tip of his headpiece :V. it's silly to just assume people will eventually crawl back to Steam. BF3 isn't even close to approaching Steam if the theory on the DLC model is proper. The first major content release hasn't even hit consoles--and the premium service is imminent.

Major publishers and developer/publisher powerhouses want some of that digital distribution cash flow. It's only a matter of time before more of this EA style debacle breaks out.

Steam purism is understandable and the convenience and tidiness are appealing, but refusing to look forward and see the inevitable migration of many AAA franchises is silly.

 

[Omnomnick]

blah blah I like editing quotes

'Steam purism' exists just because Valve happened to be first, so pretty much every PC gamer has it installed with a huge library of games - who don't want to have to have more than 1 or 2 DRM clients on their PC, I know I only regularly use Battlenet and Steam, Origin I have installed but the service it provides is so bad in comparison I hate having to use it just to play BF3.

BF3 will most likely (if at all) arrive on Steam if player counts on it continue to drop, or next Spring after the final DLC has been released. As for others, I guess we have to wait and see.

 

[Krynn72]

"Steam purism" as badhat describes exists because Steam adds value to the products it supports while other download services dont. From what I've heard, Origin doesn't provide nearly the same quality of service, and exists almost purely to milk money out of people. The majority of people who say they wont buy it until it comes to steam do so because they dont want to support Origin's crappy service that they feel only exists to maximize the companies profits while giving very little back. At the moment, the only thing Origin has a leg up on, is the availability of a few select games, and thats not due to them winning out in competition, but more a bully tactic that, in fact, is dodging competition. While such tactics are understandable, and indeed expected of such business decisions, when the alternative is supporting a service that provides significant, and legitimate value (IE, not bully tactics such as banning services from selling their games), I dont see how anybody could turn their nose up and scoff when people say thats who they want to give their money to.

Competition is a wonderful thing, and currently Steam is kicking everyone's asses. IF Origin starts competing in terms of quality of service, you'll see a lot of people singing a different tune, myself included. But thats a big IF. And of course even if they do, there will still be fanboys who only buy on steam. But thats inevitable. I mean, for gods sake, there's GFWL fanboys out there who wont buy anything unless its on GFWL. Its true! I saw one.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

I'd be more willing to play BF3 if it was on Steam since it means I don't have to have a separate program dedicated to just have to play that one game, its a waste of memory and time.

Either way you'd still be playing a piece of shit that is a bigger waste of money, memory and time than Origin itself.

This is my BF3 flame post of the week. See you later, kids!

 

[Barnz]

>The more people play C2, the more buy C3.

but Crysis 2 sucks.

 

[Omnomnick]

I mean, for gods sake, there's GFWL fanboys out there who wont buy anything unless its on GFWL. Its true! I saw one.

No, you didn't. I made sure I killed all of them.

but Crysis 2 sucks.

No, it doesn't.

This is my BF3 flame post of the week. See you later, kids!

Your profile picture is ****ing creepy as shit. Just sayin'.

 

[ríomhaire]

This is a working link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/108800/

They changed the store ID for some reason.

 

[Barnz]

I'm not a huge fan of Crysis games, but I know one thing: the original game gives you the freedom to kill the enemies in any way you want. Crysis 2 is just another shooter set in a generic city location. They tried to get Call of Duty's audience and failed. So why do the same thing again? They should return back to their roots. Far Cry was a solid game (if you ignore the mutants and the story) and it's still my favorite Crytek game.

 

[Acepilotf14]

God Crysis 2 was awful.

I think I'm the only one that liked Far Cry 2 though.

 

[Krynn72]

I think I'm the only one that liked Far Cry 2 though.

Nayeth. I too enjoyed it.

 

[Omnomnick]

Crysis 2 was far more linear than Crysis 1, I'll agree with that. But its not entirely linear - it just has significantly more structure than the first game. What Crysis 2 lacks in turns of an open world it more than makes up for in terms of narrative story telling, pacing, flow, balancing and a difficulty curve.

Yeah a few more open world environments would have been nice but I wasn't one of those people who were playing Crysis 2 specifically looking for that kind of experience. I'm sure Crysis 3 can happily marry the themes from Crysis 1 and 2.

As for FarCry 2, it was a repetitive and dull piece of crap in comparison to earlier FarCry games, but it wasn't bad enough to make me not want to give FarCry 3 a chance.