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EA's Origin service now allows returns
Electronic Arts' digital distribution portal Origin will now support a limited "Great Game Guarantee" return policy. Those with buyer's remorse within 24 hours of launching a game for the first time, or seven days after purchase without activation, have the option to return the EA game for a refund. Pre-order purchases will have up to seven days after launch. "[Downloadable content] and non-EA games purchased on Origin are excluded from the Great Game Guarantee," EA noted in its announcement of the program. "So, this is a guarantee for full game (a.k.a. "base game") digital downloads published by EA for now, including full games on pre-order and most full games on promotional discount." Don't get clever and think of using it as a rental service; EA says it will remain vigilant of abuse of the refund system. Valve's Steam digital distribution service does not currently support returns.
EA's Origin store now allows downloaded games to be returned within a week
Gamers have been choking lately on some of the restrictive DRM for upcoming consoles and titles, but at least EA is offering some relief. It just announced that its Origin store now features the "great game guarantee," letting you return downloaded games after purchasing. You'll have 24 hours to send it back, digitally speaking, after you first launch the game, or seven days from the date of purchase (or release date for pre-orders). By contrast, Steam offers no refunds or exchanges on any of its games. Origin's new policy is now available in 20 countries, but only applies to EA-published games and not downloadable content. There's also a clause for any "abuse of the refund process," so if you're looking to see how many games you can beat in a day, you may wanna rethink that.
Humble Bundle's Origin package offers up some of its biggest games yet
Humble Bundle has had a pretty good run with its game offerings so far, but its newest grouping of Origin titles provides some of its biggest names yet. Included in the bundle are Mirror's Edge, Medal of Honor, Dead Space, Dead Space 3, Crysis 2 Maximum Edition, and Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box (most of which are available on Steam). The games can all be purchased for $1, but paying over the average (currently $4.54) will also net you Battlefield 3 and The Sims 3 Starter Pack. Buying the bundle won't just score you some sweet games; you'll also be contributing to a few good causes, as Electronic Arts is donating its share of the proceeds to charities like the Human Rights Campaign, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society. For more info, check out the video after the break or follow the Humble Bundle link below.
Humble Origin Bundle launches with Dead Space 3, BF3, Burnout Paradise Ultimate, Mirror's Edge and more
Huh, well would you look at that! It's a Humble Bundle, only it's made entirely out of EA games. Weird! Specifically, a dollar or more will net you Dead Space, Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, Crysis 2 Maximum Edition, Mirror's Edge, Dead Space 3 and Medal of Honor. Paying above the average (currently hovering around $5) also unlocks Battlefield 3 and The Sims 3 "+ Starter Pack." Steam keys are available for Dead Space, Burnout Paradise, Crysis 2, Medal of Honor and Mirrors Edge, while the rest of the games on offer can only be delivered as Origin codes. Unlike most Bundles, however, which are split three-ways between a charity, the publisher/developer and the Humble folks, the Humble Origin Bundle is only being split between charities and the Humble Bundle organizers – EA takes no cut. The Humble Bundle folks have already tweeted that this bundle has surpassed $100,000 faster than any other in its history, so things seem like they're off to a good start for a good cause.
Battlefield 3 Premium subscribers over 4 million, Origin exceeds 50 million
EA has dusted off the Numbers Trumpet™ and is celebrating subscriber milestones for both its Battlefield 3 Premium service and its digital distribution platform, Origin. Battlefield 3 Premium subscribers have surpassed four million in total, up from the 2.9 million subscribers reported in January. As of January, EA secured $108 million in revenue from the shooter's content service, though no update on that figure is available in the latest financial report. Over 50 million users have registered accounts on Origin, an increase of over 20 million users since October of last year. EA's DRM and content delivery service was introduced in June of 2011 and, according to comments from EA VP Andrew Wilson earlier this year, is currently shifting away from a means of driving transactions into "a service to gamers."
The Game Archaeologist: Wing Commander Online
Like many gamers who grew up playing the popular titles in the 1990s, Massively's Jef is understandably excited that Chris Roberts, creator of Wing Commander, is working on an original space sim MMO called Star Citizen. Jef is so thrilled, in fact, that he started a column anticipating the title. Jef's not alone; it seemed as though half of the internet went bananas when Roberts came out of the woodwork to announce his title and ask for a few coppers for funding. He got more than just a few, as gaming nostalgia is one of the most powerful forces known to mankind. Even if it can't be Wing Commander in name, gamers reasoned as they plunked down their money, it could be the Wing Commander MMO in spirit. Interestingly enough, there was an actual effort made to bring the well-known franchise to the MMO table back in the late '90s. A pair of projects, Wing Commander Online and Privateer Online, promised the thrills of the hit space saga with the expanse of the online gaming world. What happened and why aren't we playing one of these games today? Find out on this exciting episode of The Game Archaeologist!
EA's Wilson wants to 'reestablish Origin as a service to gamers'
EA's Vice President Andrew Wilson told GamesIndustry International at E3 this year that the company plans to "really re-establish Origin as a service to gamers, not as a means to drive transactions." Wilson was on the initial team that planned out Origin, which he said was originally designed as "a service that makes your EA games better." Over time, however, as Chris Roberts (from the same team) told Joystiq earlier, Origin became less about adding functionality, and more about selling games in a branded store. Origin's role, according to Wilson, is as "a complementary service that enhances your game experience irrespective of where you made the transaction. That's the shift you're going to see from us." Wilson admits that the change will take time, but would like to send a clear message to EA's Origin users: "We get it. We understand it. We have heard, we have made some changes already in terms of how we do things, and we're looking at more changes that we'll talk about over the coming months that really are gamer-focused."
Command & Conquer being developed 'as a live service'
Victory Games' Command & Conquer, built on EA and DICE's Frostbite engine, is launching as a free-to-play game later this year through Origin. Tim Morten, development director, says that while Command & Conquer will require an internet connection, it makes for a more nimble game that can be updated far more frequently than a traditional retail product. With SimCity still fresh on everyone's mind, I asked Morten about the choice to take the online path. "First thing to know is this is not only a multiplayer game – we do offer skirmish so that people can practice up. I think with SimCity, a lot of people had an expectation to play solo. Many people are going to come to us to play multiplayer so we came from the mentality of, 'How do we the make multiplayer experience as good as we can make it?' The answer to that question is: we try to get rid of as much cheating as we can, and we try to get rid of as many problems with other peoples' lag impacting your own game."%Gallery-191297%
EA's CTO Rajat Taneja and COO Peter Moore on plans for next-gen and Origin
It's E3 time, people, and the launch of a pair of brand new consoles has the gaming world abuzz with the possibilities they bring. The success of those platforms isn't just about the black boxes, however. Gaming publishers like Electronic Arts are building many of the games people will want to play on Xbox One and PS4. So, when we got the opportunity to speak with EA's CTO Rajat Taneja and COO Peter Moore about the company's plans for next-gen, we jumped at the chance. Rajat regaled us with tales of all the back-end work going into preparing Origin for next-gen, and chatted about the challenge of scaling up to accommodate all of the new users that will come with the new consoles. Naturally, that led to a discussion about the company's single identity framework that allows gamers to access their EA account on any gaming platform. Meanwhile, Peter talked of the importance of Origin's single login service, EA's ability to produce games that take full advantage of the new capabilities of next-gen consoles and even how the lesson's learned from the problems with Sim City will be applied to future games. You don't have to take our word for it, though -- check out the pair of videos after the break to hear for yourself first-hand.
GameFly summer PC sale includes super-cheap BioShock Infinite, Mass Effect Trilogy, Walking Dead
GameFly has a pretty legit sale going on right now for PC games on Steam and Origin -- deals that, when coupled with this 20-percent off coupon, can lead to some decidedly redonk savings. BioShock Infinite, for instance, can be yours for $28 after using the coupon code. Meanwhile, The Walking Dead, Hitman: Absolution, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Torchlight 2 and Sleeping Dogs are all available for less than $10, and that's before the coupon. Borderlands 2, Mass Effect Trilogy, XCOM: Enemy Unknown and a whole mess of others are in there as well at varyingly steep discounts. This may be the excuse you've been waiting for to finally justify Euro Truck Simulator 2.
SimCity for Mac delayed until August
Mac SimCity fans hoping to grab a copy of the popular lifestyle game next week are going to be disappointed with EA today. The gaming company confirmed that it is delaying the launch of SimCity for the Mac from the original June 11th date to sometime in August. A post on the SimCity blog claims the quality of the game is not up to EA's standards and the company needs more time to work out the kinks. Hi, Mayors – today we are announcing that we are moving the release date of the Mac version of SimCity to August. We are announcing that we are moving the release date of the Mac version of SimCity to August. We have made this tough decision because we do not believe it is ready for primetime yet. We want to ensure the Mac is a great experience for our players and that is why we are taking more time. To assuage disappointed Mac owners, EA and Maxis are making SimCity Update 4.0 with Launch Park available to all customers who have purchased the Mac version. [Via AppleInsider]
DuckTales Remastered coming to PC via Steam, other services
Capcom announced today that its globe-trotting, pogo-jumping platformer DuckTales Remastered is coming to PC platforms via Steam, Origin, Impulse, GamersGate, Green Man Gaming, and "numerous other places PC gamers download their wares." Helmed by Double Dragon: Neon developer WayForward, DuckTales Remastered was first revealed as a downloadable game for Xbox Live Arcade, the PlayStation Network, and the Wii U's eShop back in March. Capcom later announced plans for a PC port, leading up to today's announcement. The PC version of DuckTales Remastered will launch this summer, "within or around same window as the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U versions," at $14.99. Capcom will reveal more details at E3 next week.
Perfect World creates its own gaming platform
Is your gaming world a Perfect World? If you're one of the publisher's legion of players, then prepare to encounter Perfect World's latest initiative. It's called Arc, and it's a gaming platform that seeks to tie together PWE's account system, games, and news. Similar to Steam, Origin, and other such digital distribution platforms, Arc will allow players to install and access games through a unified interface (assuming, of course, that the only games you're going to want to play are PWE's). Arc uses players' current login information to access it and offers access to billing, support, friend messaging, and coupons. There's also a browser so you can check out the forums and whatnot, although if you really need a gaming platform to do that for you in 2013, one has to wonder how you're reading this in the first place.
Tomb Raider, Hitman headline Origin sale in US and Europe
As part of an ongoing sale, EA has dropped the price of several downloadable titles on Origin, offering up to 50 percent off of recent releases such as Tomb Raider and Hitman: Absolution.Through April 30, Origin users can pick up a digital copy of Tomb Raider for $25, or for just a few bucks more they can snag the DLC-bundled Survival Edition. Hitman: Absolution is currently priced at $20, and a discounted selection of EA-published games (including Dead Space 3 and Crysis 3) is also up for grabs. A full list of featured games is here.Players in Europe can also get in on the action, as Square Enix reports regional price drops for Tomb Raider, Hitman and the Limited Edition of Sleeping Dogs.
SimCity for Mac coming on June 11
EA announced today that the latest version of SimCity will be arriving on the Mac platform on June 11, 2013. Lucy Bradshaw, senior vice president and general manager of EA's Maxis Label, said that "We didn't want to make any compromises when it came to the Mac, so we created a native version that is optimised for the hardware and OS X." For those who have already purchased the PC version of the game, the Mac version will be available as a free download on EA's Origin platform. Origin will make it possible for players to play both the Mac and PC versions with the same account, continuing their game progress across platforms. EA Maxis is obviously proud of the Mac-native version, noting that "SimCity runs natively on Mac and its entire software renderer was rewritten for OpenGL, ensuring the best performance for the platform." Through April 15, EA Origin is offering 50 percent off on other Mac titles including Dragon Age 2, Portal 2 and more.
Origin exploit uses hyperlinks to run malicious code remotely
Security research firm ReVuln has discovered a fairly simple way (in theory, at least) for unscrupulous folks and their hacking machines to execute malicious code on your computer, by way of EA's Origin platform.The exploit takes advantage of Origin's uniform resource identifier -- the protocol through which hyperlinks and shortcuts launch Origin itself and execute commands. Typically, a URI is clicked on by the user, either in the form of a link in a web browser or as a shortcut on a desktop, at which point the URI launches Origin and tells it what game to load, and how.As it happens, certain Origin-exclusive games are vulnerable to having their execution commands subverted by precisely formatted URIs. As seen in the graph above, this can be used by bad dudes to piggyback instructions onto the URI, which can instruct Origin to load and run malicious software, rather than Crysis 3.Avoiding this exploit is thankfully simple, however: Open Origin first, and launch games from there. The exploitative instructions are contained within the URI hyperlink -- take that out of the equation, and you should be fine."Our team is constantly investigating hypotheticals like this one as we continually update our security infrastructure," an EA representative told us. Uniform resource identifiers aren't unique to Origin, of course, and are widely used in everything from iTunes to Steam, the latter of which has an extremely similar vulnerability [PDF] that was discovered by ReVuln last year.
EA's Origin 'Player Appreciation Sale' on now
Electronic Arts' Origin service began a "player appreciation sale" today, with over 200 titles up to 70 percent off for a week. The sale includes digitally distributed games for PC and Mac, as well as physical goods for consoles, PC and Mac.Coincidentally, this also reduces the value of EA's apology to SimCity purchasers. For example, the $40 Origin copy of Battlefield 3 is now $12, while the $60 copy of Dead Space 3 is reduced to $30. Simply stated: If you're gonna offer a pound of flesh for your sins, don't make it 8 oz. in the same breath.Awkward timing aside, cheaper games are a good deal, so take a browse. The sale concludes on March 26 at 10AM Pacific. [Image: Willee Cole via Shutterstock]
SimCity sales surpass 1.1 million in two weeks
Despite all of its launch complications, EA Maxis' series reboot SimCity has managed to sell over one million copies since launching two weeks ago. EA reports this is the biggest launch for the franchise, the majority of players – 54%, EA says – choosing to download SimCity. In fact, EA says 44% of total SimCity sales went directly through the publisher's digital distribution platform, Origin.Two weeks ago, EA disabled some "non-critical" SimCity features in the interest of improving server issues. Also, EA added more servers and sought to quell dissatisfied customers with a free PC game. If you purchase and register SimCity before next week, you can choose between a free copy of Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3, SimCity 4, Need for Speed: Most Wanted or one of several other eligible games.
Rumor: Maxis insider claims SimCity servers not essential
Though EA's official stance on SimCity's persistent Internet connection has been that it's absolutely required for the core game to function, a report from Rock, Paper, Shotgun claims that is not the case. An inside source who asked to remain anonymous told RPS the online servers are "not handling any of the computation done to simulate the city you are playing."According to the source, the servers are coordinating social messages between cities in a region, as well as "cloud storage of save games, interfacing with Origin, and all of that. But for the game itself? No, they're not doing anything."Even when the servers go down, certain cities have stayed online and playable for a period of time, suggesting off-site computation is not entangled in the main gameplay loop. The RPS source claims servers are also being used to repeatedly check for instances of hacking and cheating – and the game's verification messages to servers are creating queues and hampering responsiveness.Finally, the source casts doubt on EA's claims that a single-player version of this SimCity would be impossible to produce. "It wouldn't take very much engineering to give you a limited single-player game without all the nifty region stuff." EA's current public reasoning about why the game needs to stay online has done little to quell frustration voiced over the game's tremendous launch issues.Joystiq has contacted EA for comment regarding the source's claims.
Mass Effect series for PC on sale via Origin through March 12
The last iteration of the Mass Effect series went on sale one year ago this week, and to celebrate, EA is offering a big sale on all three versions of the game over on Origin. You can grab the original Mass Effect for just $7, the critically acclaimed Mass Effect 2 for $10, or a digital deluxe edition of the third game for $15, all about half off the standard prices. Or if you haven't yet taken a trip aboard the Normandy, the whole trilogy is on sale for only $25, which is less than half what it would usually cost. That's a whole lot of excellent gaming hours, but then again, you'll need something to do while waiting for those SimCity servers, right? [Thanks, Alex]
