EA announces online distribution system: shades of Steam?

EA is set to deliver content like "full games, demos, game trailers, and existing game updates" starting today with download sales of Battlefield 2: Special Forces.  Similar to Valve's Steam service, players can pre-buy and pre-download the title and then on Nov. 22 in North America and Nov. 25 in Europe the game will be ready to play.

The irony is, they're the international publishers for
Half-Life 2 (Xbox) set to be released tomorrow and the retail PC Game-of-the-Year edition. Is EA trying to avoid competition from developers like Valve releasing content on their own, or is this just an easier and more managable way to distribute content? 

[Thanks, Steve]