4 ms·

I hope the bad Amazon reviews based on Origin, which is just a poor Steam clone, don't deter people from buying Battlefield 3 - it is easily the best PC FPS gam

I hope the bad Amazon reviews based on Origin, which is just a poor Steam clone, don't deter people from buying Battlefield 3 - it is easily the best PC FPS game there has been for a long time. With a half decent graphics card it's no exaggeration to say the graphics are jaw dropping, and the game play matches it. Unfortunately if you lose your internet connection mid game, Origin closes the game immediately. You lose all XP/progress you have made in the game since you launched it. Steam had its share of problems when it launched and it looks like Origin is exactly the same, except the tool isn't there to make our gaming lives better but to stop piracy without giving a crap about the gaming experience.

tibbon 15y ago
I'm guessing this is what EA is hoping for. Have a few killer games to pull people in, and hopefully they overlook and forget about problems and eventually become happy customers.
100tonmantis 15y ago
I sure hope it does deter them. To show other publishers that making a neat game does not give them the right to spy on their customers.
- maximilianburke 15y ago
  By using Valve's online sites and products, users agree that Valve may collect aggregate information, individual information, and personally identifiable information, as defined below. Valve may share aggregate information and individual information with other parties. Valve shall not share personally identifiable information with other parties, except as described in the policy below. It doesn't seem like it's much different than Steam. Check out the System Information option from the Help drop-down menu, I don't think it gathers that information by guessing. Steam was also forced onto users with the release of a much-anticipated product -- in Valve's case it was Half Life 2.
  - darrylb42 15y ago
    I have seen Steam pop up a dialog that says what they collected and asks if you would like to submit it or not. It does not seem like they submit the information without your explicit consent.
  - chaostheory 15y ago
    > But there’s a significant difference. Valve’s policy is self-restricted to anything on your PC directly relating to its own products. EA’s is so broad that it gives the publisher permission to scan your entire hard drive, and report back absolutely anything you may have installed, and indeed when you may use it, and then pass that information on the third parties. So currently Valve uses that clause mainly to scan for cheats and hacks; EA goes way beyond. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/24/eas-origin-eula-proves-even-more-sinister/ http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/24/eas-origin-eula-p...
    - maximilianburke 15y ago
      EA also updated Origin's EULA after that article was posted: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/26/ea-revises-origin-eula-data-collection-is-still-in-collection/ http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/26/ea-revises-origin-eula-dat...
      - pyre 15y ago
        But not the Privacy Policy.
      - chaostheory 15y ago
        All they changed is the tone of the language, and nothing else.
- ajross 15y ago
  Exactly. Bad behavior should be punished. If companies could just release any junk they wanted and paper it over with a hit game, the online rights world would be a worse place even than it is now.
hkarthik 15y ago
Agreed on BF3 being an awesome game on the PC. I've been catching up with my old college buddies to play it and we haven't had this much fun since Counter-strike Source was released. Those of us that were around in the early days of Steam remember how much it sucked originally. It wasn't uncommon to hear it referred to as "Steaming pile of shit". And it definitely collects data on your machine as well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_(software)#Steam_Community_and_Matchmaking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_(software)#Steam_Communit...
kkyqqp 15y ago
Are you an EA employee who created an account just to make this comment?
- chollida1 15y ago
  His/her comment seems pretty critical of EA and Origin. The Battlefield 3 comments I'd agree with. Infact I'd agree with pretty much the entire statement and I've been around here for along time. I'm not sure why you think liking a video game and begin critical of the company who produces it would mean the poster is an employee of the company.
  - kkyqqp 15y ago
    The parent post has been edited since I made my comment.
OriginalSyn 15y ago
It has deterred me from buying BF3 but the BF3 beta also deterred me from buying BF3. BF3 was full of bugs that were also in BC2, based on previous performance these bugs will not get fixed for a long time. One of the serious things was that I had to change my password to something less secure, huge red flag there, only slightly less concerning than a company sending you your old password plain text when you want to reset it. My trust of EA is nearing my trust of Sony. I've been boycotting Sony as a company since their whole rootkit debacle and every time I consider rescinding that boycott they do something that totally justifies it. I'm not boycotting EA yet but I'm being cautious, I'm not going to put my neck on the line and adopt their early stuff until I'm reasonably assured it's not going to do something evil through negligence or intention.

tibbon 15y ago

I'm guessing this is what EA is hoping for. Have a few killer games to pull people in, and hopefully they overlook and forget about problems and eventually become happy customers.

100tonmantis 15y ago

I sure hope it does deter them. To show other publishers that making a neat game does not give them the right to spy on their customers.

maximilianburke 15y ago
By using Valve's online sites and products, users agree that Valve may collect aggregate information, individual information, and personally identifiable information, as defined below. Valve may share aggregate information and individual information with other parties. Valve shall not share personally identifiable information with other parties, except as described in the policy below. It doesn't seem like it's much different than Steam. Check out the System Information option from the Help drop-down menu, I don't think it gathers that information by guessing. Steam was also forced onto users with the release of a much-anticipated product -- in Valve's case it was Half Life 2.
- darrylb42 15y ago
  I have seen Steam pop up a dialog that says what they collected and asks if you would like to submit it or not. It does not seem like they submit the information without your explicit consent.
- chaostheory 15y ago
  > But there’s a significant difference. Valve’s policy is self-restricted to anything on your PC directly relating to its own products. EA’s is so broad that it gives the publisher permission to scan your entire hard drive, and report back absolutely anything you may have installed, and indeed when you may use it, and then pass that information on the third parties. So currently Valve uses that clause mainly to scan for cheats and hacks; EA goes way beyond. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/24/eas-origin-eula-proves-even-more-sinister/ http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/24/eas-origin-eula-p...
  - maximilianburke 15y ago
    EA also updated Origin's EULA after that article was posted: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/26/ea-revises-origin-eula-data-collection-is-still-in-collection/ http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/26/ea-revises-origin-eula-dat...
    - pyre 15y ago
      But not the Privacy Policy.
    - chaostheory 15y ago
      All they changed is the tone of the language, and nothing else.
ajross 15y ago
Exactly. Bad behavior should be punished. If companies could just release any junk they wanted and paper it over with a hit game, the online rights world would be a worse place even than it is now.

hkarthik 15y ago

Agreed on BF3 being an awesome game on the PC. I've been catching up with my old college buddies to play it and we haven't had this much fun since Counter-strike Source was released. Those of us that were around in the early days of Steam remember how much it sucked originally. It wasn't uncommon to hear it referred to as "Steaming pile of shit". And it definitely collects data on your machine as well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_(software)#Steam_Community_and_Matchmaking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_(software)#Steam_Communit...

kkyqqp 15y ago

Are you an EA employee who created an account just to make this comment?

chollida1 15y ago
His/her comment seems pretty critical of EA and Origin. The Battlefield 3 comments I'd agree with. Infact I'd agree with pretty much the entire statement and I've been around here for along time. I'm not sure why you think liking a video game and begin critical of the company who produces it would mean the poster is an employee of the company.
- kkyqqp 15y ago
  The parent post has been edited since I made my comment.

OriginalSyn 15y ago

It has deterred me from buying BF3 but the BF3 beta also deterred me from buying BF3. BF3 was full of bugs that were also in BC2, based on previous performance these bugs will not get fixed for a long time. One of the serious things was that I had to change my password to something less secure, huge red flag there, only slightly less concerning than a company sending you your old password plain text when you want to reset it. My trust of EA is nearing my trust of Sony. I've been boycotting Sony as a company since their whole rootkit debacle and every time I consider rescinding that boycott they do something that totally justifies it. I'm not boycotting EA yet but I'm being cautious, I'm not going to put my neck on the line and adopt their early stuff until I'm reasonably assured it's not going to do something evil through negligence or intention.