Origin Uninterested in Offering Steam-Like Sales

http://www.1up.com/news/origin-wont-offer-steam-like-sales

"...The gamemakers work incredibly hard to make this intellectual property, and we're not trying to be Target. We're trying to be Nordstrom. When I say that, I mean good value - we're trying to give you a fair price point, and occasionally there will be things that are on sale you could look for a discount, just don't look for 75 percent off going-out-of-business sales.

DeMartini went on to mention customers could begin to look at PC games as things they only buy after waiting months for them to be 75 percent cheaper.."

Kinda true, I don't even bother until it's 75% off and most bugs have been fixed or has received the GOTY treatment

 

And that is why Origin won't ever be able to compete with STEAM.

STEAM doesn't take brand new titles and slash the price down. They wait, and comply with the publishers.
When a game has been out for a while, or the publisher feels it would be a good time to offer a deal... they do.

 

Well that is a contradiction, Origin currently have a less 50% all titles

 

That is why most gamers are uninterested in using their service.

I don't like spending $60 on a game that I don't know is good. However I have no problem spending $10-$15 on a game and if it turns out to be crap then it isn't a big deal.

 

Yeah, i was thinking that too, Origin have sales all the time, and not just on their own stuff, Batman AC was going for 50% not that long ago.

I do agree with him though, selling games this cheap only inflates the numbers sold, but the margins are likely much lower.
I also feel these "sales" are abit of a scam, you end up buying a load of crap you either already bought in the past, or will never actually play.

 

The real question though is if Origin had a game being sold at the same price as Steam which service would you use? It doesn't matter weather Origin has Steam like sales on the key objective should be getting people to use it instead of Steam rather than bribing them by providing cheap games.

Seriously though Batman AC appears on Steam and Origin both at £5 which one would I use? I wouldn't even for a split second consider using Origin in fact my question is a tad over presumptuous given that if Origin was selling a game at the exact same price as Steam chances are I would know about Steam's offer while being utterly and totally unaware of Origin's offers and the truly sad thing for Origin is, I don't ever see that changing.

 

I did have that option for Batman AC, not when it was on sale but when it was first out.

Steam were selling it for £30, and Origin for £25, so i got it on Origin.
Not just because it was cheaper, but because it operates solely as a DD service and nothing more, so i don't need Origin running to play it, but if i bought it on Steam then i would.

That alone makes a big difference, the lower price was just a bonus.

 

Stupid EA never ceases to amaze. They actually think that a game should still be sold for $50-60 two years after release:bang:

 

Gamers already have the 75% off mentality, I know I do, sorry Origin

 

The problem with the 75% thing is that like every "sale" its based on an inflated original price.

Tell someone they are getting a bargain, put a time limit on that "bargain" and watch people snap it up in their hordes.

 

So, basically, they want people to use their service even if it is more expensive simply because of the name attached to the store. Ahahah, no. If I can purchase the same product for a lower price elsewhere then I will do so. I've never even been inside a Nordstrom because I know it is expensive compared to their competition. EA modeling themselves as a 'premier retailer' is the same kind of silly notion Sony still has about themselves in consumer electronics and it has finally caught up with them.

 

yup but certainly better than buying it at the inflated full price

 

Easy, STEAM.
It's a program with an established history and user base... and one I'm familiar with and have built trust with.

In the years I've used STEAM I've had minimal issues, and those issues have been resolved quickly, normally within the day I submit the support ticket.
With Origin, I've used it for just over a year... have several issues, the majority of which have been written off, ignored or I've been told it was "my fault" and there was nothing they could do.

Price of the games means nothing to me. Origin does offer a few titles at a cheaper price at times, but I'll continue to use STEAM due to the history I've had with the service.

 

So Origin is too greedy to take less profit to be competitive. Brilliant.

 

Well if it wasn't for you guys forcing me to install that crap to play a few ( two to be precise ) of my games.... i would never have had it in the first place !

 

Yeah, but my point was that the discount price isn't 75% cheaper than anywhere else, getting sale prices year round isn't that hard if you look around.

I rarely deal with DD games anymore anyway, huge waste of money, and nothing more than a scam to pray on people wanting convenience, the only positive these days would be if your trying to be environmentally friendly.

 

The prices of games on Origin are a f****** joke.
£50 to pre order Warfighter, £40 to pre order Dead Space 3 and Crysis 3...crazy.
They will be £10-£15 cheaper for the disc version at play.com or shopto.net.
Don't know how they can justify those prices for a digital download copy.

 

Just another reason why EA can eat my ass.

 

to be fair loads of 75% deals on Steam are quite good, really top games for £5-7.50

 

Yeah, but retail prices are similar, and once they go down they stay down.

villa_youth yeah, i've saw that, Sim City is even worse.
I think it is just exploiting lazy people, or taking advantage of this new trendy fad that using optical media is outdated.
Silly when when you can just buy the cheaper retail one, then add the key as a digital download anyway.