350°

EA Pulls Crysis 2 from Steam Store, Now ‘Only On Origin’

The digital distribution wars just got personal for EA: they’ve pulled Crysis 2 from the Steam store. It’s now available on the company’s Origin service, labeled as an exclusive offering.

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Christopher4689d ago

Wait... DA2 and Crysis 2 are listed as $60 games. I know I bought DA2 on PC for only $50 on Steam, the usual price for PC games. Why are they $60 from EA? Shouldn't it be no more than $50 considering they're completely removing the middle man?

I don't mind EA sticking all their games on their own service to promote it, I can still play them with Steam enabled. But, if they're removing the middleman _and_ raising prices, that's over the line.

Ducky4689d ago (Edited 4689d ago )

Isn't that $10 usually for console versions because of some publishing fees or something?

Most PC games still launch at $50 (check out the 'Coming Soon' section on Steam).
A few publishers such as Activision and EA have decided to go for the $60 price. People end up buying the game anyways so they figure they might as well make more profit.

EliteAssass1n4689d ago

Looks like I won't ever be playing Crysis 2.

Christopher4689d ago (Edited 4689d ago )

@FatOldMan: Exactly. Licensing fees and a little extra to go with it (~$5 for licensing fees and ~$5 extra profit). I'm fairly certain most PC games will still release at $50 (*looks at CoD releasing at $60, though*). Heck, you can get the PC download of DA2 on Amazon.com for $50 still, but EA's Origin site lists it at $60.

darksied4689d ago

Ubisoft, EA, Activision ... there's others too. They all list their new titles for $60. It's the times, I guess. They see the extra money coming it and they're like "more please!"

MAJ0R4689d ago

if you do this to BF3 EA I will... well I don't know but I'll be super pissed and won't be playing BF3 the way I was going to

gamingdroid4689d ago

Although EA has every right to pull their games from others service, it is incredibly stupid to do so. Way to go minimizing exposure of your game!

EA doesn't have enough clout to do this.... The only game I'm buying from EA anyhow is Mass Effect 3 and maybe Dead Space 2 (if it goes low enough and is the LE). Otherwise, EA can go fekk themselves.

SweatyFlorida4689d ago

Well regular console users pay $60 all the time since this gen started. and PC are supposed to have the superior version of the games so why should they get special treatment and pay less than consoles?? Think EA finally realized this and jumped on board.

But this makes it clear that Steam is better than Origins.

iamgoatman4689d ago

@SweatyFlorida

When EA releases a game on either of the consoles they have to pay license fees to Microsoft and Sony to do so, which is why you see the price difference. If EA now decide to increase their PC game prices to match those of consoles then they're essentially raking in another $10-20 in profit, which isn't fair to PC gamers.

I doubt regular console users would appreciate a $20 price hike knowing all that extra dough is going straight into EA's pockets either.

evrfighter14689d ago (Edited 4689d ago )

that's pretty ballzy of EA.

but this is how it works EA. If it's not on steam. I as a customer do not buy it. that's just way too much software I need on my pc.

steam
comrade
impulse
gog
gfwl
and now Origin???

I want all my games on one central platform. When it comes to BF3 I hope someone at EA has a head on their shoulders. I'd rather buy it retail than go through another client.

Ducky4689d ago

^ You *might* have to go through their client if they get ballsy enough.

You know how a steamworks game works right? What if EA copied that and made it so that all BF3 purchases have to be activated on Origin?
=p

Rhythmattic4689d ago (Edited 4689d ago )

For digital delivery... a US $60 game, taking into account the exchanged rate and adding GST it should be around $62 - 65 Aussie dollars.

DeadSpace/Crysis2/Mass Effect 3 and more .... $80..

I Still cant beleive it !!!! OMG

$80 on the Oz store ??????? GO F yourself EA !!!

Persistantthug4689d ago

So did Dead Space 2, Crysis 2, and most other EA Games.

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 4689d ago
Megaton4689d ago

I've bought plenty of their titles on Steam. I don't own Mass Effect 2's DLC simply because they don't have it on Steam. They force you to buy "BioWare points" on their site.

I think I'll go with Demonoid instead of Origin for all future EA titles.

Kon4689d ago

I always bought my EA games from EA Store, i don't see it as a problem.

dirthurts4689d ago

I personally don't like the idea of using more than one download client. I want all my stuff running in steam.
It's reliable, and simple.

user8586214689d ago (Edited 4689d ago )

^ pretty much this, its only steam for pc games or nothing

Ironic this news comes out and Darkspore is on sale on steam :/

darksied4689d ago

Most of my EA titles are either from the EA store or actual retail stores. It might not be the popular opinion, but I also like their store (not really the store, but the EA download manager). Say what you want about EA, but they did make a good client in the EA download manager (or Origin, if they're calling it that now). One activation, unlimited installs, DOESN'T NEED TO BE RUNNING = happy me.

radphil4689d ago

"I always bought my EA games from EA Store, i don't see it as a problem."

It increased in price from the previous location.

Ducky4689d ago (Edited 4689d ago )

It is worthy of noting that if you check the BF3 page on Origin, it states that the Back2Karakand free expansion is only valid on Origin.
This might explain why D2D's pre-order doesn't list the expansion and why steam has yet to make BF3 available.

I suppose EA realizes that they have a killer line-up coming up and want to take the opportunity to pull PC players to their platform. Wouldn't be surprised if they keep their future games exclusive to origin.

I just hope Origin behaves like the old EADM in that I don't have to leave it running at all time just to play a game.

Surprised about the Crysis2 thing. You'd think with all the publishing partnerships Valve and EA have had, the two would play nice together.

Theo11304689d ago

Orgin beta doens't require you logging in to play.

On topic, This seems really strange, Orgin or Ea only sell EA games on their store, so how is this going to take consumers from steam, steam has multiple publishers, and it's a great. I just don't see why they think having a service for just their set of game is beneficial to them.

Ducky4689d ago

^ Having their own store means the sale revenue goes directly to them (instead of a retailer/distributor getting a cut of the pie)

I think Activision does this with a few digital games such as Starcraft2.

I'm not sure what they plan to do with Origin. Whatever it is, I hope they keep running the client optional. I tried Origin and it seems to eat more memory than steam. Though I did like it's visual look.

Pandamobile4689d ago

Guess I'll have to buy BF3 retail :(

Ducky4689d ago (Edited 4689d ago )

I've bought a couple of games from the old EA Store, as Theo above you said, it doesn't currently work like Steam or GFWL.

The game essentially behaves like a retail game (except that, you can download it from EA's Download Manager whenever you want). So if anything, it's better than steam since you don't need any other clients running to launch the game.
I was going to buy BF3 from origin anyways (along with BF2142), assuming they don't make it obligatory to have the origin client running.

Though if the physical warfare pack ends up being retail-exclusive, you might as well go for retail for the extra items. Though I'd expect EA to make the pack available on Origin too.

bumnut4689d ago

I already ordered battlefield 3 from retail, I paid £23 which is a pretty good deal.

How can it be cheaper on disc than dd?

BubbleSniper4689d ago (Edited 4689d ago )

who cares? Crysis 2 was a pile of failure.

on the other hand... it leaves me worried whether EA will take out more games...

badjournalism4689d ago

I smell anti-competitive practices....

B1663r4689d ago

How is it anti-competitive to pull your game off of the largest internet store and try selling it yourself?

Im all ears, please do tell.

Christopher4689d ago

I gotta admit, I know badjournalism meant well with his statement, but I did get a pretty big chuckle at it because it didn't make any sense to me either.

RememberThe3574689d ago (Edited 4689d ago )

Taking a popular products and isolating it to one vendor is anti-competitive. The other vendors cant compete because they don't have the product, hense the prefix "anti". Trying to sell it yourself is not anti competitive but only selling it yourself is. I could understand if they were a small dav and selling it themselves was the only way to do it but they're EA. Instead of getting the great deals you'd get from Steam or other DD providers your stuck with EA's 59.99 pricetag because there is no competition to lower the price.

Christopher4689d ago

***Taking a popular products and isolating it to one vendor is anti-competitive. ***

Only if doing so would result in an imbalance in said market. For example, it isn't anti-competitive when only one broadband carrier offers a specific phone, such as the iPhone for its first few years out on the market.

Steam already controls the majority of digital PC game sales in North America. Removing EA games won't change this.

RememberThe3574689d ago

But the concept is sound. Having the iPhone only with AT&T was anti competitive because no one could compete with product pricing. Now, Verizon has the iPhone AT&T dropped the price to 49.99. Those whole point is competition. If a business practice removes competition than it's anti-competitive by nature. Whether it's right or wrong in an other issue but it is what it is.

You seem to be looking at it from the perspective of the seller not the consumer. The consumer doesn't care if Steam is the biggest DD provider, the consumer cares if they're getting a good deal. Keeping products exclusivity to one seller doesn't allow good deals to happen.

Taking away pricing competition is anti-competitive.

Christopher4689d ago

*** Now, Verizon has the iPhone AT&T dropped the price to 49.99.***

That happened because it's the 3GS phone and practically no one is buying it anymore since the iPhone 4 is out. That did not happen because Verizon was added.

For example, the iPhone 4 is still the same price it was when it was originally released on AT&T, just now the same price with both service providers.

*** If a business practice removes competition than it's anti-competitive by nature.***

But it doesn't remove competition. You can still buy this for the PC at other retailers. They only limit the digital distribution of it, which is far from enough to make a claim of anti-competitive practices.

***Taking away pricing competition is anti-competitive.***

Crysis 2 @ Origin EA: $59.99

Crysis 2 @ Amazon.com: $51.96 on disc or $47.99 as download

Removing it from Steam doesn't remove your options for buying the PC game.

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mrv3214689d ago (Edited 4689d ago )

What in the world is Valve competing about the FIRST I've heard of origina was at EA's confrence and I can't tell if it's new or old.

EA, realize a great deal of profit can be made by selling their stuff at 100%

HOWEVER They fail to see that there's a great deal of cost involved, update, dlc, anti-cheat... you get the picture. IT COSTS A LOT OF MONEY. Something Valve has overcome BY HAVING A LOT OF PEOPLE SENDING THEIR GAMES IN.

Ok, ok... battlefield 3 will still sell, but really EA do you even for one second think ANYONE will turn on your store daily? People will log-in to buy BF3 and only use it to play BF3. They won't use it to buy other stuff.... like your indie games, the ones that don't have a 200 million ad budget. So after this do you think Valve will just let you release the smaller games on their store while you keep the big ones for yourself?

Activision are the only ones who can create a store, they chose not to... they aren't big enough. YOU AREN'T BIG ENOUGH. Suck it up, your losing 30% to Sony and Microsoft and more to retailers, lose however much Valve charges you. YOU CAN'T CONTROL PC NOT NOW.

EDIT: Did not know about Activision and that's the point, not many people will know.

Also, updating system can be VERY costly indeed, as can a lot of thing Valve provides, the back-end to steam is beyond belief... It's not just some dude on a computer type titles, it's many people on servers etc, you need a support line. While some may not see it as valuable but for users having a hub is brilliant.

Ducky4689d ago (Edited 4689d ago )

"They fail to see that there's a great deal of cost involved, update, dlc, anti-cheat."

To be fair, the costs involved are just server maintenance. Updates and DLC aren't all that different from general game downloads (although I don't think Origin has auto-updates/patching yet)
Anti-cheat isn't provided by the digital distributor.

Activision does have it's own digital store. So do a lot of other publishers.

EDIT: Yea, steam's function is bigger, but it also handles a lot more games from various publishers.
EA has been running their Store for quite a while now, and they feel they're ready to take the next step with Origin. They'll only be handling EA games by the looks of things, so they should have an easier workload than steam.

darksied4689d ago

Here's how I see it: I say let them do whatever they want. It's not affecting me, since I've bought things from the EA store before and I really like their download manager (better than the steam client in some ways, worse in others).

BUT ... if they want to keep getting my business, especially if they're selling their games exclusively from here on in, then they need to be competitive with their prices. If not, I'll just go to amazon or retail stores. If I can get a game cheaper on amazon than I can on the Origin or EA store thing, then I'll go to amazon every time.

GrilledCheeseBook4689d ago

Valve games if I remember correct, digitally are only sold on Steam

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dirthurts4689d ago

They just cut a huge chunk of their market out right there...
That was pretty idiotic, not to mention greedy.

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100°

The Crysis Trilogy Joins EA Access Vault

Featuring the complete nanosuit experience, The Crysis Trilogy has now joined the EA Access vault as a title that's free for those that subscribe to the EA service on Xbox One consoles.

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Games1st1376d ago (Edited 1376d ago )

Just in time for those that got the month trial.

DrDeath1376d ago

Wait? There is more than one? lol

210°

Here are Star Wars The Force Unleashed, Crysis 2, RAGE & Resident Evil 2 Remake with Ray Tracing

YouTube’s members ‘Digital Dreams’ and ‘Jose cangrejo’ have shared some videos, showcasing Pascal Gilcher’s Reshade mod – which adds Ray Tracing/Path Tracing effects – in some really old games such as Star Wars The Force Unleashed, Crysis 2, RAGE and Resident Evil 6.

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traumadisaster1760d ago

I'm still learning how to look for the differences. At first I was focusing on shadows for some reason but I don't think that changes much, is it reflections that change?

rashada071760d ago (Edited 1760d ago )

It is supposed to be simulating how light actually works- so yes if light is reflecting off a surface accurately it should show reflection or an effect that matches what you are looking at in the environment. Next time you play a game look at a puddle of water there may be just a "baked" in texture that if you aren't paying attention seems like it is reflecting but it isn't. I would say though if the light is reflecting more accurately I would think that would give more accurate shadows as well.
I am still not 100% sold on it- it looks okay but I can't get over the hardware price jump for better reflections..

Taz X141759d ago

While games won't look immensely better, it opens up more possibilities overall. Understandably, the price jump is huge. But, that can be said for being at the forefront for any new technology. I'm currently using a 2080ti and while I've played a few games that enable it, the gpu also plays everything else incredibly well so it's not like you're buying this tech for ONLY that option. Enthusiasts will pay top dollar to check out the newest things, but this will eventually become an everyday consumer and by then they'll have optimized and become a lot cheaper.

warriorcase1759d ago

Ray/path tracing can be used how the developer wants it to be. Tracing can be used to calculate shadows/lighting, reflection and even audio, where audio waves are calculated on the bounce off material types to simulate enviroment and echos accuratly.

Should also keep in mind that this ray/path tracing system is different and less accurate option from Nvidias RTX branded type. McFly's is a reshade that layers over the top of the game and therefor the quality will vary drastically. For example you can see nice reflection in the Star Wars demo here but it then introduces colour clipping with the light saber. On a video of GTA 5 for example it was incorrectly projecting a reflection of a red car onto the road which caused a very faint red glow on the ground around the car.

If you want to see a good example of a game developed with ray tracing reflection and lighting in mind then you could look up the youtube video of "Control - Exclusive E3 RTX GAMEPLAY Trailer".

DigitallyAfflicted1759d ago

It supposed to add more realistic light Not actually more light effects and explosions

traumadisaster1759d ago

I hate to say it but I’m fine with fake lights, shadows, reflections. I just kind of like the effect, it’s also great it saves resources for other things.

I’ve been checking out some original Xbox games on x360/x1x and the engine has fake light streaming in through a stained glass window, and I love it even though I know it’s not real time lighting. Heck it even shifts as I move about.

I’ve about convinced my self rt and hdr just doesn’t work for me. Before hdr I would even complain damn why are the headlights killing me they are so bright.

I notice most frame rate, then jaggies, then resolution; with the last two interchangeable depending.

Other day watched an enthusiast rave over 4k and the poor guy was in 1080p. I played the same game the night before and thought wow this is clean, I wonder if it’s 4k, but knew differently and I thought wow even resolution is not always important. The next day he apologized and was surprised he could be fooled.

RaidenBlack1759d ago

EA should have released the Crysis Trilogy Remaster for this gen.

FGHFGHFGH1754d ago

How come the lightsabers don't give off any light? Even in the EA star wars game the guy uses it to light up a dark cave. I guess if it is using frostbite it will support rtx cards.

80°

13 Awesome Games Set In Real Places

Jum Jum from Unleashthegamer writes: We gathered the best real setting games we could think of if you’re looking for something in a familiar location to soothe your thirst for real-world games.

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