Origin

Origin, EA's Download Manager and their new name for this application, lets you download and play the games from Electronic Arts. Perhaps you prefer to buy the digital copies of games because then you don't have the physical copy taking up space in your home. Also, it's more convenient because you don't have to visit the shop for Electronic Arts games. This application will manage your premium downloads, and it will also initiate the decryption of games and run the installer and launch it.

What if a Game Requires DRM?

DRM is also called Digital Rights Management, and if it requires one of these licenses, EA Origin will also acquire this. Along with downloading video games, another one of the advantages of this system is how you stay up to date on the latest updates and patches for the games so that you deal with fewer exploits. It should be noted how you can't run a downloaded game without having Origin installed, however, which some gamers might see as a bit of a negative because what happens if Origin goes down? You basically lose access to all the games you bought with your hard earned money. The future might see more of this because of how EA wants their customers to shop for their games through Origin. In fact, the 2011 release of Battlefield 3 was made exclusively available through Origin for the PC.

Origin: Capable but Limited

When we look at EA Origin, what we see is a capable but limited download manager. While it obviously is limited to only the EA games, you don't have to pay for the membership to use it. You simply download it and start looking for EA games that you want to play. It likely won't be able to compete with Steam, however, because this system limits itself to EA games while Steam sells everything from indie games to famous game franchises and everything in between. EA will obviously be more limited when they only sell EA games.

Matchmaking Service and Benefits Design and Technology

EA Origin runs itself as a computer game store, and it uses some of the best design and technology to do this. However, it suffers from the same problem that almost every publisher-specific store suffers: poor selection. If you want Activision, Ubisoft, Valve or others, you will have to look elsewhere to get your fix.

What are some of the popular titles that you can expect to find at the EA Origin store? You can expect Dragon Age 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic and EA's entire library of new titles. Another problem with EA Origin is how they don't offer much for some of their more classic EA titles.

EA Origin is Electronic Arts's gaming platform, designed to keep all of a player's games in one place and improve them with extra features.

Origin is fast and easy to install, and equally easy to use. After installing the application, any given user is brought to its main hub, where games are displayed side-by-side, cover-by-cover, and can be launched with (generally) minimal fuss. Buying games is also easy, and the platform provides all of the information needed to use and run the games it provides (for example, it warns users if an item is an expansion pack rather than a base game, and notes what game is required to use that expansion pack).

Additionally, Origin offers a number of free games and a few demos as well, most of which are only available for Origin itself – this, on its own, can provide a reason to use the platform. Couple that with a strong offline mode that allows you to play all of your games when you're on the go, and well-designed networking code, and you have a fairly solid gaming platform.

But although Origin's key features are good, the bloom may come off the rose after some time of using the software. First, although Origin will detect and add any existing Origin games on your hard drive (such as Steam copies of Origin games), this may not always work correctly, and if you attempt to use these ported games certain ways (such as downloading map packs or additional content for a game you have on Steam), Origin may even break, forcing you to reinstall the game or double-check all of its data (via Origin's own tools).

And beyond that, Origin also suffers from some areas of user-unfriendliness, particularly where it concerns EA itself. For example, by default, Origin's settings send usage data and information to EA, without informing the user that this is the case. In a world of evolving computer security, this is often considered an invasion of privacy or at least a faux pas. Although the setting can be changed, some of Origin's default settings are unfriendly.

And finally, Origin rarely provides discounts or deals on games that are available there, unlike its competitors. This is a huge draw of those platforms, and a key reason that consumers are willing (at least begrudgingly) to use "middleman" game platforms that must be launched before the consumer can play a game that they purchase. In the end, the main reason to use Origin is that there are no other ways to play some of the games it offers – and Origin has few exclusives, however important they might be.

For those looking for an alternative to Steam, there is the download manager EA Origin from Electronic Arts. That lets you play games on a digital basis without the need for a physical copy. If do you choose EA Origin, you will first need to download the application and manage your premium downloads. With Origin, it de-encrypts games, runs an installment, and launches the game. Games that use DRM licenses, or Digital Rights Management licenses, will require the same of Origin.

Along with the download, the app gives you patch updates and keeps you up to date. Before you choose this option; however, understand that you cannot download games here without keeping Origin because the DRM runs off the program. The cool thing is how 2011's Battlefield 3 was released exclusively on Origin through the PC. Origin's greatest flaw is how the download manager is limited to EA games alone. That makes it hard for the game to compete with big-name rivals like Steam.

Electronic Arts charges a low monthly fee for using this system, which is the equivalent of Xbox Live. Most PC gamers have complete and utter devotion to Steam, and if you want to replace Steam with a platform that has the same capabilities, you will be disappointed with EA Origin. The advantage to EA Origin is how you can download EA games without the inaccessibility of Steam. Origin wants to offer something more straightforward than what you get with Steam, and they have adopted a three-pronged approach. In a way, EA has chosen to do something more aligned with what Amazon adopted with its Prime membership.

When EA Origin first launched, they had 15 titles to choose from, and they promised to add more over time. Origin Access is an interesting feature that lets you have what is known as "Play First Trials." That means that you have time-limited games for the release of new titles. For example, Unravel was first offered through the Origin Access Trial. That means that all members could play the first two levels for up to ten hours. The final perk of EA Origin is how you receive a ten percent discount on all Origin purchases, which includes downloadable content and full games.

Unlike Amazon Prime, EA Origin has to work on the value to make the subscription worth it. While EA offers membership at a low monthly subscription, 15 games is not enough to make it worth it. You have more titles on some of the other gaming platforms. In addition, these titles are not even recent. For example, you have FIFA 15 and FIFA 16, but both of these titles have been out for a while. To conclude, EA Origin has potential, and it gives you access to great exclusives, but it still needs work.