14 DAY TRIAL // Despite the recent increase in subscribers, digital distribution service Origin, created by Electronic Arts, is not doing very well, according to the leading executive of one of its main rivals.
Gabe Newell, the leader of Valve, has spoken to podcast Seven Day Cooldown about Origin's prospects and stated, “They have a lot of work to do to get to where they need to be and where I, as a customer would want them to be. I don’t think they’re doing anything super-well yet.
They have a bunch of smart people working on it but I think they’re still playing catch up to a lot of people who have been working in the space for a while. I think they’re recognising what the challenges are with building and scaling out this kind of system.”
Even if the present situation of Origin does not impress, the Valve executive believes that Electronic Arts has the resources needed to improve the service in the future.
Newell also said that he would like to see Origin exclusive appear on Steam, adding, “We think their customers would be happy if their games were on Steam, we tell them that on a regular basis. I think EA wants to take their shot at building their own alternative to Steam, and if they’re successful at that and their customers like that then that’s great.”
Valve has welcomed competition in the digital distribution market on the PC, saying that players need to have options in order to get better experiences and prices.
Origin has managed to see a quick increase in its user numbers because titles like Mass Effect 3, from BioWare, are available exclusively through it on the PC.
Electronic Arts has said that it has long-term plans for Origin and will try to develop the social experience that it delivers while also expanding its video game catalog.