EA Launches Origin Online Game Distribution for Mac

This will never be installed on my machine.

You had me at "EA".

EA is the soulless corporate juggernaut of the gaming industry. I can only imagine how great the ENTIRETY of Mass Effect 3 would have been had EA not gotten its hooks into Bioware.

Instead, thanks to EA, we got a game that was 95% awesomeness followed by 15 minutes of ending that ruined the whole fusking series.

Nobody likes EA, but if this is what it takes to get better Mac support from a big publisher, then I'm all for it.

Sim City is coming. Maybe we'll get Battlefield 4. Either way, this can only be a good thing. I mean, ideally EA would ditch Origin and get friendly with Steam, but that isn't going to happen.

I just think that when a big gaming company sees a vocal community and rising marketshare and decides to invest in the Mac, then it's cause for celebration.

EA? No thanks.

I'm staying away from anything related to those two letters.

Just wondering, what has EA done that makes everyone hate it so much?

Not (http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnyegriffiths/2012/04/16/ea-origin-bans-dlc-drm/) really (http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/03/12/bioware-and-ea-respond-to-dlc-controversy/) that (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erin_Hoffman) much (http://touch.destructoid.com/destructoid/#!/entry/eas-origin-may-be-glorified-spyware-causes-mass-upset,50862baed7fc7b56702a53c4/2).

This would maybe be good news if EA didn't suck and would stop using Cider ports and actually port the games to run natively.

(I am still mad at EA for butchering Command and Conquer) :mad:

EA is the soulless corporate juggernaut of the gaming industry. I can only imagine how great the ENTIRETY of Mass Effect 3 would have been had EA not gotten its hooks into Bioware.

Instead, thanks to EA, we got a game that was 95% awesomeness followed by 15 minutes of ending that ruined the whole fusking series.

Wow, you can't even read a Mac blog without hearing people whine about the ending of ME 3.

In the Terms and Conditions for installing Origin, EA pretty is very vague on that data Origin collects from a user and users computer.

Here's a good read about it: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/EA-Says-Origin-Isn-t-Spyware-Although-It-Does-Scan-Your-Entire-PC-36690.html

That article pretty much says all it does is check to see if your serial is valid and what EA games you have installed. Hardly shocking, or worthy of the spyware moniker.

It wouldn't pass the smell test. Origin would not pass Apple's privacy guidelines.

It scans your whole computer and send information to EA and unknown third parties. Data such as which app are installed and when they are used, your bookmarks and browser history, collect data with who you are contacting for example e-mail addresses.

It also slows your computer down significantly because it always scans what you are doing.

This strikes me as simple paranoia. I'm much more interested in what the software actually does. There are programs that can monitor and/or block what other programs are doing on your system. Why not fire one up and actually see?

There's a huge difference between a badly worded EULA and what the program actually does. There would have been a *****storm of bad press had the program actually been found to be snooping through bookmarks, emails, contacts and the like (which, by the way, any program on a PC can do, with or without your consent). Yes, EA knows which apps you have purchased through Origin and knows when you're running them. In reality, that's probably pretty much the extent of the information they're interested in, but their team of lawyers (who probably haven't spoken to a real person in years) can't seem to put words on paper that don't ring major alarm bells.

But to suggest that the program is uploading sensitive personal documents, histories and contacts without any proof is absurd.

Despite what some here claim, there are major tech sites who would be all over the story if EA was really stealing all your bookmarks, emails, and contacts. I've seen them cover the Origin EULA outrage, but no big stories about EA actually doing something nefarious.

What I'm asking is, what does Origin actually do that can be considered spyware?

That's the one thing I haven't seen anyone address.

So far, it appears they're cross platform, based on the one game I looked at.

http://store.origin.com/store/ea/en_US/DisplayProductDetailsPage/productID.254372900

The SimCity listing is still PC only though. So, who knows. It may be some titles and not others.

Has anyone seen official word on this?

Just had a chat with EA,

Vivek: Thanks for contacting EA Help! My name is Vivek how may I help you?
you:Hello, I would like to pre-order SimCity for PC. If I do this, will my user license allow me to play the Mac version when it comes out?
you:
I own an iMac, and have Windows as a boot-camp, so I was intending to buy the PC version for the time being until the Mac version comes, but I can't afford to buy the game twice. So will my license allow for play on Windows and Mac?
Vivek:Hello Sam,
you:hello ;-)
Vivek:Sam, Good news is that now origin is released on MAC.
Vivek:You should be able to play the game on MAC.
you:But SimCity for mac has been delayed, so can I buy the PC version for the time-being and not have to pay again for the MAC version when it comes out?
Vivek:Yes.
Vivek:If in any case you will not be able to access PC version of the game on MAC, we will issue refund for your PC version.
you:So in other words, transfer my license from PC to Mac?
Vivek:We will issue refund for your PC version of the game and then you can purchase teh MAC version of the game.
you:Thats great thank you. Is there any more news on a release date for the Mac version?
Vivek:Sam, I'm sorry we don't have any infomation about this at the moment.
you:ok thanks - thank you for your help