EA takes on Steam with Origin gaming platform, also coming to mobile
Meanwhile at Valve, Gabe Newell spits out his coffee
EA has just announced the launch of Origin, a gaming platform along the lines of Valve's incredibly successful Steam service.
Origin, which will be available either online at www.origin.com (currently "in the middle of an upgrade") or as a desktop application, launches with 150 games from EA and 'Partner' studios, and over the coming months it'll expand its library – among the promised titles is the download version of Star Wars: The Old Republic, which will be exclusive to the service.
In a press release, EA Global Online senior vice president David DeMartini describes Origin as, “a download service for the very best content from EA and its partners. It also offers a social function which, over time, will connect a player’s profile with friends lists and a cross-platform feed that shows what your friends are playing and where.”
Why are we, Pocket Gamer, writing about a PC gaming platform?
Because Origin will also be available on mobile, integrating its services into EA's “leading smartphone titles”. That almost certainly means iPhone and Android. The press release name-checks Scrabble and the forthcoming Battlefield 3, but there are several other obvious iOS candidates for the social platform treatment.
