

Humble Bundle releases EA/Origin bundle - masterzora
https://www.humblebundle.com/#origin

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pekk
The involvement of Origin means this is really a loss leader. Buy a small
library of EA games on Origin for $25, and suddenly you have a starter
library. They sell you the razor at a low cost, donate to charity (good PR
footnote), and then they can hopefully sell you more blades.

They need this because Steam has a head start of years, with many people who
have huge libraries they won't want to leave, and the availability of titles
from almost every publisher _but_ EA. And customers are likely as not to look
at purchasing things on Origin as not just being DRM (which Steam also is),
but having to deal with running and operating yet another client instead of
having almost everything in one place.

This is to EA's strategic benefit whether or not they receive any money via
Humble Bundle.

~~~
cmsimike
> The involvement of Origin means this is really a loss leader.

The involvement of Origin is the reason why I am not picking up this bundle.
Such a shame not all the games are available via Steam.

~~~
estel
Why not pick up the bundle and only use the Steam keys? It's still a great
deal...

~~~
masterzora
I'm not the person to which you are replying, but as I have the same attitude
I can at least answer for myself:

I already own the games that register on Steam that are interesting. I would
only be interested in the games that don't register on Steam, but I do not
want to use Origin.

~~~
chrischen
I'm not sure what the big deal is. Clearly you aren't that interested in the
games in the first place, and it's not _really_ an Origin issue.

Steam has some pretty shitty policies as well, like the fact that you can no
longer log in on multiple computers. This means you can't play two different
games on the same account. Working backwards from the days when if you bought
two games, two people could play them simultaneously.

~~~
masterzora
_Clearly you aren 't that interested in the games in the first place, and it's
not really an Origin issue._

Clearly how? You are correct that I am not sufficiently interested in order to
go through the additional hassle of Origin. I have in the past been very
interested in some games but did not want to add on the hassle of Origin and
so I never got them. That's pretty much the same case as here.

 _Steam has some pretty shitty policies as well, like the fact that you can no
longer log in on multiple computers._

It does but I don't find that relevant at all. For one, I have no need to log
into multiple computers anyway. But for the more general case of Steam
policies, I have found them a sufficient tradeoff for value. My issue with
Origin is not strictly their policies but the fact that I already have Steam
running with >500 games in my library and I don't want to be running Origin on
top of that. It's unnecessary hassle and it's wasteful of resources.

If I got my buy-in on Origin first, odds are I'd be saying things the other
way around.

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aristidb
Kind of interesting that these "corporate" bundles always remove the EFF from
the list of charities.

~~~
notthemessiah
Not that interesting. Origin uses DRM, and the EFF is quite vocal in opposing
DRM, software patents, threats to P2P software, and overly-extensive
copyright. They have a long history of standing in opposition to groups like
the RIAA/MPAA.

~~~
Jare
In that case EFF would also avoid Steam

~~~
notthemessiah
You assume it's EFF that's doing the avoiding. Why would they turn down an
opportunity to get donations?

All other bundles were delivered DRM-free, Steam was never the focus of any
promotion until customers asked if they could get Steam keys.

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nolok
Note that EA / Origin is not getting money from this, their share of the money
is given to charities (see the text box right under the game list on the
page).

~~~
bluetshirt
Do any of these games offer DLC? Who profits from that?

~~~
itafroma
They all offer DLC; depending on the game, some, all, or none of that DLC is
included:

\- Burnout Paradise: offered version contains all DLC

\- Crysis 2: offered version contains all DLC

\- Dead Space: tons of weapons DLC, not included. They're effectively cosmetic
or so overpowered it's like buying cheat codes.

\- Dead Space 3: tons of weapons DLC, not included. Like above, they're either
cosmetic or shootable cheat codes.

\- Medal of Honor: missing the DLC map packs

\- Mirror's Edge: missing time trials DLC; DLC is incompatible with the Steam
version

\- Sims 3: contains a small fraction of the available packaged DLC; game is
centered around micro-transactions for things your home (i.e., there are
countless items not included).

\- Battlefield 3: missing the DLC map packs

EA, of course, profits from DLC purchases not included in the games on offer:
they're not sold through the Humble Bundle.

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freehunter
One note on complaints that I hear about Humble Bundles that consist of titles
from big publishers (such as the recent THQ bundle).

There are multiple Humble Bundles. The Humble Indie Bundle is not the only
Humble Bundle. There are ebooks, music, and big publisher bundles as well.
Just because a Humble Bundle is not all indie titles does not mean it's not a
Humble Bundle.

~~~
mercurial
Well, it's a bundle all right, but there is nothing humble about EA :) I'll
wait for the next Humble Bundle, so I can buy more games I don't have time to
play.

~~~
jimhart3000
> I'll wait for the next Humble Bundle, so I can buy more games I don't have
> time to play.

So much this. Virtually my entire Steam library, Civilization is the only
exception I think, is from Humble Bundles, and I can count the games I've
played through on no fingers.

(I love the soundtracks they often include, though. Those actually get some
listening time.)

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Sprint
I remember when Humble Bundle meant DRM free and cross-platform. Man, did they
ruin that brand.

~~~
MikusR
That was Humble INDIE bundle.

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haroldp
One mac and zero linux games. Am I counting that right?

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sliverstorm
Are you lacking confidence in your ability to count to one? :)

~~~
haroldp
Haha! Well the page lacks the usual fanfare about cross platform support that
I have come to expect from Humble. I noticed it said that the Sims was
available for Mac, I had to deduce it was the only one, and Linux support was
altogether missing.

~~~
sliverstorm
When fanfare is conspicuously missing, it's generally safe to assume it wasn't
an accident.

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thezilch
As much as people detest Origin, they really forget how awful Steam was and
sometimes continues to be. I just launched the Desktop application, and it
literally took 30 seconds to become usable. About 30x slower than a browser
takes. I can't speak for Origin, but the market could use some competition,
and it will also hopefully drive the DRM schemes to become more open, at which
point we can ultimately build a non-centralized platform.

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jiggy2011
This looks like a good deal, but I heard something about Origin being full of
spyware. Is there any truth to this or is it just FUD?

~~~
bentcorner
FUD. It installs, at worst will ask you if you want it to launch on login (you
can turn that off). origin.exe pretty much does what it says on the tin:
allows you to download games and play them.

~~~
shmerl
Why FUD? DRM always has a risk of spyware. It's in the definition of DRM.

~~~
mh-
_DRM always has a risk of spyware_

There is also a risk of centipedes.

Let's not forget what _FUD_ stands for: fear, uncertainty, doubt.

~~~
shmerl
You ignore the definition. DRM means - publisher doesn't trust the user and
the user doesn't trust the publisher. So DRM by design dictates the risk of
malware and privacy violation by the publisher (as a natural mirror towards
DRM assuming that users are potential criminal infringers by default). It's a
good reason to avoid using any DRMed services - i.e. lack of trust inherent in
the DRM _by definition_.

If you prefer to call it FUD, start with the DRM itself. It's FUD towards the
users. Naturally users should have a symmetric FUD towards the publishers who
shove DRM in their throats.

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wamatt
Seems like a smart move. It could help to dampen the perception of evil
attached to EA's reputation, whilst making a sizable ($1m+) difference to a
number of charities.

That said, it would be nice to see a greater choice in the number of
charities. My own preference would be to donate to smaller and more focused
variety. Or, even combining it with charitable crowdfunded projects. eg[1][2]

Although, it may also be logistically harder to pull that off.

 _[1][http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kite-
patch](http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kite-patch) _

_[2][http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/let-s-build-a-goddamn-
tesl...](http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/let-s-build-a-goddamn-tesla-museum
--5/) _

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hdra
More than anything, I am bewildered by the general attitude here. Steam is the
good guy, and Origin is akin to a malware? Pepsi and Coke, in my opinion. (I
have never used Origin, but I intend to install it for this bundle)

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warfangle
The last time I used Origin, I think it summoned a demon.

~~~
nextw33k
Ah yes, I love Ultima 8: Pagan. That was an awesome game.

~~~
warfangle
....really? I was more a fan of the Underworld diptych :)

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ihuman
Reposting my comment from the other discussion:

I don't understand why people are complaining about the Humble Bundles lack of
indieness and humbleness now. They have been very popular for a good amount of
time, voiding its ability to call itself humble. Even though they popularized
themselves through indie games, the humble bundle chose not to restrict itself
to just indie games. You also have the weekly sales, which also adds to their
delivering of non-indie games. And from an average user standpoint, it seams
odd that people are complaining about inexpensive games.

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dombili
This deal sounds great, but I'll take a pass. There's no point in denying that
EA is doing something good, but knowing their way of doing business leads me
to believe that they're just doing this to make Origin more popular and get
more possible future customers. That's certainly not a bad thing, after all
they're a company that wants to make more money, but I choose to avoid
participating in anything they do.

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shmerl
Very disappointing. They should concentrate on DRM free, cross platform
bundles. Recently they have too many "Steam only" stuff. Now Origin? No
thanks.

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matt_heimer
Bought this and activated all the steam keys. Haven't heard anything good
about Origin but since I've never tried it myself I decided to give it a go.
Seems to be a steam knock-off and the first thing it told me was that key
redemption was currently down. Its like they only want me to use steam.

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Guillaume86
Does anyone managed to activate a game on origin? It's loading forever here.

~~~
AmVess
Key redeems are not functional at the moment, either on their Origin client or
on their website.

Doesn't help that every major website I've been to today has reported this
deal. :)

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wnevets
the only games that require origin is battlefield and sims. Worth getting the
rest if you ask me.

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u2328
Ha, gross. Why would the Humble Bundle people associate with EA?

