Up to now I was undecided about BF3 BUT now

morbid_thompsongunner wrote:As I have said before I was not sure about getting BF3 and what I had heard about the online play difficulty was not helping but now EA has done it.... AGAIN.

I just found out about this "origin" and EULA stuff going on. In a nut shell you have give up your privacy and install what is effectively spyware to play. HELL NO!!! EA I will not allow you to scan my entire PC, log my online activity and history and so on.

EA's Origin Service Is Basically Spyware, According to Origin's EULA

morbid_thompsongunner wrote:As I have said before I was not sure about getting BF3 and what I had heard about the online play difficulty was not helping but now EA has done it.... AGAIN.

I just found out about this "origin" and EULA stuff going on. In a nut shell you have give up your privacy and install what is effectively spyware to play. HELL NO!!! EA I will not allow you to scan my entire PC, log my online activity and history and so on.

EA's Origin Service Is Basically Spyware, According to Origin's EULA

morbid_thompsongunner wrote:I never questioned that the game was good or even awesome as a matter of fact I'm quite sure the GAME is awesome. BUT I'm NOT willing to pay the price EA has set. I boycotted Silent Hunter 5 cause it required a permanent INTERNET connection to play even single player mode and now BF3 requires me to give up my privacy. Come on people if a "kraut" gets nervous about someone trying to take control that should tell you something

morbid_bob wrote:
i have got nothing to hide!! EA wants to watch me wank, let them!! I even put my webcam on the little fella... my wife keeps tilting it up though (the cam, not the little fella - or at least not as frequent))

agreed if they want a list of porn sites ill send them some also my software is all legal and my browser history deletes everytime i shut down firefox anyways (i hope just checking) ......
also all my animal sex vids etc are on my external hard drive lol....
I ordered my game months ago and the price stayed at £29 i already had win 7 all i needed was a better vid card that played DX11 but now i have all
luv to all

jam xx

EA Germany: "Origin Is Not Spyware"
Heather McLellan | 1 Nov 2011 11:10 pm

EA Germany has denied claims made by German gamers and journalists that its Origin service is invading their privacy.

Germany's privacy laws are amongst the toughest in the Western world. It should come as no surprise that EA's Origin service - which is mandatory for gamers wishing to play Battlefield 3 on PC, and has been criticized for invasion of privacy before - has come under fire in the country known for challenging Google streetview and banning the Facebook "Like" button. German gamers are taking the situation pretty seriously.

The furore began a few days ago, when pictures that appeared to show Origin accessing non-related programs and data synced from cell phones were released online. Der Spiegel, one of the biggest newspapers in Germany, responded by printing a list of items from the Origin EULA which it claims could contravene German privacy law. German gamers responded by bombing Battlefield 3's Amazon.de rating down to one of the lowest on the site and returning their store-bought copies of the game. In an unusual move that illustrates the seriousness of this situation, high street giants Saturn and Media Markt have both started giving customers full refunds on used copies of the game, even those with used PC keys.

Now EA Germany has responded by updating Origin's EULA to ensure both "clarity" and "legal compliance." In a statement, the company said that, "EA takes the privacy of its users very seriously. We have taken every precaution to protect the personal and anonymous user data collected."

"We do not have access to information such as pictures, documents or personal data, which have nothing to do with the execution of the Origin program on the system of the player, neither will they be collected by us," it continued. "We have updated the End User License Agreement of Origin, in the interests of our players to create more clarity."

The statement also notes that Origin's privacy policies are "industry-standard" and that the company intends to work with "the relevant Government agencies to ensure that our policies are and remain legally compliant."

If the comments on Battlefield 3's Amazon.de page are anything to go by, German gamers are genuinely outraged by Origin's snooping activities. Many of the comments are lengthy diatribes written in German so angry that Google Translate is rendered almost useless (the one thing that is clear, though, is the repeated phrase "Nein danke" - "No thanks"). Understandably, many of them say that they just want to play their games without having to give EA access to their system data. There's a wider debate to be had over whether or not companies should highlight these parts of their EULAs, and about whether or not they should be forcing people to sign up for them just to access widely-anticipated titles. We'll keep an eye out for developments, but right now, these German gamers have made their thoughts abundantly clear.

Source: Eurogamer

EA Lost Its Origin... Yet Again!

Wednesday, 02 November 2011 17:15
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The Grumpy Og GamerGaia Column EA Origin

If you are like me, one of the old timers in gaming who had the chance to enjoy Commodore 64 games back in 80s or who was able to catch the golden era of gaming in the 90s, there is a chance that you are getting pissed off at things that you see in today’s gaming business cycle.

The last 20 years had many sour memories left in our minds. The downfall of Sierra, EA’s acquiring of Maxis, Origin, Bullfrog and Westwood, Interplay’s dark fortune that lead to the demise of Black Isle Studios, Ion Storm’s bad luck… I can add many more to this list.


It is sad to see such successful companies going down the drain because of monetary issues. The passion in their work was highly influential for today’s new developers for sure. Today, it seems to be all about money, rather than being about earning money from something you have created with passion.

As you might know, I ranted about the DRM (digital rights management) and how the gaming business turned into another capitalist monster in my previous article. Well, we all know about today’s demonstrations against banks and governments regarding the “milking” behavior of economic systems. I feel that we will have a similar response towards the big gaming companies soon.

Well, how did I end up talking about this again?

Simple: I got angry. I got angry with the fact that EA turned one of the best gaming companies of 90s into a social media platform where they hard-sell games. Yes, I am talking about Origin. Origin was a gaming company, for those who don’t remember it, that was acquired by EA back in early 90s. Surprisingly, EA managed to hold back its passion for disbanding and ruining companies and left Origin to produce great games for a while. In that duration, Origin gave us such masterpieces like the Wing Commander series and the Ultima games.

The Grumpy Og GamerGaia Column EA Origin

Ultima Online is still the best MMORPG in my book to this date. I am not talking about the most financially successful game. If you are of my generation, who had the chance to play Ultima Online, you probably remember the community, the collaborative fun, the user created stories and all the engagement going on. Today’s MMO games are all based on its success and legacy.

Origin Systems was an important company. Many of the legendary developers had a history with the company. Chris Roberts, John Romero, Richard Garriott, Tom Chilton, Warren Spector and more all worked as a part of this team.

Now, I accepted the fact that EA decided to discontinue their Origin wing at the time. It was hard to accept as a gamer, but it was their financial decision and by that time, almost all the gamers knew the attitude of EA regarding the monetary side of gaming. After all, in a generation’s opinion, they are the doom of any company they show interest upon. After what has happened to the companies they’ve acquired, it was quite understandable for gaming lovers to scream in terror when EA decided to lay a hand on BioWare.

What I cannot accept as a gamer is to see the name “Origin” turned into some social marketplace. That is disrespectful to say the least. EA’s hunger for money is one thing; approaching this form of art like the mindless owner of an art collection without even realizing what one owns is another thing. EA had many chances to do things right; instead, they burnt down the brands they have acquired.

The Grumpy Og GamerGaia Column Wing commander

If you would like to do some research, you can find complaints and criticism about EA’s management capabilities all over the net. The company closed down most of the companies they have acquired after poor performance. It may seem right to you but you should ask yourself the question “How come companies that are successful suddenly become unsuccessful, the moment they start working for EA?” The answer lies within the question.

I will be truthful - I don’t have any high hopes for the future of BioWare. Dragon Age’s disastrous “in-game DLC barters” was the first sign of trouble ahead. The dumbing of the second game is another big neon sign that’s pointing to danger. The hands-on experience we had with The Old Republic was far from being convincing. The only hope I have is for Mass Effect 3; if they can finish the story without ruining something, I will be content. I never expected another Baldur’s Gate from BioWare anyway; the team no longer possesses that passion.

Actually, if you had a chance to watch the Blizzard video that they have made for the developer’s 20th anniversary, you can observe the transformation of a passionate company into a giant capital-oriented one. It is that transformation that disturbs me all the time. Oh, what about EA? Well, that company had its transformation long before anyone else...

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