EA Joins Steam with Spore, Mass Effect, and More; Dead Space, Mirror's Edge Coming Soon

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• use opengl ? :) : alalkoolj
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phantom_(game_system) : maulla
• actually a good idea considering the traction they already have.. It's not debate that steam kicks both X... : shinobidye7

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  Oh I've seen plenty of Steam haters here. Most of them were turned off by the rough early days of steam. ... : S1ing B1ade
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    The UI is ugly and non-standard, it takes a while to load, and there are still bugs (last time I used it ... : nudel
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      Some games you had to fiddle with to get them to work if you download them form steam. (non-valve games) ... : SlingBlaze
      • They optimized the engine a lot for Left 4 Dead and it shows. : Wisp!
    • The UI really isn't much of a problem lately, there's been a whole lot of community skins made just for t... : Autocrawler
  • Offline mode. It's still a fuck around to update and launch any games you want to play at a LAN Party (yo... : node
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    I don't like that it forces you to use the latest patch of anything, take S.T.A.L.K.E.R. for example, it'... : azuvatar
    • I'm using mods on my Steam copy... : deject
• His samduh! I think steamsucks.com and ihatesteam.com and goeatadicksteam.com are sites that attract post : A Sponge
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  the server browser is still subpar : synapse19
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    Ya I miss the days of dedicated server browsers. The All Seeing Eye was awesome. : S1ing B1ade
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      yea, it was a sad day when ASE was canned i'd used that since it's inception, after i stopped playing ... : synapse19
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        *after it was shut down : synapse19
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          You should try QTracker - it's very robust and is continually updated. : Waverider
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            Ya, QTracker is the new ASE IMO. : node
            • i think i tried it, and if it's the one i'm thinking of, i didn't like how it didn't keep a static server... : synapse19
• the shack is fanboy central for everything except ps3 and unhyped games : thebigbeefsandwich
• Plenty of critique of steam around, it's just that for the majority here the actual advantages far outwei... : d fluke
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  i dont get it - i've only had great experiences with it and it's made PC gaming pretty awesome. Many oth... : kainen1
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    Yeah, I don't understand the hate toward Steam either. I just timed it, and Steam loads in 20 seconds, i... : psamathos
    • have you tried to give your games (that you paid for) to a friend or sell them? Do you wish to keep games... : Old_Fart
• I was a serious Steam hater for the first few years. I'm fairly OK with it now. If it's a game that I fee... : Old_Fart
• i absolutely hate the fucking program : -=kodiak=-
• Oh I don't buy anything through steam as it's more expensive as if I go to the local store. That's what y... : FTY
• Not me. I just became a unfan today when I found out I can't play STALKER multiplayer because Steam does... : ragnarthepillager

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  It was published by EA. : HaykB
  • Retail only... : K1Bond007
  • Actually Sin was published by Activision, Sin Episodes: Emergence on the other hand was published by EA. : Kristian Joensen
• Considering the developer no longer exists... : SithToast

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  Valve would basically own the PC at that point. : ETPC1
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    i say, let them : lealwai
    • I agree, Steam is the most successful unified model for PC gaming there is. 15 mil or so subscribers are... : kainen1
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      I say no. Well it's fine as long as I can still buy the boxed copy because I HATE digital download. : samduhman
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        sounds like someone without a high speed connection. stop living in the past man : RikiTiki2
        • Nothing wrong with hard copies. I have a fair share of Steam games, like Orange Box and the huge id softw... : Dr_Tran
      • Yeah I prefer analog download. : OmegaRed59
  • Not unless Microsoft suddenly vanishes, taking Windows with them. : IndigoAK
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    I'm impressed its doing as well as it is despite still being tied to a game dev. I figured they would ha... : Turd Ferguson
    • Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sega studios developed games for each of their respective consoles. Consi... : lechuck59
  • it would be a good thing for the platform vs. consoles. : ]pm[chem
  • Nah, Valve doesn't need to have everyone's eggs. If they did then MS would be obligated to buy them out a... : steauengeglase
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  Well, Activision is already on Steam, and Blizzard *is* a division of Activision.... I still doubt it'... : jason bergman
  • Also Blizzard puts games out on Direct2Drive, so there's nothing outright preventing it. : jason bergman
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  they have no reason to. most of these ea games are ones that underperformed their expectations so they're... : synapse19
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    Spore underperformed? Shit were they aiming for 10mil in 4 months? : SlingBlaze
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      if you're already putting on your other games, why wouldn't you just lump in a few others with them? i re... : synapse19
      • This has absolutely nothing to do with your post above and my response to it. You went from spore unders... : SlingBlaze
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    What do you mean they have no reason to? More money, of course. I'm sure there are plenty of Steam fanboy... : Wisp!
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      how much money do you really think they'd make? who would buy those games that didn't already have them? ... : synapse19
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        Enough money that it is worth Blizzard's time. : Wisp!
        • maybe when sc2 and d3 come out, but not right now : synapse19

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• EA knows when it's licked these days. EA Partners shows that at some point in the last few years they wen... : SpaecKow
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  With EA having to cut/shift studios due to the current economic situation, the added expense of developin... : adodric
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    I understand, but if profit is the main motivation why not just buy Steam, or Valve, or Steam and Valve ?... : qwpeoriu
    • If EA bought steam I'd stop buying games from steam. It would be a shame to have to give it up but I'll... : TANSTAAFL420
    • I don't think they could afford a buyout. Remember that EA paid $800 million for Bioware and Pandemic to... : lechuck59
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      Because Valve is a privately owned company, and not for sale. : psamathos
      • I don't think most people realize just how rich Valve is. They're not a publicly traded company so they ... : qsylvr
• I'm not surprised. With their poor sales lately, I think they learned from their mistakes in the past of ... : psamathos

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• Haha, I was hoping I could wait it out because it was EA and not on steam, this will make it hard to resi... : IHATEDUST
• Mirror's Edge wore out its welcome quickly (for me), but Dead Space is quite fun. : Ebu
• I would have bought Dead Space day 1 if they had this already. But I went with Far Cry 2 instead. : smegmar
• mirrors edge: meh, $100 bucks for a short game that some people seem to hate with a passion. i liked the... : kiddygrinder

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• i'd put decent money that it's going to happen : xsoulbrothax

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  Blame EA UK (Or whatever EA's Euro Division is). They're the ones you'll have to convince to get the game... : HaykB
  • well, Australia isn't in the UK :'( : Torias
  • More likely EA US jumped on this and then went "Oh, Europe, yeah, guess we should tell them". : node
• Yeah, poop :( : d fluke
• Gah. :( What part of INTERnet don't these companies understand? Sick of this shit. : nudel
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  Not unexpected. Even if EA is on Steam, they'll still find a way to fuck over some customers. : Mystery0000
  • You seriously think they went "Oh we'll sell on Steam, but wait, we don't want anyone else's money, screw... : Smurfy12
• Even when they do something right for a change they screw it up epicly. Kudos for that, EA. : hurda7
• My sentiments exactly. I was going to get Mass Effect PC, even though I've played and completed the 36... : Saruya
• I have heard that its only a temporary issue and they should have the non-US stuff working in the next we... : Derek French

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• With EA's turn around over the last couple of years I was ready to end my boycott of EA games, then they ... : Old_Fart
• It's true. An admin on Valve's forums acknowledged that Spore didn't carry any Securom, and an admin on... : kevlarcardhouse

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  someone hasnt been paying attention... http://store.steampowered.com/news/2110/ European Local Curr... : radio_babylon
  • Yeah. But in Steam's world of localized currency €1 is apparently worth $1, so we're being screwed over... : Razerious

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• I am just surprised what a sloth EA is, it took forever for them to understand that their digital downloa... : Lukiopimp

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  If they were smart about it, you might be able to have it registered through steam. Not all retail versi... : Sylvanus
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    I thought it was only Valve games that worked with. Are there none-Valve titles that you can do that wit... : Wadmaasi
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      Prey.\ : kodt
      • That's because Triton, the download service Prey was distributed under, collapsed shortly after the game ... : Serpico74
    • There's maybe a dozen or so non-valve games https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?s=ae65eb94b38... : briktal
    • I think you can also do it with Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, but there are few others worth mentionin... : psamathos
  • I just tried to register Spore, and Mass Effect. No go :( : CAPPINJACK
  • I dearly wish they would do this, though I only have a couple of games on downloader (chiefly Mass Effect... : node

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• spore doesnt seem to have any DRM listed in the game info as games like Far Cry did. the other games i'm ... : lealwai
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  according to a steam moderator at: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=771370 "I... : radio_babylon
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    If it turns out that EA puts all their DRM'd games on Steam with no DRM other than Steam then we have to ... : Schnapple
    • hell yeah. and the thought of them putting their back catalog up gives me a halfie : feek
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      much as i hate the idea of giving EA props for anything, youre prolly right... but im more inclined to be... : radio_babylon
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        theyve been pretty good the past year or two. : feek
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          if youre definition of "pretty good" includes introducing the most customer-unfriendly-DRM yet devised to... : radio_babylon
          • sigh. "your" : radio_babylon
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            i dont have a problem with their drm and they've been consistent about allowing you to remove it later : feek
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              and its the people like you that are ok with it that guarantee we'll continue to get it, and worse, in th... : radio_babylon
              • The rabid anti-drm people are always so amusing : ColoradoCNC
              • hell yeah bro. keep fightin the good fight : feek
              • yeah man, thanks a lot for not objecting to something you don't have a problem with : Solar Jetman
              • they didn't introduce it.. they were pretty much the last to do it, but they were one of the first to act... : xsoulbrothax
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            DRM aside they've... - Revived old franchises like Command & Conquer and kept the things the fans want... : Schnapple
            • Lets also not forget that their sports division is starting to get stuff right again as well, Madden we c... : DonarUDL
        • They really haven't. They've just been saying that they have. EA Partners is a good effort, but apart ... : d fluke
    • Yeah, but it's a very, very big "IF". : zehh
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    Based off of the below in the Mass Effect requirements, I bet he is wrong: * MICROSOFT VISTA USERS: La... : pyrogen
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      I am checking into this text right now, because it is not correct. "PERIODIC ONLINE AUTHENTICATION" does ... : Derek French
      • Awesome. If this is the case then I will (finally) be buying Mass Effect. Waited so long for this :O : d fluke
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        http://store.steampowered.com/app/17460/ Fixed. Sorry for the confusion guys. : Derek French
        • OK, guess I have to buy Mass Effect now and Dead Space when it is released. : pyrogen
      • WTF don't they fix that bug? There's no reason any game should ever need admin rights, especially if it's... : nudel
• front page post : ]pm[chem
• yes, getting all your stuff in one organized, easy to use basket is totally not useful at all : RikiTiki2

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  Wal-Mart, Circuit City, and Best Buy offer those sales because they compete with each other. The fact th... : Luminair
  • That's ridiculous. Steam competes with each and every retail store that sells games, but Best Buy and its... : psamathos
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  Stalker is on sale for $5 right now. : ajvitaly
  • wow, did not realize that. lol : lealwai
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  Um, they do sales all the time. : mrwolf710
  • Every weekend. (I just bought STALKER!) : crummynz
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  Those are called 'loss leaders' - the big retailers take a loss on those products in order to attract cus... : rickmus
  • Yes. And if steam's webstore was designed well enough, they could do exactly the same thing. : sharkII
  • Except that with an online store and digital distribution, the overhead is substantially lower compared t... : psamathos
• Doing that would piss off the big retailers, and the big retailers are still most of the titles sold so t... : xsoulbrothax

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  Before they do this, they should probably get Steam to load a LOT faster. I love the platform but damn it... : at0micgarden
  • Haha, I agree with this. For being a relatively small program, it takes forever to load. : ajvitaly
  • Get rid old that old Pentium 2 and upgrade to the future! I have an X24400 and steam loads pretty fast f... : quazar
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    errr, why not just leave it on? that way it never has to load? just load it up at boot. : kainen1
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      Seems like a waste of time & memory if you only play games on your PC rarely. I find the amount of time S... : nudel
      • Steam is using a whopping 17 MB in the background right now. Unless you haven't upgraded your computer in... : psamathos
• Steam is cool but their store and game launcher should be more like Impulse. I like not running Impuls... : Sailor of Fortune

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• While I think EADM is shit I'd be surprised if EA will shut it down. : Jonathan
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  Doesn't matter, because your download through EA is only good for what, a few weeks unless you purchase t... : Vincent Grayson
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    it's 6 months, but hopefully the direct exposure to steam will stop them from being fags... : brainchild420
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      ha.. Ha.. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAH EA stop being fags? Hey guys brainchild420 thinks EA might st... : TANSTAAFL420
      • /facepalm : brainchild420

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• This is all I ever heard of it, so I bought my copy at D2D at a full $49.99. It was worth every penny bu... : IHATEDUST

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• Dungeon Keeper.. man. Mecha Tofu pirate is my hero! : BigWoodFarmer
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  ooooh dungeon keeper. DK2 is one of my all time fav games.. wish they'd revive the franchise while they'... : drnen
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    Umm..... http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/56141 : Mecha Tofu Pirate
    • I was going to mention this.. I told my friend EA was going to bring back Dungeon keeper and he was ecst... : TANSTAAFL420
• Dungeon Keeper is still one of my favorite games. Having moved around many times, I've not been able to ... : rickmus
• I'd love an updated System Shock, even if it was just the controls and nothing else. I don't think it had... : nudel

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  Valve have pretty much sorted the pricing out for the UK at least. Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3 and GTA IV, for... : A Sponge
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    Well I wanted to get Left 4 Dead about 2 weeks ago and on steam it was something crazy like £40 while I ... : abjectblitz
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      Valve only roled out localised pricing a week or so ago. It's a shame they didn't do it in time for Left ... : A Sponge
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        I got it online, had some game points too so actually got it for £20 :) Good to hear about the locali... : abjectblitz
        • Won't it just convert your currency into dollars and withdraw the dollars + import tax from your credit c... : Marrbe

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  I just tried, and no go :( I was hoping I could register my keys as well. I really don't want to spend... : CAPPINJACK
  • I hope so too, but I have the feeling they won't let us. : Awcko

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• hi remo, I agree. : ]pm[chem

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• If EA puts their entire library on there, it could very well happen. : DonarUDL

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• I was waiting so long for this as well. Too bad I got impatient and bought it retail last week. : Azrael88

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• Not to mention EU:Rome is a better game than Spore anyways. :) : Psigun
• When I try to buy the bundle, I only get Europa added to my cart. : crummynz
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  There's no way that's right. That's basically giving Spore away for free with Europa Univeralis unless i... : mrwolf710
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    I think they already fixed it. b/c its not showing up on that link anymore : hirez
    • Yeah, $49.99 now. : mrwolf710

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  It will cease to exist if people cease to use it. I don't bother with it so it doesn't bother me the leas... : Bingo
  • yeah i ordered from direct2drive instead : dantastic