A couple of weeks ago EA’s Origin boss David DeMartini announced that EA’s digital platform would not be following Steam’s type of sales, where prices  are sometimes slashed by 75%. DeMartini gave the reason that such a move would “cheapen intellectual property.”
However, Origin has begun its own sale and the discounts are incredibly Steam-like. Dragon Age: Origins is £5, down from an RRP of £40, which is 87.5% off. Titles like Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit and Darksiders are 75% off, while others like Dead Space 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum are 50%.
It’s likely that EA has decided to change its approach to sales, as business-wise it works very well for Valve. DeMartini and Co. have launched this sale just before the Steam’s Summer Sale is likely to begin, so may EA may be hoping to get more of the digital distribution market.
Dom El
Now if only Sony and Microsoft saw this as a viable way of shifting digital units of older games – I’d easily buy Hot Pursuit again at that reduction if it was on PS3.
gaffers101
If you have a PS+ subscription then Darksiders, and many more are free. I think this is a much better deal than the discounts EA are offering, especially if Sony keep adding to the list of free content each month.
Dom El
I have a PS+ subscription and I absolutely love it – however, it’s nice to be able to pick up games I definitely want to play at a decent discount as opposed to the selections I may or may not want/already have given to me by PS+..
DividSmythe
I bought Hot pursuit before xmas with all dlc for about £15. So they do, do deals.
Dom El
That’s not bad – but it’s not up there with the huge discounts offered by Steam (and now seemingly Origin).
Sympozium
FFS Sims 3 still isn’t on a sale.
PoorPaddy89
Its often on sale on Steam. I’d put money on it being in the Steam summer sale along with all DLC. I already have it on disc but really want it from Steam. Though the slae price is good, it’s not quite good enough to warrant buying again.
gazzagb
That’s the exact game I was hoping to be on sale too… :\
Sympozium
The last time it was on Steam it had all the expansions with the Base game for £30, sadly I missed it. :(
Omac_brother
Seem like a trend to sell games at a price that is “too cheap not too” at the moment.
I suppose when games sales level out and it would appear that the market sales have been saturated at its current pricing point, it makes sense to shift a couple more thousand units at a nock down price rather than not sell any more.
parryman
It’s crazy to have high rrps on digital games that are readily available on the high street for considerably lower prices.
The Lone Steven
Why 87.5%? It seems so random. Also, what ever happened to sales like theses cheapening IPs? hmm EA? I think they will have some success with this sale but it will get trampled by Steam’s summer sale due to Steam being around longer and having a larger userbase. That and a wide libary of games. Also, DAO is a must for that price! If you love RPGs with an excellent story and a lot of moral choices.
Faulker
Because it makes game cost exactly 5 pounds.
Faulker
the game*
bunimomike
“Don’t tell us what to do”
“We may well bow to consumer pressure what with them keeping us in business”
“We may well not have a motherfudging clue how to handle the media”
“We are EA”
shrek9
lololol
An-dz
Mabay they have come to acknowledge that they were already over valuing some of their games by a good £30,
luke_c
Sorry Origin this isn’t how you do a sale, you can still get all these games cheaper elsewhere. These prices are what Origin should have as their RRP, I can get Dragon Age Origins Ultimate Edition for £10 odd on Amazon whereas it costs £40 for Origins alone on Origin, ridiculous. EA you’re full of shit.
damoxuk
So even £5 isn’t cheap enough?
Lol some people would moan if EA gave them away…
luke_c
Not when the games are cheaper elsewhere, no. EA don’t understand that games devalue over time.
ico
See the app store for heeruge amounts of moanage on free games. Takes it to a new level.
ico
Hypocrites much?