Information EA Origin gets Kickstarter projects, Wasteland 2 is first

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: InXile Entertainment; Wasteland 2

As it turns out, our favorite digital download platform EA Origin gives out deals to successfully kickstarted indie games. So altruistic. You'll be glad to hear that InXile has managed to jump on board immediately with Wasteland 2.

Electronic Arts Inc. announced today a program to waive distribution fees on Origin™ for any developer that has a successfully crowd-funded, ready-to-publish downloadable PC game. Origin will provide distribution services free of charge for 90 days after the game’s launch, giving new crowd-funded games a chance to reach the growing Origin audience of more than 12 million registered users worldwide.

“I have had a long relationship with EA and it is great to see them recognize and support the crowd-funded games model”
“The public support for crowd-funding creative game ideas coming from small developers today is nothing short of phenomenal,” said David DeMartini, Senior Vice President of Origin at EA. “It’s also incredibly healthy for the gaming industry. Gamers around the world deserve a chance to play every great new game, and by waiving distribution fees on Origin we can help make that a reality for successfully crowd-funded developers.”

 

[Jasede]

*narrows eyes*

 

[St. Toxic]

 

[Untermensch]

Well, atlest there will be DRM-free copies. Right?

 

[FeelTheRads]

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/ea-origin-jumps-on-the-kickstarter-bandwagon.72332/

 

[Jaesun]

Surprised Gaben has not done anything similar(or better) yet. As well as GOG, but I wasn't sure if WL2 will be on GOG?

 

[Untermensch]

Gaben doesn't need to convince people that his service isn't spyware, nor is steam the new kid on the block.
But I'm sure(I hope) Wasteland 2 will end up on GOG, since GOG has started publishing more and more indies.

 

[Zarniwoop]

So they realised they screwed up by not working with inXile, but still see the opportunity to profit off the work of others...

At least I have my DRM free copy secured already. EA and their faux-Steam can fuck right off.

 

[Johannes]

“I have had a long relationship with EA and it is great to see them recognize and support the crowd-funded games model”

[/quote]
Who's this quote belong to? Fargo?


Anyway, no real reason to decline the offer, as long as they're free to sell the game elsewhere too.

 

[St. Toxic]

Gut reaction is :shock: :horror:, even though it's supposedly a completely harmless move. You don't dance with the devil in the pale moonlight without bringing some hell back with you, it's just not how it works; there must be a taint in there somewhere.

 

[Mozgoëbstvo]

I still hold it as truth that everything they do or say before the actual release is absolutely, completely irrelevant. Where will this lead? The cases are many.

1) They do this for better marketing, even if I have no idea how this kinda marketing goes well with the whole
"going for it alone, with the poeple's mandate" deal they've been doing. It is, therefore an honest mistake.

2) They violate the principles enunciated in the kickstarter campaign. The people will be pissed off by this blatant trust
abuse and will never, ever give away money for any form of electronic entertainment, ever. Not to mention
dubious kickstarters started by "Zilbzard", "Cativision" and "WioBear".
Inb4 various "who was buying anything anyway before this lol"

3) They violate the principles enunciated in the kickstarter campaign. A small fraction of people will be pissed off,
another will give into the buzzwords and buy and fund anyway because, fuck, they were so jaded and they reached
the breaking point, so they WANT to believe in something by this point.
Another ferocious civil war (read: pissing contest) starts in the Codex, again cleft in twain. Another jimbob comic
comes out.


There might be other outcomes, but I'm too tired to go past the Trine-dialogue-wheel-choice™.

 

[deus101]

Well...here's hoping BF dosen't fail his Perception roll while reading the contract.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

What I'm wondering is what is EA's angle here? Why butter up to the indies and Kickstarter?

 

[Infinitron]

Newsflash: EA and inXile already have a good relationship and have for some time. EA let inXile rerelease original Bard's Tale games and keep all the profits.
Generally speaking, EA are bros when it comes to old, dead franchises (see also Ultima, Wing Commander)

 

[Morkar Left]

It's just another of many distribution platforms for them (but a shitty one). It doesn't affect everything else.

 

[mindx2]

Of course, my first gut reaction was but then I let the shock wear off. Since this isn't an exclusive distribution thing and we will still get our DRM-free versions I'm not as bothered. Realistically speaking, meaning money, more people will buy it that had never heard of it, or Kickstater, before. More sales means more chances of these style games getting made more frequently. This will only help spread Wasteland 2 to more players and once they get a taste of a good, solid turn-based cRPG this will only help the .

 

[St. Toxic]

The Golden Age of Gaming starts with EA? I'd love to stick around and see it, but I'm off to Jupiter where I landed a job as a Wizard.

 

[Jaesun]

It's just another of many distribution platforms for them (but a shitty one). It doesn't affect everything else.

Exactly. And for 90 days inXile get all the profit from sales. Nice. I am still in shock EA is doing this... Even so, I sure as hell would never buy this on that shit platform. I already am getting my DRM free version anyways from being a backer, so I don't really care.

 

[commie]

What I'm wondering is what is EA's angle here? Why butter up to the indies and Kickstarter?

They need to replace Bioware somehow.

 

[Achilles]

I hope Fargo went through the small print with a magnifying glass and a fine-tooth comb.

 

[Brayko]

Since Origin sucks EA is trying to make it more appealing by playing the 'Indie Wub' card.

 

[Azrael the cat]

Newsflash: EA and inXile already have a good relationship and have for some time. EA let inXile rerelease original Bard's Tale games and keep all the profits.
Generally speaking, EA are bros when it comes to old, dead franchises (see also Ultima, Wing Commander)

The man calls it. EA are one of the better publishers when it comes to licensing dead franchises to minor studios that they don't view as genuine competitors. Either they have a surprisingly-not-paranoid legal division that handles copyright issues, or (more likely) it is a zero cost means of slightly lessening the tremendous hatred of them in the market (they'd have to be aware of their reputation, and unlike Kotick most companies get a little nervous when their own customers hate them, as it means that those customers will dump their asses the moment an alternative comes up).

 

[Johannes]

What I'm wondering is what is EA's angle here? Why butter up to the indies and Kickstarter?

To promote the Origin store.

 

[Stabwound]

They're trying desperately to make Origin a successful competitor to Steam. It's smart for EA, even though it it evokes a gag reflex even thinking about the name EA associated with Wasteland 2.

 

[General Maxson]

They're trying desperately to make Origin a successful competitor to Steam. It's smart for EA, even though it it evokes a gag reflex even thinking about the name EA associated with Wasteland 2.

Well, EA has published Wasteland 1, so it's only fitting.