QuoteWe know that feeling: the one where you sit down, wait for a new game to finish downloading and installing, start it for the first time, and want it to rock. The intro sucks you in, you press a button to shoot, jump, or talk for the first time, and then it's suddenly three a.m. We know that feeling, and the one afterwards of knowing that not only does a game rock, but that it was worth every dollar you spent on it.
We hope every game you play on Origin will meet this high bar, and we're happy to say that starting today, we can guarantee that we'll make things right if you decide the game you just bought didn't live up to your expectations.
The new Origin Great Game Guarantee works like this: You may return EA full game downloads (PC or Mac) purchased on Origin for a full refund--within 24 hours after you first launch the game, within seven days from when you purchased it, or within the first seven days after the game's release date if you pre-ordered it (whichever of these conditions happens first).
If something doesn't work out—you aren't riveted by the storyline, or sucked in by the action, or even just if the game doesn't play well with your video card—we've got your back.
Requesting a refund is quick and easy. Just visit your order history and click the "request a refund" link next to your recent purchase, answer a few quick questions, and we'll take it from there.
For more details, you can check out the full Origin Great Game Guarantee policy details posted on Origin.com. The Origin Great Game Guarantee is effective as of today in 20 countries. Like the improved Origin Store, we are rolling out the program worldwide over the next few weeks, and everyone will be covered by the Origin Great Game Guarantee by the end of September.
Seems like a great customer service idea oddly enough from EA. I am not sure it is enough to sway my current opinion about Origin but is certainly a step in the right direction. I wonder how long until STEAM comes with something like this because that would be great especially for games without demos.
*edit* forgot to give yall the link.
https://www.origin.com/us/news/origin-great-game-guarantee?sourceid=Origin_AFF_LS315&c=TnL5HPStwNw&LSsiteID=TnL5HPStwNw-P2gMk_bXYH9POCvOG957kg
Bravo. This is certainly impressive and definitely speaks to the confidence they have in their games.
Quote from: TheCommandTent on August 20, 2013, 07:30:43 AM
I wonder how long until STEAM comes with something like this because that would be great especially for games without demos.
Like virtually all aspects of their business, Valve absolutely suck with this. I once requested a refund for a game because it didn't run on my PC, and they didn't give it to me. They would never get away with that in the UK if they were selling a physical product. Valve are twats, and EA are making it show with this initiative. I can't imagine I'll ever install Origin, but I hope this puts the pressure on Valve to start behaving responsibly at last.
This is good. :)
Huh.
That might be enough for me to try to figure out how Origin works again and reset my password.
Maybe.
Does Origin operate in the same manner as Steam? i.e. if Origin were to disappear overnight, would your collection of games go with it?
Quote from: Herman Hum on August 20, 2013, 12:08:41 PM
Does Origin operate in the same manner as Steam? i.e. if Origin were to disappear overnight, would your collection of games go with it?
Yep. Origin are no different to any other online retailer in this regard; if the worst comes to the worst, they're under no obligation whatsoever to enable you to continue playing "your" games.
I'm not a big fan of EA games because of bad DRM on some but, a 7 day game Guarantee with a refund may change that. That way I can at lease see if there are any issues and if I can live with the DRM scheme. I hope other companies follow this policy.
details
https://help.ea.com/article/what-s-the-great-games-guarantee
Quote from: SgtRock on August 20, 2013, 03:07:39 PM
I'm not a big fan of EA games because of bad DRM on some but, a 7 day game Guarantee with a refund may change that. That way I can at lease see if there are any issues and if I can live with the DRM scheme. I hope other companies follow this policy.
details
https://help.ea.com/article/what-s-the-great-games-guarantee
Thanks for sharing. I believe this already has a thread about it so I've merged the two together.
.
Origin is a PITA.
Quote from: eyebiter on August 20, 2013, 03:55:25 PM
Origin is a hassle, have to go offline to play BF3 single player. EA wants to use your web browser for multiplayer match making, which requires downloading both the Origin client software and a browser plugin. There is a battlelog to keep track of activity and achievements.
Christ, that sounds awful. And primitive.
Purely out of curiosity I went to the Origin website today to browse the store...what a horrid experience! It's as if they've deliberately made it difficult to find what you want and to filter the selection. Even Desura's website does it better.
there's a few games I d/l from Steam where that'd come in handy
Quote from: Huw the Poo on August 20, 2013, 01:11:20 PM
Quote from: Herman Hum on August 20, 2013, 12:08:41 PM
Does Origin operate in the same manner as Steam? i.e. if Origin were to disappear overnight, would your collection of games go with it?
Yep. Origin are no different to any other online retailer in this regard; if the worst comes to the worst, they're under no obligation whatsoever to enable you to continue playing "your" games.
That's not true, for non MMO/on-line games you can play them without a Stream connection (off line mode).
Quote from: SgtRock on August 20, 2013, 04:44:43 PM
That's not true, for non MMO/on-line games you can play them without a Stream connection (off line mode).
Are you saying that for offline games, Origin essentially requires a one-time activation and that's it? You can never open Origin again and be able to play the game forever?
This is Origin of the Ultima fame? With Lord British and a throne room full of naked folk protesting at the MMO? Thought that had died moons ago?
Darkspire
Quote from: TheCommandTent on August 20, 2013, 07:30:43 AM
Seems like a great customer service idea oddly enough from EA. I am not sure it is enough to sway my current opinion about Origin but is certainly a step in the right direction. I wonder how long until STEAM comes with something like this because that would be great especially for games without demos.
Heh! Steam won't do this. They're adamantly anti-refund right now, so it'd be quite a leap.
I can fully understand a no refund policy for someone who just doesn't like the game as much as they had hoped. But I'd say that technical issues should probably warrant one if the software in question doesn't work at all for somebody. Of course, the first group would probably just learn to say it was the latter in order to get one since there's not much in the way of proof to be had through digital download systems. Still, I've had one refunded (by Get Games Go) because it didn't work, so that doesn't excuse them.
Quote from: Darkspire on August 20, 2013, 05:01:39 PM
This is Origin of the Ultima fame? With Lord British and a throne room full of naked folk protesting at the MMO? Thought that had died moons ago?
Darkspire
Perhaps that's where they took the name, since they gobbled up Origin long ago, but it doesn't have much to do with Ultima. EA's Origin system is just DRM and multi-player matchmaking through web pages on your web browser (which organizationally suck in my experience with BF3).
I believe Ultima Online is still running, but I seriously doubt it's player base is quite what it used to be.
I still remember when they killed Lord British....
That's not true. Battlefield 3 for example always takes you to the browser even to start a single player game.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on August 20, 2013, 04:52:14 PM
Quote from: SgtRock on August 20, 2013, 04:44:43 PM
That's not true, for non MMO/on-line games you can play them without a Stream connection (off line mode).
Are you saying that for offline games, Origin essentially requires a one-time activation and that's it? You can never open Origin again and be able to play the game forever?
If a game requires activation and the company no longer exists, it sounds as though you can never move the game to a new computer in the future. Is this correct?
Quote from: Herman Hum on August 20, 2013, 06:12:04 PM
If a game requires activation and the company no longer exists, it sounds as though you can never move the game to a new computer in the future. Is this correct?
Good point. You're stuck with a sole installation on one PC.
Quote from: Herman Hum on August 20, 2013, 06:12:04 PM
Quote from: Huw the Poo on August 20, 2013, 04:52:14 PM
Quote from: SgtRock on August 20, 2013, 04:44:43 PM
That's not true, for non MMO/on-line games you can play them without a Stream connection (off line mode).
Are you saying that for offline games, Origin essentially requires a one-time activation and that's it? You can never open Origin again and be able to play the game forever?
If a game requires activation and the company no longer exists, it sounds as though you can never move the game to a new computer in the future. Is this correct?
I guess the question would be whether or not the company is willing to make a patch available to disable the check.
Don't kid yourself EA games that you want to play forever are very rare and few.
Quote from: Bison on August 20, 2013, 06:43:12 PM
I guess the question would be whether or not the company is willing to make a patch available to disable the check.
That would never happen. Any executive who tried that stunt would definitely face civil prosecution.
The reason, for anyone not familiar with Origin, that they even have to do this is because they suck giant donkey balls.
The only time I bought a game from Origin it simply wouldn't run, period. Every time I loaded it up a message popped up saying it wouldn't run because of issue #xyz. When I did some research on issue #xyz, it turned out to affect dozens of games. It was some old Origin code causing the problem and anyone buying any of the games on the list was SOL. In a post more than a year old, they said they were working on this issue, with no updates since.
You then look up the refund policy, they don't offer refunds on games that won't run. They were basically selling games that they knew (at least some knew) wouldn't run at all, period. I don't think it was calculated evil or anything, just that EA is a lumbering giant where the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing.
Having dealt with customer service in similar situations, I wasn't about to waste my time trying to get these people to issue me a $10 refund. I simply uninstalled Origins and never looked back. I also tell anyone who will listen this story anytime Origins pops up as a topic.
I will never use Origin again, no matter what stupid marketing ploys they come up with.
I've never really had any issues with Origin, personally...I often get faster downloads through it than I do through Steam.
Just to clear up a few things :
1. Not every Origin game requires running through a web page. BF3 required it because that's how they set up the BattleLog system.
2. You don't need to run Origin games through Origin every time you start them up.
3. Note that this guarantee is FOR EA GAMES ONLY. So, no cover for any other publisher's games bought through Origin, which makes sense, since that other publisher would have to be onboard for the plan. At least this is a start, though.
4. The guarantee is for EA games only BOUGHT THROUGH ORIGIN. So if you buy it somewhere else for a discount, say at GreenManGaming, and plug your key in, you aren't covered.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on August 20, 2013, 04:15:14 PM
Christ, that sounds awful. And primitive.
Purely out of curiosity I went to the Origin website today to browse the store...what a horrid experience! It's as if they've deliberately made it difficult to find what you want and to filter the selection. Even Desura's website does it better.
For some reason my mind erased "Origin" and replaced it with "PSN". ;)