Mass Effect 3 Forces Origin on Users, Will Not Be on Steam

Another poor form move by Bioware and EA has been announced. Mass Effect 3 will not be available on Steam and will require Origin. It remains to be seen exactly how that will affect PC sales but it sure does seem like they are shooting themselves in the foot in regards to their PC strategy. Comments on the forum post with the answers to questions included "pre-order canceled"  and a discussion about how it is spyweare and read files on the drive.

Needles to say, PC users are fairly upset about it all and we at GDN agree with them. Foisting software upon gamers that may compromise other software on the drive or gain access to all information on the drive in any way is a terrible invasion of privacy and needs to be eliminated. Forcing Origin onto PCs in order to play games is a poor way to deter piracy and probably, in the end, will only set people on a more determined path to doing just that. If you’re not familiar with the discussion there is information below as well as all the answers from the forum post in question talking about all of this.

From the EULA:

"You agree that EA may collect, use, store and transmit technical and related information that identifies your computer (including the Internet Protocol Address), operating system, Application usage (including but not limited to successful installation and/or removal), software, software usage and peripheral hardware, that may be gathered periodically to facilitate the provision of software updates, dynamically served content, product support and other services to you, including online services," 

"EA may also use this information combined with personal information for marketing purposes and to improve our products and services," the section continues. "We may also share that data with our third party service providers in a form that does not personally identify you."

Below are answers to the most commonly asked questions about Origin and Mass Effect 3. Thank you for your patience as we have worked to answer them.

1) Will Origin be a requirement to play all versions of Mass Effect 3? (Digital and/or from a retail brick and mortar store) 
Yes, Origin is required for all PC editions of Mass Effect 3, physical or digital.

2) Is constant Origin connection required or is it a single one off authentication when the game is first installed. Is there also a limit to the number of installations available? 
Mass Effect 3 will require a one time, single authorization for the single player game. There is no limit to the number of installs. Playing Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer will require a constant connection.

3) Is Origin required for the retail versions of the game?
Origin is required for the PC versions of Mass Effect 3, both physical and digital.

4) Will ME3 be available on Steam?
During initial release Mass Effect 3 will be available on Origin and a number of other 3rd party digital retailers, but not on Steam at this time. Steam has adopted a set of restrictive terms of service which limit how developers interact with customers to deliver patches and other downloadable content.  We are intent on providing Mass Effect to players with the best possible experience no matter where they purchase or play their game, and are happy to partner with any download service that does not restrict our ability to connect directly with our consumers. 

5) Is there an opt in or opt out clause for data collection?  
Users will be allowed to opt-out of Mass Effect 3 data collection from inside the game. 

6) I’ve seen reports that Origin is spyware.  Is this true?
Origin is not spyware, and does not use or install spyware on user’s machines.  In order to allow Origin to install games and their patches for everyone to use, Origin implements a permission change that results in Windows, not Origin, reviewing the filenames in the ProgramData/Origin folder.   This is an ordinary Windows function, not an information-gathering process.  

7) Has the Origin EULA been updated following recent questions in Germany?
The German Origin EULA has been updated.  For more information, please review the Origin EULA here:http://www.ea.com/1/product-eulas.

8) Is there a double-opt in for Mass Effect 3 marketing emails for German residents?
Yes, we always adhere to the German requirement of a double opt-in standard for marketing emails.  Mass Effect 3 users must opt-in twice to receive these emails.

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