If you want to sell a whole bunch of units, that is certainly a way to do that, to sell a whole bunch of stuff at a low price. The gamemakers work incredibly hard to make this intellectual property, and we’re not trying to be Target. We’re trying to be Nordstrom.
-David DeMartini, head of EA’s Origin Digital Distribution Platform, on how Valve’s policy on sales and discounts is bad for everybody
I am not an Origin customer, nor do I plan to be one. That is primarily because of the badly handled customer service I have read about concerning Origin and EA.
So, EA, if you are shooting to be Nordstrom, a store that is able to charge a premium based on the perception people have of their quality and customer service (has anybody here not heard the snow tires story?), you have a long way to go.
Frankly, I would rate Target’s reputation and customer service far above Origin’s as well.
Try harder, Origin.
Much harder.
Addendum: And then EA changed tits collective mind and said Costco-like discounts are a good idea after all! They still seem to be failing on that whole customer service and reputation thing though.
The Ancient Gaming Noob 
Crap. I wanted to read you railing on the actual store.
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No, “Quote of the Day” usually means I am taking somebody elses words out of context to maximize the comic and/or insulting potential.
As an aside, at a previous job, our customers included Norstrom, Target, and Wal-Mart. I preferred Target. Norstrom was not bad either, though they had some odd requirements that i knew were going to cause issues down the road. Later I was offered a contract job to fix those issues. I declined. I knew how deep that hole was.
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My local Target is my go-to store for just about everything. Its been the same every place I’ve lived. Consistently good customer service, good selection, competitive pricing. Which, to my mind, makes them better than Valve or Nordstrom either one! (-:
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You’ve put your finger on what was bothering me about that argument.
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“Trying to be Nordstrom” sounds like what everyone who fails to be Wal-Mart says.
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Great find.
“If you want to sell a whole bunch of units…”
As opposed to what? Selling a handful? That sounds like a great business model.
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@HZ – Same here, Target is the go-to for our family.
But Nordstrom has that damn snow tire story. I have heard that story… in many variations… snow chains is a popular alternative… from so many customer service gurus/advocates that I can usually spot when they are going to bring it up before they do.
I like that there is, in fact, a shred of truth to it, even if it doesn’t line up with what some self-inflated expert telling me about the benefits of the “delighted” customer versus the “satisfied” customer tells as his favorite anecdote.
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If its not on Steam I’m not likely to buy it. EA is killing themselves with Origin. No doubt I would have picked up BF3 by now, and whatever other games EA has released of late. But since I don’t see them in the place I go to look (Steam), I don’t buy them.
Not expecting Origin to remain up for very long.
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Yeah…from what I’ve heard everyone who is using steam is making bucket loads of money from it.
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@SynCaine – Well, that another aspect to the whole thing. If I am going to do the online distribution/DRM thing, I don’t want to have multiple such platforms on my system. I have reconciled myself to Steam mostly because they throw cheap software at me now and again. And now I have bought enough stuff that I am committed.
So for Origin to have any hope with me, they would have to clearly be better than Steam rather than just more expensive and less user friendly.
Still, I doubt Origin will go away. All of your EA accounts became Origin accounts, so they can already point to a huge user base, and they will get sales from people who HAVE to have the latest Battlefield game.
The last one of those I played a lot of was 1942, and I spent most of my time with the Desert Combat mod.
So, the echo HZ, I already shop at Target (Steam), so I am not sure I need Nordstrom.
Bonus Question: If Origin aspires to be Nordstrom and casts Steam as Target, then what is GoG.com and where does Impulse fit into the scheme of things?
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I returned Mass Effect 3 without playing it due to two things – the utterly crappy experience of trying to create an Origin account. That, coupled with the completely intrusive EULA (of which I’d already had deep misgivings), made my decision for me. Suggest those who haven’t read it do so sometime…
Upshot is I will not be buying any game that requires it. Unless EA does something about both elements, they’ve lost a customer. Permanently.
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