Some surprisingly generous discounts have cropped up across EA’s Origin store, with savings of 87.5% to be had on some titles. That’s fantastic news, but it’s also incredibly strange news considering Origin bossman David DeMartini’s previous assertion that Steam-style deep discount sales “cheapen” intellectual property. Well at five quid, down from £40, the Dragon Age IP must now be worthless.
Spotted by RPS, the FloorPrice sale has slashed the prices of a total of 18 EA games down to £5 each. Take a look at this madness: Dead Space 2 and Arkham Asylum have each been reduced by 50%, Bad Company 2 is now 75% off, Dragon Age: Origins is down a whopping 87.5%. It’s a veritable IP bloodbath over on the Origin store. Oh, the humanity!
When discussing Steam’s sales last week, DeMartini seemed certain similar discounts would never appear on the Origin store. “We won’t be doing that,” he said, right before they did it. “Obviously they think it’s the right thing to do after a certain amount of time. I just think it cheapens your intellectual property. We’re trying to give you a fair price point and occasionally there will be things that are on sale, just don’t look for 75% off going-out-of-business sales.”
DeMartini’s confusion aside, who’s really complaining? Let’s celebrate EA’s change of heartby snapping up some bargains – perhaps a payoff on this sale will permanently change their stance on digital pricing for the better.