Announced on Friday, March 28, on EA’s official Origin website, as of April 4 (which is also when Magmar and Electabuzz will be available for free for Pokémon X and Pokémon Y at GAME stores in the UK), the Origin digital client will be going all-digital . This means that the entire Origin store will be filled with only digital titles for both PC and Mac.
“ What does this mean for you? ” reads the announcement. “ If you’re among 99% of our users, absolutely nothing. Your shopping experience hasn’t changed one single bit.
But if you’re that 1% who still desires a physical collection, we want to let you know that Origin won’t be able to fulfill that need beginning April 4th. We’ll still be here when you transition your gaming habits to the wonders of digital downloads. ”
EA believes that going digital is “ fast and convenient, ” saying that Origin’s focus is to give you the best experience. The publisher believes that going all-digital will make that possible.
The announcement was met with mixed responses, mostly with confusion. Thankfully, the PR manager at Maxis clarified that you will still be able to purchase boxed copies of Origin games, but you will not be able to buy boxed copies of games through the Origin client.
@SimsVIP just to clarify, we’re still putting out boxed versions of our games, just not through Origin.
— Charlie Sinhaseni (@Charlie_Sin) March 28, 2014
Last week, the sci-fi horror game Dead Space became available for free on Origin, as part of EA’s “On the House” promotional deal. The full game will remain free until May 8, and more games are expected to be offered up for free later on.
Source: Origin .