Battlefield 3 to require EA's Origin

Swedish game developers DICE have confirmed that EA's new digitaldistribution client, Origin, will be required to play their Battlefield 3 game on PC.

Steam users were disappointed with last week's news that Battlefield 3 would not be available via Valve's digital distributionservice. EA cited Steam's rigid terms and conditions as the reason for thegame's absence from the service. It seems that there was a bit more to it thanthat.

With regards to the Origin announcement, DICE community manager Daniel Matros spilled the beans viaTwitter. In responseto a fan's question, "What about the rumours spreading on the forums that weneed Origin to play BF3 if we have the DVD?" he tweeted back, "Yes those 'rumours'are true :)".

In order to play EA's long awaited Battlefield 3, PC gamerswill need to install the publisher's proprietary Origin digital distributionclient. Whilst this is to be expected if the game was purchased directly fromEA via their Origin store, players purchasing the game on disc from retailoutlets will also need to install the Origin client software.

The need to have another game client running in thebackground may be disappointing for PC Battlefield gamers.  It is, however, understandable that EA wouldwant to launch their digital distribution platform with such a triple-A title.

It also wouldn't be the first time such a move has beenpulled.

Before the Steam fraternity cries foul, Valve played asimilar hand with the release of the similarly anticipated Half-life 2 back in2004. Purchasers of the retail game disc were required to install and use Steamto activate and unlock the game. The launch was marred with problems as Steam'sservers were overloaded with activation requests. Many players found themselvesunable to access the game. No doubt EA will have learnt from Valve'sexperience.

Battlefield fans not wishing to install the Origin clientcan still enjoy Battlefield 3, without running additional software, on Xbox 360and PlayStation 3. And, of course, there's always Call of Duty: Modern Warfare3.

Battlefield 3 is out for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and WindowsPC on October 27, whilst Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be available forXbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC on November 8.