Get Dragon Age: Origins for PC Free Before October 14th

As part of EA's new 'On the House promotion' the gaming developer is giving away free, that's right totally free, digital downloads of Dragon Age: Origins. For those not familiar with EA's new On the House promotion it is pat of the company's new Origin streaming platform similar to that of Steam. Once you create an Origin account and download the software you can purchase games, grab expansions packs ect.

As part of the service you can also grab full games, expansions, demos and more at absolutely no cost. With the On the House promotion EA will occasionally offer full versions of the real games — for free for a limited time. You can also checkout the Free to Play section for more great games.

This week's promotion offers gamer the chance to save a few bucks and grab Dragon Age: Origins, which saves you a cool $20 bucks. Origins is the first game in the Dragon Age series, having launched on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC back in 2009. It was very well-received upon its release, earning a 9.5 in GameSpot's review and a 91 Metascore via Metacritic.

For more details on the game checkout the Dragon Age Origins: Launch Trailer below!

 

Select Battlefield PC Games For $10 Each, 9/20 Only

Here is a hot deal for all you PC gaming fans out there. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of EA's Battlefield series, the publisher is now selling select Battlefield PC games for $10 each through EA's Origin platform.

Here are direct links to the six titles available:

Battlefield 3 ($10)
Battlefield 2142 Deluxe Edition ($10)
Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam Expansion Pack ($10)
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Digital Deluxe Edition ($10) *Probably the best deal out there*
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 ($10)
Battlefield 2: Complete Collection ($10)

Some of these deals are obviously a little hotter than others. For instance Bad Company 2 alone is $10, and the Vietnam expansion is $10 yet the Bad Company 2 Digital Deluxe gives you both games for only $10. Battlefield 3 is another hot deal considering it retails for $39.99.

The sale ends today so if you plan on buying you better hurry!

EA Makes Portion of Star Wars: The Old Republic Free To Play

Electronic Arts' Star Wars: The Old Republic has hardly turned out to be the blockbuster the company had hoped for. In order to bolster subscribers willing to spend a monthly fee to play the online title the company has taken an ambitious approach announcing that in July major portion of the game will be open for all players to play free.

EA has struggled to get "Star Wars: The Old Republic" off the ground since its December launch. Just last month the company announced it had lost 400,000 subscribers in its fiscal fourth quarter. Moving to a partially free to play plan might be the jumpstart the game needs. The announcement follows similar decisions made by other developers of the so-called massively multiplayer online game genre, or MMO, which lets millions of gamers play the game together.

From July, EA will offer 15 "levels" for free, meaning gamers will be able to join and play the beginning phases of the game without paying.

In addition to offering free to play content, EA and Star Wars: The Old Republic producer Bioware, have said they will be adding new content such as PvP warzones to the game, more challenging group and high-level content a new version of Nightmare difficulty, new companion characters, playable species, and more.

The free-to-play announcement was one of many at EA's press conference. FIFA 13, Dead Space 3, and new versions of SimCity, Madden Football, and Need for Speed were demoed, while an agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to produce fighting games and a premium service for Battlefield 3 players were unveiled.

Gaming News: EA Confirms Crysis 3 Coming Spring 2013

Following last week's leak of advertisements on a Origin.com product page EA has confirmed a 2013 release for the third installment of the company's sci-fi shooter series Crysis.

Crysis 3 will be set in a futuristic version of New York City in 2047. The returning character Prophet has discovered New York sealed inside a dome by the nefarious Cell Corporation. Under New York's Liberty Dome, the city has become an "urban rainforest teeming with overgrown trees, dense swamplands and raging rivers," according to EA, and is split into seven distinct and treacherous environments known as the Seven Wonders.

In addition to the new setting the game will feature a new weapon in the form of a lethal composite bow, an enhanced nanosuit, and alien weaponry to hunt both human and alien enemies. The game also features the return of "Adaptive Warfare" with more open levels to let you choose your path and approach.

Crysis 3 Hunter Edition will be released for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC and is immediately available for pre-orders for $60. The pre-order includes a bonus XP boost up to level five, a unique bow skin, and three exclusive dog tags. Select retailers will also offer pre-order bonuses in the shape of early multiplayer unlocks. The Stalker Pack makes the semi-auto Jackal shotgun available earlier; the Overkill Pack gives early access to the Typhoon assault weapon; and the Predator Pack unlocks the Feline submachine gun.

For more details checkout EA's official Crysis 3 site.

EA Shutting Down Servers For Several Less Popular Older Games

Electronic Arts (EA) has announced, beginning April 13th the company will shut down online servers for more than a dozen of the its less popular and older online console titles.

"The decisions to retire older EA games are never easy," EA said in their announcement. "But as games get replaced with newer titles, the number of players still enjoying the older games dwindles to a level – fewer than 1 percent of all peak online players across all EA titles – where it's no longer feasible to continue the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping these games up and running."

The games affected by the April 13th shutdown include:

• BOOM BLOX Bash Party for Wii
• Burnout Revenge for Xbox 360
• EA Create for PC, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360
• EA Sports Active 2.0 for PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360
• EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp for Wii
• FIFA 10 for PlayStation Portable and Wii
• The Godfather II for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
• MMA for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
• Need for Speed ProStreet for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
• The Saboteur (loss of The Midnight Club access) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
• Spare Parts for PlayStation 3 Xbox 360

Additional gaming titles that will be shuttered March 31st include:

• BATTLEFIELD 3: Aftershock for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch
• Fantasi Safari for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch
• Ghost Harvest for iPhone

If you have further questions about your account or the shut down of these services, please visit http://support.ea.com.

EA Offering Free-To-Play Version Of Battlefield

Electronic Arts this week announced a new free-to-play version of the company's popular Battlefield series. Battlefield Play4Free, slated to hit the PC in Spring 2011, will offer gamers a chance to play a simplified version of the game.

"We broke new ground in 2009 with the launch of Battlefield Heroes; a game that has 6M registered players worldwide. Now we are complementing that arcade shooter with a core, realistic Battlefield shooter experience that fans have been clamoring for," said James Salt, Senior Producer, Battlefield Play4Free. "Battlefield Play4Free is for serious shooter fans who are looking for a premium--but free--experience that rivals top console titles."

Combining the most popular maps from Battlefield 2 with the familiar classes and powerful weapons of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, players have access to 16 vehicles including the Mil Mi-28 attack helicopter, its nemesis the F35 VTOL jet fighter, the massive Russian T-90 main battle tank, and the hard to catch LSV light strike vehicle. Players progress through the game to learn new combat skills, and earn in-game currency to spend on a massive array of devastating weapons and equipment.

The game goes live in spring 2011. Players who wish to get in the game sooner can register today for the closed beta at the Official Website which launches on Nov 30. For more information on Battlefield Play4Free visit battlefield.play4free.com. Players can follow the game on Twitter at: bfplay4free or become a fan on Battlefield Play4Free Facebook Page.

EA Charging Gamers $10 Fee For Using Used Games Online

Beginning with July's release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 on Xbox 360 and PS3, EA Sports is introducing Online Pass, a unique access code which enables online functionality for a EA Sports title. The catch? These codes will be supplied with new copies of games.

Andrew Wilson, Senior Vice President of World Wide Development, EA SPORTS says, "It’s quite simple – every game will come with a game-specific, one-time use registration code with each unit sold new at retail. With your Online Pass, you’ll have access to multiplayer online play, group features like online dynasty and leagues, user created content, and bonus downloadable content for your game including, for example, a new driver in Tiger. If the original access code has been redeemed and fans wish to get access to the online content (for example, if you pick up a used copy), you can access a free 7-day trial or additional Online Passes will be available for $10."

Obviously most gamers gamers are fairly unhappy about this, and many view it as a used game tax. User C-lo_3o5 writes, "This is ********! Whether i buy a game at the store or i buy a used copy EA has already made money off of that sale! Why should I have to pay extra to allow me to do something the game is supposed to come with? It just looks like a way for you guys to make more money."

It looks to me like RA might really be trying to stick it to the second market user!

EA Gives Gamers A SecuROM De-Authorization Tool

Gamers owning EA games that are plagued with the dreaded SecuROM digital rights management technology can now rejoice as the company has released a new set of de-authorization tools meant to help gamers manage their computers SecuROM authorizations.

Certain EA PC games with SecuROM digital rights management technology allow users to concurrently "authorize" up to five computers at the same time to play the games. Users can then play the game on any authorized computer they choose. If your EA PC game was released after May 2008 and has a machine authorization limit, you can now manage your computer authorizations using EA De-Authorization Tools!

For a list of EA games with machine authorization limits released after May 2008, click here.

If you choose to take advantage of the de-authorization too, you have two options.

EA is giving users two east ro use options for managing your authorizations:

• Option 1: Download and install the new tools in order to scan your computer for EA's SecuROM games and find out how many computer authorizations you have (or don't have) left for each title.
• Option 2: Cut to the chase and download the game-specific de-authorization tool you need.

Gaming: EA Announces EA Sports Active

Following on the success of Wii Fit EA has decided to jump into the fitness games arena with a new game called "EA Sports Active."

The game which was developed in collaboration with fitness experts is being geared more specifically for women, however EA does note that "EA SPORTS Active is perfect for the whole family."

"EA SPORTS Active and our entrance into the fitness space is an exciting and groundbreaking milestone for EA SPORTS," said Peter Moore, president, EA SPORTS. "As we continue to expand our brand, we have a real opportunity to redefine the home fitness experience with a more Western cardiovascular approach and exercises that will appeal to a diverse audience, getting people off the couch and into shape while interacting with our products in a way never before possible. EA SPORTS Active costs less than a gym membership, it provides a variety of exercises unlike a one dimensional in-home fitness contraption, and it delivers an interactive experience that you don't get from a DVD - this is a true fitness revolution and a space in which we intend to be leaders."

EA SPORTS Active features a wide variety of interactive activities combined into a circuit that targets both the upper and lower body as well as cardio, and supports two players to allow family or friends to get fit together. EA SPORTS Active provides a new level of motivation with on-screen, real-time feedback on your workout such as calories burned, while also allowing you to adjust intensity levels. The game will ship with two specially-designed leg straps that hold the Wii's Nunchuk controller to track lower body movements, as well as a resistance band to support a number of upper body strength training exercises.

For more information read the official EA Sports press release or visit www.easportsactive.com

Gaming News: Battlefield: Bad Company Releases June 23

EA announced that Battlefield: Bad Company will ship out June 23 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Electronic Arts recently faced some controversy over the inclusion of for-purchase downloadable weapons in the game. 10 firearms appeared to be available only as downloadable content or through the purchase of the collector's edition of the game which led to SarcasticGamer organizing a boycott. EA however quickly backed away and has recently told GameSpot that all weapons will now be included in the game's purchase price, but standard-edition buyers will need to unlock them by playing the game.

Karl-Magnus Troedsson, senior producer on Battlefield: Bad Company, laid out the situation for GameSpot in a recent interview.

"It all started when the beta came out," said Troedsson. "The beta is a beta. We had some problems with explanation of the weapons that are available or you can see on the unlocking page. We had some weapons that we were planning to release through various marketing programs, but they were actually flagged there like you were supposed to buy these weapons through Xbox Live Marketplace, and that was a misunderstanding between marketing and us the developers. We clarified that in the last statement that went out, but lately there's been a lot going on about the Gold Edition weapons."

"I should pretty much start at the end, we listen a lot to what people say out there. I think that's important to show, because we don't have time to comment on everything, because there's so much noise out there, but DICE is built upon the multiplayer community, and we do listen to what people say out there. When we saw this big uprise about people that really felt it was dissatisfying that some people bought the Gold Edition, those five weapons you couldn't get or that you had to buy if you had the ordinary version of the game, that we just decided that all weapons will be free in the game, and that's how it is now."

"These Gold Edition weapons, we won't give away, you have to do something as a gamer. The Gold Edition guys and girls that actually buy that game will have some time where the weapons are exclusive, because if you don't buy the Gold Edition, you have to earn them. That means you have to rank up all the way to the top rank, which is rank 25, and then you have a massive unlock of five new weapons which are the same that are in the Gold Edition."

The standard edition carries a $59.99 price tag, while the Gold Edition--which includes unlocked versions of the five controversial weapons and various behind-the-scenes bonuses--will run for $69.99

Madden NFL 09 Won't Reach PCs

EA Sports president Peter Moore confirmed last week that the latest Madden game will not be coming to PC.

"We knew that our decision to not develop this year's Madden for the PC would be an unpopular decision in some circles," said Moore in a blog post on Tuesday. He continues to say, "But I’ll reiterate what I said a couple of weeks ago in this space…the PC presents some very serious business challenges to us in the sports category, particularly because so many of you all are playing your favorite sports games on the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii. We are committed to shipping a limited number of our games on the PC this year, but we’ve also had to cut a few of our games from the platform. We do have ideas for how to revitalize the PC for sports games and the types of games that are best suited to the platform, and we’ll continue to explore those."

Low game sales and rampant piracy have both contributed to waning popularity of the PC platform when it comes to gaming.

The announcement marks the first time that EA's biggest game will not be coming to PC. The game is set to launch in North America on August 12, and marks the 20th anniversary of the Madden franchise with a special collector's edition called the Madden NFL 09 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition. The special premium priced edition will feature full versions of both Madden NFL 09 and the all-new NFL Head Coach 09, exclusive classic Madden NFL gameplay, and a library of exclusive bonus video content.