Call for support: Ask Electronic Arts to bring Origin and their games to Linux.

**cRaZyBisCuiT** · March 5th, 2013

Hey guys,

I want to make use of the PRO Linux gaming time we have right now and ask EA to bring their games to Linux. All information you will need you can find in that post which I will link and quote:

http://answers.ea.com/t5/Battlefield...ux/td-p/595300

Dear Electronic Arts,
with this post I want to request a native Client of Origin for Linux including a port of all your famous games like Battlefield, Sims etc. More and more people are using Linux nowadays and companies like Valve plan to invent consoles based on Linux as well and as you may know they started to port there whole game catalogue for Linux.
In the End EA may be left behind on the PC AND the console market if games will run on Linux PCs and Linux Consoles. Think about that.

That's why I want you to port ...
- Origin
- Frostbyte Engine (2)
- ...and more Games and bring them to Linux.

I am very sure people will support a Kicktarter project to bring EA Games to Linux! Please consider that as well.

Kindest regards,

Laurens

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Dear Customer Support,

I'd like to ask you to escalate this request to the people who are responsible to make decisions within your company. Many thanks!

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Dear User in this Forum,
I'd like you to post in this thread to show support, share this thread in several communities and social networks and get more people to support this mission. Due to the fact I have no facebook I'd like to ask you to create a EA Games Linux-Group and share and like that and post the link over here! Many thanks!

If you like to you can help me to ask and reproduce this question in a more official way.

If you want to post on the EA Forums just login with your Origin ID or EA Master ID.

**Bölvaður** · March 5th, 2013

just my 2 cents but I think "Think about that" is not something you would want to read if you are in customer service.

**Am Elder** · March 5th, 2013

I say, don't write to customer support. The CEO makes the strategic business decisions at EA or directly oversees the people who do. That's who you write to. Then you try to make a business argument.

Here's an example of what I think would be a better letter:

Dear Mr Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, I'm writing to encourage you and your company to seize the lead in making games that support Linux-based operating systems. I am an avid gamer who would like to play the games made by EA. However, because you do not support my platform of choice, I do not buy your games. Mr Riccitiello: help me give you money!

The success of the Humble Bundle and Steam on Linux have proven that there is a GNU/Linux gaming market. It is large enough to cover the marginal cost of porting popular games and of making new games operate cross-platform. Supporting Linux will not lose money for Electronic Arts.

The upside is that you can be proactive about planting the EA flag on top of a growing market. If it continues to increase in popularity as an operating system for gamers, Linux games produced now will continue to sell as classics on the platform in the future. The sooner EA supports Linux, the more of its catalogue will be available on the Linux-based devices of the future. Supporting Linux will make money for EA for years to come.

So, please direct your company to make a native Origin client and Frostbyte Engine. Port games like the Sims and Battlefield to run on the platform I, and many of my fellow gamers, prefer.

We'll buy your games if you make them for us.

Sincerely, etc.

That's the best version I can put together in a hurry, and of course I'm not a businessman. And anyway, I don't think it's a good enough argument for EA. My impression is that they're trying to refocus on the most popular platforms and are investing heavily in always-online. The best argument will be in the language of their current business strategy, but I don't think Linux has a central place there.

Then there's the problem that they're just not GNU/Linux people. The EA COO and CTO are ex-Microsoft employees.

And me personally, I don't want to play EA games. I don't like their catalogue and I don't want the always-online, micro-transaction-infested games they say they plan to make in the future. I don't care what platforms the company supports, so I wouldn't sign this letter.

**blatz89** · March 5th, 2013

Well, I hate EA, and therefore, Origin, so I can't support this notion.

However, best of luck anyways.

**arashi256** · March 5th, 2013

Agreed - EA can gobble my crank. Besides, we've got Steam now so yay! Good luck though.

**R33D3M33R** · March 5th, 2013

I also dislike EA, so no support from me.

**cRaZyBisCuiT** · March 5th, 2013

In general I agree with you guys: Short support periods, spying and DRM is not what I like! But games like Battlefield or Sims will never come to Linux by themselves I assume.

Thanks Am Elder! I think your idea is good. The problem about it is just that I don't want to write a single letter, I am seeking for support of a wide user/customerbase. Maybe if there's a Facebook Group with 50.000 likes it's worth to sent a letter and mention that. Also mention the forum thread then as well.

I will think about my strategy again....

**Bölvaður** · March 6th, 2013

EA has made their strategy public online, it concludes PC gaming worth is going down whilst social webgames such as Farmville are quickly becoming worthier. We can see it in CnC: Triberium Wars which they made online and have here in the Ubuntu software centre. They even made Farmvillized Sims game for Android and iOS where you can buy stuff for your sims (and faster process).

Read their own material about the strategy and try to make it fit with Linux. Perhaps point out making your own console device and turning that into some emerging market.. I dunno...

**R33D3M33R** · March 6th, 2013

The questions are:
-do you really want 60€ games that have cut-out content which is later included as a payable DLC?
-do you want to have games with agressive DRM, limited installs and so on?
-do you want F2P games that aren't actually free to play, but are rather pay to win?
-do you want to support a publisher that doesn't care about players at all?
I could go on forever ...

EA is one of the worst publishers ever ...

It's true they have some nice games, but these are from companies that were acquired by them. The only thing EA does is buy the succesfull company and then milks it's products to infinity (it also introduces day one DLCs and DRM). By buying their products and requesting such things as above, you encourage them to expand, cannibalize even more small companies and kill the PC gaming as we know it. They ruined the C&C franchise, destroyed the best casual game company ever (PopCap), they ruined Bioware (the Mass Effect series), ... (must i go on?).