EA gets Steamed in Europe, except for UK
by Ross Miller 
{ Dec 23rd 2008 at 2:00PM }
... What's that, reader? What's the asterisk for? Turns out, the EA library is available on Steam only to "most of Europe," with the odd man out being the United Kingdom, according to both Eurogamer and independently verified by our mates at the Joystiq UK offices. We've extended an offer of Earl Grey and a scone to Valve for answers.
[Via BigDownload]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eggy @ Dec 23rd 2008 2:04PM
Hopefully BF2142 as well. Maybe I'll finally be able to play it again. I won a code in a contest for the EA Download version. It worked for a few months but after a while the EA app would lock up, tried everything but it just wouldn't work. Typical.
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Dec 23rd 2008 2:05PM
So now the only DRM on EA's games will be Steam. Not too terrible.
BrokenBycicle @ Dec 23rd 2008 2:13PM
Well, I happen to live in England, and most English people tell me that they don't consider themselves European, so it makes sense.
KingTorres @ Dec 23rd 2008 2:30PM
Well i happen to live in scotland and most Scotish people consider themselves more European than British,so it dosen't make sense.
Smurfy @ Dec 23rd 2008 2:48PM
I think it's because EA UK haven't agreed to it yet. We'll probably have it by the end of the week.
UK31337 @ Dec 23rd 2008 5:50PM
I live in Scotland, have a Scottish accent and a Scottish surname but I'm BRITISH, thanks.
People going on and on about England this, Scotland that... I find it offensive.
On topic, I'm surprised about EA not releasing in the UK and I'd love to know why.
WorMzy @ Dec 23rd 2008 2:47PM
EA, is this because I said that you suck?
That's just petty. Grow up.
Accepting that you have problem is the first step to getting rid of it. Don't take your frustrations out on the entire UK.
memorialhall @ Dec 23rd 2008 2:55PM
Unfortunately the cost of having EA games for europeans seems to have been increasing the price of every single game by about 40%. Prices for all games are now in euros, but the number is as it was in dollars. COD4 is 49.99€, which is about 71$. UK users now have the prices displayed in pounds, but their prices are adjusted to US levels. So I guess we got the EA tax.
Supino @ Dec 23rd 2008 3:43PM
this is the point - they gain so much more from the euro currency. Money doesn't make sense - and as a result, neither does Steam these days..
mexican @ Dec 23rd 2008 3:04PM
Holy shit! Is Mexico now part of Europe?! Didn't you guys know? I can buy Spore now too! (Apparently, Mexico isn't sufficiently North America, but considerably European).
Seriously, WTF.
SeriousKriss @ Dec 23rd 2008 3:28PM
€45 for Mass Effect?? It's only $30 (€22) on the US store!
Nieker @ Dec 23rd 2008 3:32PM
I'm not sure what the hell happened but since when is steam so expensive for Europeans? I used to buy games on it because of the competitive price and the fact that you could re-download the game anytime. But these prices are really too high.
Damn, it was such a great platform. :(
Eggy @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:05PM
Since last weekend.
Bowser Rogozhin @ Dec 23rd 2008 5:40PM
I really don't understand all the love Steam gets from the internet.
memorialhall @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:45PM
Not having to bother with taking care of CDs and serials. Not having to bother with patches. Not having to bother with installations. Having access to your games very easily from any computer. Ease of purchase. Being the only (more or less) effective DRM that is actually more convenient than pirating games. It has X-Com.
There are many reasons to love Steam. Most of their prices have never been competitive, but I was willing to pay them, since the middleman was the developer of some of the greatest games ever made.
Steam is an amazing way to get your games. But not if you're European. If you're European they are trying to charge you extra just to send you bits, because they think they can make an extra buck from us, just like the rest of the industry.
I am seriously pissed off.
Marmot @ Dec 23rd 2008 6:28PM
For the love of god, first ubi and now ea! We're willing to give you morons money damnit!
DrXym @ Dec 24th 2008 5:49AM
Steam's European prices are so ridiculously expensive that it isn't even funny. It's nothing short of a scam at the moment. A simple example - Left 4 Dead is €45 on Steam, it's €37.99 from Play.com. Valve's own game is €8 cheaper even when the middle man takes his cut and posts it to you! Even bricks and mortar stores are cheaper. I bought Fallout 3 from GAME for HALF what Steam would have me pay.
Frankly you'd have to be stupid to buy from Steam until they sort their prices out. It's nothing short of daylight robbery at the moment, especially considering their margins are probably €5 better just because there is no middle man, production, shipping, packaging or returns to worry about.
If you are buying from Steam, do yourself a favour and check virtually any other online site. It's almost certain to be cheaper. And of course you can sell the game afterwards too.
DrXym @ Dec 24th 2008 5:50AM
Doh Left 4 Dead is €7 cheaper. Same point though.
Mike @ Dec 24th 2008 9:54AM
Ive seen Left 4 Dead cheaper than that too, haveing the same price for £ € and $ is ridiculous
Spartan @ Dec 24th 2008 2:06PM
Not only is there a massive price issue and the exclusion of the UK but Japan is also left out. Oddly enough EA\BW says it was supposed to be "world wide" but Steam argues it was not the case.
This crap has happened to me before. The developers/publisher says one thing and Steam says something else. It really irks the hell out of me.