Electronic Arts plans to launch a new online service through which it will both sell digital games and offer a greater level of connectivity between its titles.
EA is calling Origin, as it’s known, a cornerstone of its business. Officially launching tomorrow, the Wall Street Journal has some early details on what it’s all about. The image above makes it simply look like a renamed EA Store. It’s apparently much more than that, with the WSJ saying it will have an iTunes-like application that allows users to download PC games, of which there will be 150 available at launch.
It’ll be home to a variety of social networking features, though none of it sounds particularly unique. You’ll be able to send messages to friends “on a variety of devices,” which were not specified; set up a profile to track your progress in EA games; and befriend other users on the service. There will also be a way to “brag” to friends in a way that’s compared to FarmVille‘s old notification system on Facebook. Users won’t be required to buy games through Origin in order to actually take advantage of any of this — a smart move if EA is serious about getting users to begin using it.
