EA: Origin versus Steam not "a proper battle"

Two key EA executives have both opined that Origin and Steam aren't in direct competition.

"I'm not sure we're taking them on; we're a great compliment to that business," EA COO Peter Moore told GamesIndustry of the supposed "rivalry" between the fledgling Origin and Steam.

The executive's comments were echoed by EA Europe leader Jens Uwe Intat.

"I don't even know if Steam Vs. Origin is a proper battle," he said. "There's a space for Steam, there's a space for Origin, there's a space for third party retailers. Both pure retailers and traditional retailers that are entering the digital distribution space.

"I think in that space that competition will create superior experiences for the consumer and there's space for more than one player.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's not a competitor to Steam, I'm just saying that there's more people out there than just Steam and Origin."

Intat added that publishers both work with and in rivalry to other companies all the time.

"Every first party manufacturer is a partner of ours when we're distributing their product, and a competitor of ours with their own software. I think, as an industry, we're pretty good at competing and co-operating at the same time," he said.

Both Moore and Intat said Origin owes its existence to EA's need to interface directly with the customer, and reiterated that Steam's policy against such interactions as the motivation the removal of some of its games from Valve's service.

Asked about Origin last week, Valve's Gabe Newell had nothing bad to say, either.