EA Origins and game keys

[MojoJojo]

So my kids have got obsessed with Sims 4 videos on youtube and would like to play it. Looking around it seems to be £35 on steam, £35 from EA origins or I can get an origins game key for £5.

1) Had bad is EA Origins - I know a lot of people hate it, but why?
2) Will I be able to install it in two places with one key, so they can have it at their mums place too?
3) How do game keys actually work? They're not illegal, from what I've heard, so why is it possible to legally buy EAs product for a lot less than EA would like to sell it for?

[Al Tha Funkee Homosapien]

1) About as bad as any other game service/launcher. Can be prone to crashing when browsing the store. Can get the Origin Basic subscription for £3.99 a month/£19.99 a year though which may be cheaper if you're going to buy more than 3-4 games a year.

2) Yep should be okay, just have to log into the account on each PC. Can download and install on as many computers as you like, but only be logged in on one at a time obviously.

3) Not illegal, but grey market dodgy, may have originally been acquired from other markets for less money and resold, or may have been bought with stolen credit cards and then resold. I've never had any issues using them. Whether you find them morally/ethically acceptable is your judgement call.

[Huxleys Babkins]

If it's CDKeys.com, you'll be fine. They are all grey market keys, nothing stolen. Bought a few Origin keys from them and they are still trucking.

[oustropique]

People don't like Origin because it's not where they've already bought most of their video games. In your situation, I wouldn't worry about this. It's a reputable service. I bought FIFA 20 on it yesterday.

Aftermarket sites like G2A have already been addressed pretty well, so I'll try to avoid repeating anything. The size of it is very little money actually goes to the developer - through stolen credit cards, regional pricing loopholes, and so on. This is generally considered bad for indies (and G2A and possibly similar sites are known to not care), who often recommend that people considering this route... turn elsewhere to play their game, because it can hurt their sales and finances more than the alternative does. In your position, buying a triple-A EA game... up to you, but you're not likely to get a key revoked.

Something to bear in mind is that the Sims 4 is predicated on you buying the base game, and umpteen other expansion packs that they are still releasing. Your children will no doubt be wanting these at some stage, as the base game is pretty empty, so if you are thinking about keys (regardless of whether you should or shouldn't do so) then go Origin (EA moving to Steam is a very recent and as far as I'm aware still in progress move, meaning keys for Steam will be in short supply).

I'm not endorsing anything other than a legal purchase - waiting for sales, even. But it can be an expensive wormhole. The Origin subscription does not provide all the DLC - I think you get Dine Out and Kids Room Stuff and that's it.

[H-O-W-L]

Origin's past issues (which were legitimately greivous to the point of making the client unusable) have been resolved now, it's a fine client/service now.

[oustropique]

Just as a heads up - Sims 4 and the expansions are 75% off on Steam right now.

[MojoJojo]

Just as a heads up - Sims 4 and the expansions are 75% off on Steam right now.

Balls. Well cd keys was still £3 cheaper, but not sure that was worth the hassle of signing up for Origin and installing that.

Something to bear in mind is that the Sims 4 is predicated on you buying the base game, and umpteen other expansion packs that they are still releasing. Your children will no doubt be wanting these at some stage, as the base game is pretty empty, so if you are thinking about keys (regardless of whether you should or shouldn't do so) then go Origin (EA moving to Steam is a very recent and as far as I'm aware still in progress move, meaning keys for Steam will be in short supply).

They already know how that works. They can choose an expansion for their birthday.

Thanks for the tips everyone.