This: http://mynintendonews.com/2012/08/04/ea-apparently-desperate-for-nintendo-to-include-origin-on-wii-u/
 in other words, they wanted to force Nintendo to use his online services. That's why we don't have DLC for ME3

Mass effect 1 and 2 don't require it to be active. Just installed.

I really hate stuff like that...

People are forced to use a substandard service because their games are exclusive on it? 

Where's the consumer choice? Sounds like we're starting to get smelly corporate dick around with this digital distribution phase...

This annoys me to read, to be honest.  Valve doesn't get a golden monopoly card anymore than any other business.  Other companies have every right to compete with them.  Steam doesn't have a "territory"--there is a market, but others can enter it as they like.  As for EA using their properties to their advantage, do you see Valve games on Green Man Gaming?

Valve always gets a free pass, I suppose because of their sales, though Steam is still DRM and has an annoying client.  So far, I haven't found Origin to be any worse than Steam.  In fact, though things might have changed since, with Dragon Age 2, I only had to deal with Origin when I installed; after that, I never used it again.

Origin is just one of the many reasons I won't get the new Simcity but yeah Origin is crap.

Wow..

Before I read that article, I thought EA just wanted an Origin app for WiiU....but no...they wanted Nintendo's network to be hosted by them?

Thank god that never transpired...

I don't know too much about Origin, and didn't have any intention of using the service, but I did want to play the new Sim City. Until I read your comment about it requiring a constant internet connection. Now I can honestly say that I have no intention of picking up the game. It isn't just the fact that my internet connection can be intermittent as times, but I have a laptop, and I would have liked a game that I could play in areas where no WiFi networks are even available.

Digital distribution competition is fine, but why should people (the majority who I've talked to say that Steam is miles ahead of Origin in terms of features etc.) have to deal with a second-rate digital distribution system just because they refuse to play nice and let the consumer decide which medium is better? I'd be complaining about Steam's services if the situation was reversed, and they refused to digitally distribute on any other platform, but that's not the case....

Besides, how will things go once there IS competition? Will we be seeing digital distribution platforms close? What will happen to the games that people purchased on them?

I've heard rumours that Origin will be selling the game for US$80 (with something like 1 or 2 free DLCs paid in advance).

What the hell is going on? If this is true, isn't it classed as incredibly expensive? 

What other digital distribution platform are Valve games on?  I far prefer to buy games from Amazon, for example, which are often sold without DRM.  Valve does the exact same thing you're talking about, they keep their games exclusive to their own service in order to draw customers.  You're using a double standard here.

Besides, the reason most EA games aren't on Steam is because Valve took them off.  Why?  Because both sides were being greedy.  Valve didn't like that people could buy DLC directly from EA from within the game and EA didn't want to alter that just for Steam.  Remember, you CAN buy digital versions of EA games from other places such as Amazon.