A Mac client for EA’s digital distribution platform Origin was launched today, as first noted by AppleInsider. Origin for Mac was originally announced in August 2011 and went into alpha testing in late January. 

Origin is quite similar to Valve’s Steam and allows users to download games and demos, chat with friends and continue saved games from most computers.

OriginforMac
The store currently lists 48 Mac games available for download, including games like Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition, LEGO Batman, Harry Potter and Star Wars, Tropico 3: Gold Edition and The Sims 3 and its plethora of expansion packs. The new SimCity is supposed to launch a little after the March release of the PC version of the game.

EA Origin Vice President of Production Mike Blank told AppleInsider that EA brought Origin to Mac because of two reasons: growing Mac marketshare and a vocal community of Mac gamers.

“We’re seeing increased activity from our Mac gamers,” he said. “In the past, we’ve brought games slower to market for Mac than for PC partly because the audience hasn’t been at the same level. The growth of iOS and Mac devices, though, means we’re starting to see gamers demand to play their games on devices that are becoming more prominent. I think, across the board, developers have focused on the PC platform, but I think you’re going to start seeing some changes there. [Origin] is the first step in a strategy you’re going to start seeing coming out of EA.”

Origin client for Mac is available as a download for free at EA’s Origin website. It requires OS X 10.6.8 or higher and an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor.

This will never be installed on my machine.

You had me at “EA”.

EA is the soulless corporate juggernaut of the gaming industry. I can only imagine how great the ENTIRETY of Mass Effect 3 would have been had EA not gotten its hooks into Bioware.

Instead, thanks to EA, we got a game that was 95% awesomeness followed by 15 minutes of ending that ruined the whole fusking series.

I’m staying away from anything related to those two letters.
Said it before, will say it again…”EA” :( enough said
Just wondering, what has EA done that makes everyone hate it so much? I honestly don’t know because I haven’t experienced much EA on a PC besides the Harry Potter games and a horrible avatar system for PGA. When I think of EA, I think of SSX3, NASCAR ’07, Need for Speed Underground, Harry Potter, and Harry Potter 2, which are good games.

No one uses it on PC other than for battlefield 3 and no Mac can run bf3…

Good luck in your distribution goals of 2013 EA :)

Actually the retina MBP can run BF3 at medium-high settings. I’m doing it now.

But, then again, you are right, I only use Bootcamp for BF3. This EA thingy will never be installed on my mac side.

EA? No thanks.

Hardcore gamers like me don’t like the way they cram the Origin software down everyone’s throats.

That’s understandable. I guess it’s like me and Google Plus when I try to use YouTube :mad: