

EA Unleashes "On The House" Program, Offers Up Free Games
It is becoming more and more common for companies to put out games they've developed or published for free after an extended period of time, some have even taken it as far as to make entire programs based around it such as Microsoft's Games With Gold and Sony's Instant Game Collection which serve as a hub to allow monthly access to selected free titles. But surprisingly enough, jumping on this bandwagon is EA as they went live with the new On The House program accessible through the Origin service.
The first game available for free download is Dead Space, the 2008 survival horror that had players taking on the role of Issac Clarke as he took on the frightening creatures that had infested the derelict space cruiser the USG Ishimura. Not a bad choice to start off a program featuring free games to download, considering it was widely noted as one of the better games of 2008 and sold over two million copies world wide.
However, there is a slightly dark side to On The House. It's purely based on luck of the draw, as they currently have no intentions of making a known schedule of what to expect and when to expect it. The exact phrase for how titles will show up is that they will,"appear and disappear at any time." On the bright side, once you've downloaded a free game once, it's yours to keep. No need to worry about losing access if you have to uninstall to save space. In light of this news, message boards across the internet have been alight with positive feedback more than negative, which comes as a surprise since in the gaming industry EA is commonly loathed.
"We're gamers, too. We appreciate you making Origin your gaming home...and besides, who doesn't like free stuff?" is a statement from EA to the world, and you know what? That's a great attitude to have. Regardless of your feelings on EA's business practices, you can't help but smile and nod at this move by the company. Afterall, everyone loves free stuff.