Install Origin

Valve's distribution service Steam has pretty much never had any competitors, but not too long ago Electronic Arts (EA) decided to change that and created video game distribution service called Origin. Originally it just sold games published and developed by the massive video game company that is EA, but now it has started to offer a wider variety with some truly worthwhile sales. Like Steam, it requires an account but it offers a safe and user friendly platform to play games by yourself or with other gamers. It isn't a complicated process, but here are the few steps and tips to get Origin completely set up.

On a side note, here is a guide for installing and customizing Steam[1].

1. 1
   Open up your web browser and type in www.Origin.com [2]

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2. 2
   On that main web page you will see plenty of deals and ads, but you want to click on Download Origin on the top right of the page

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3. 3
   This will open up a new web page with details on downloading Origin for Windows and Mac

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4. 4
   Make sure you have the necessary system requirements listed on this page

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5. 5
   For PC click on that very orange and large Download For PC button, or for Mac click on the small Download for Mac button under that (seen below).

   

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6. 6
   This will download to your default location for that web browser, which is often your Downloads folder if you are using Windows and that is found at Users/(your username)/Downloads.

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Installing

1. 1
   Find your Origin install file that you downloaded, which is called OriginThinSetup for Windows

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2. 2
   Launch it!

   

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3. 3
   Selection your install destination and let it run, then you are good to go.

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So, you downloaded and installed Origin without any issues. Before you do anything you're going to need an account so you can actually use the service. You can do this two different ways:

• When you run Origin.exe the first thing that will pop up is a Login Screen and on the bottom of this you can press create account.

OR

• On www.Origin.com you can create account. On the top will be several tabs, like Login and My Account, and next to those is a button that says Register.

Both of these options will take you through the same route of setting up your Origin Account, and that will just ask you some basic questions about what username you want, what password a few other details. After that you will be ready to check Origin's main page and to set up your profile, which is mostly automated other than a profile picture.

Adding Friends[3]

1. 1
   On the main page of the Origin Client, when logged in, click on the symbol with two heads in grey that is to the left of your profile picture and name

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2. 2
   This will open up a Friends List and at the bottom of that is an icon that says Add a Friend

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3. 3
   With that tool you can enter their name if you are already know it, search for them or import friends from Xbox Live or PSN

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Adding Non-Origin Games to your Library[4]

1. 1
   On the main page of the Origin Client, when logged in, click on the scroll down bar on the top left labeled Origin

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2. 2
   Scroll down to Add A Game and click on that.

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3. 3
   Click on Unify Your Collection

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4. 4
   This opens up Windows Explorer and asks you to find the directory of what game you are trying to add

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5. 5
   Find whatever game you want to add and locate, and select, the .Exe file for the game

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6. 6
   The game will show up in your library with a default name and no picture, so right click on it and select Game Properties to change the name or the art

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Origin In-game Menu[5]

1. 1
   Simple, press Shift-F1 when in any game to open up Origin's in-game menu

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2. 2
   If Shift-F1 doesn't work then go to the main page of the Origin Client, when logged in, click on the scroll down bar on the top left labeled Origin

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3. 3
   From that scroll down menu find Application Settings and click on that

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4. 4
   On the left there should be a tab that says Origin In Game and in that tab there a box you can click on to turn on the Origin In-game Menu

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Origin Offline Mode[6]

1. 1
   Like Steam, Origin has an offline mode that is easily accessible if you don't want to stay connected while playing, but you first have to be online to set it

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2. 2
   On the main page of the Origin Client, when logged in, click on the scroll down bar on the top left labeled Origin

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3. 3
   On the last row of that scroll down bar there is a tab that says Go Offline, click that and you are done.

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If you are looking for more instructions on how to do specific things in Origin then head on over to Origin.com's How-to Guide[7].

Origin has always been trying to catch up to Steam in terms of accessibility, value of sales and the number of games it offers, and now is a great time to jump in and check it out. They may still lack in all three of those areas and they do have the massive discussion based forums for each game like Steam does, but they have some excellent policies when it comes to customer service, game returns and their new service called Origin Game Time that lets you basically try out a full game for a limited period of time.

As always, if you have any questions about any of these steps or Origin in general then feel free to ask. Now, get out there, check out some sales, try out some of EA games and get gaming!

Images:

• Origin Logo from Origin.com[8]
• Origin Promotional Image from Origin.com[9]

General Information:

• Origin FAQ[10]
• Origin How-Tos[11]

Other:

If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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