During a week in which active user metrics have come to the fore, Electronic Arts COO Peter Moore has revealed that five million people are now using the publisher's Origin digital distribution service daily.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Moore made the comments in response to a question about a heckler that disrupted his Origin presentation at the EB Games Expo last weekend.
"Like any piece of software, and I worked at Microsoft for enough years to say this, you launch software and continue to polish it, upgrade it, get feedback and make it better," he said. "That's where we are with Origin. We're only four and a half months in and already over five million people are using it on a daily basis."
But despite the substantial number, Moore recognises that many users currently still see Origin as an unnecessary obstacle that "gets in the way". It's worth noting, too, that many of those five million will be players whose EA Online accounts were automatically changed to Origin accounts when the service launched, and must use it for online play.
"I think in its broadest sense they think it is just EA's answer to Steam, and it is much more than that," Moore continued. "Like any great content provider, you want to provide yourself with a platform to talk directly with your customers... That's exactly what Origin is all about.
"The console first parties understand what we are doing. I think the fans, the people that have to use it in the early going, are the ones that get it last in regards to what we are trying to do."
Rovio also revealed daily active user figures for Angry Birds this week, claiming that 30 million people play it each day. And Facebook revised the way it handles DAU and MAU reporting sending many major game's figures plummeting.
Source: Gamesindustry.biz