When tinkering around with EA’s Origin service, PC Gamer happened to come about some interesting information. According to their report, many of the retail keys for EA’s titles on Steam actually work on Origin.

The publication was able to redeem their Steam copies of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Mass Effect 2, Deadspace 2, Alice: Madness Returns, Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2 on Origin, but the original Mass Effect was a no go.

Surprisingly, with Dragon Age 2, Origin was actually able to launch the Steam version of the game, Steam overlay and chat included.

With EA and Valve butting heads over digital distribution lately, this could wind up being a move from EA to pull some of Steam’s userbase over to Origin. Or, for all I know, it could turn out to be a mistake – a mistake that just so happens to benefit EA.

Some Steam keys for EA titles work on EA’s Origin client is a post from: The Inquisitr

After picking up Steam digital distribution competitor Impulse in March, GameStop has finally gotten around to introducing the service on the GameStop website.

According to the FAQ, Impulse is kicking off under GameStop’s banner with over 1,100+ digital titles and content up for grabs, all under a Steam-like client used to manage your games and connect with your pals.

Even though Impulse is now integrated with GameStop’s online store, you currently won’t be able to use any of your GameStop gift cards, Edge card credit or GameStop gift certificates. GameStop noted that it hopes to eventually add these payment services to Impulse, however.

IndustryGamers via VG247

‘Impulse’ digital distribution service added to GameStop’s online store is a post from: The Inquisitr

“This is extremely exciting for me,” Al writes in a recent blog posting. “One of the hardest things I’ve had to deal with in my career is keeping my material topical even though I only release albums every 3 or 4 years. Now, with the advent and popularity of digital distribution, I don’t have to wait around while my songs get old and dated — I can get them out on the Internet almost immediately. It kind of boggles my mind — I thought of the idea for this new song a week ago, and next week it’s getting released!”

Weird Al’s not yet revealing what the song is, but he says it’s a parody of a tune “that very recently was (or perhaps still is) the number one song” in the U.S. — something he describes as “another first” for him. The track will go up on iTunes next Tuesday, October 7.

In a time with such uncertainty about the future of physical music, our odd friend’s willingness to step back from the album-centric approach without abandoning it altogether is admirable. And there’s nothing weird about that.

Maybe certain other bands with antiquated ideas about digital distribution should start listening.

Weird Al Embraces Modern Music Model is a post from: The Inquisitr