Valve co-founder confirms that he's "tried out" EA's digital distribution.

Valve co-founder Gabe Newell has spoken out about EA's digital distribution service, Origin.

In an interview with PC Gamer magazine, Newell confirms that he's "tried out" the service, and that he came away feeling neutral.

"I think it does some things well. I think there are still some areas where, as a customer, I'd like to see it improve," Newell said. "It's not that different from any other system like this. There are positive things and negative things."

Newell added that he understands that Steam can't stay on top forever, and that the company has to work hard to remain number one.

"I and everyone at Valve know that you're only as successful as what you've done lately," he said. "So the idea that Steam is somehow the answer to digital distribution ignores the fact that every two or three years, something is going to change dramatically."

Earlier this year, EA and Valve had a brief conflict over digital distribution, with EA commenting that Steam has rules "which are not imposed by other online game services."

Thanks, PC Gamer (via CVG).

Rocksteady addresses concerns.

Following last week's PC delay, Batman: Arkham City director Sefton Hill has spoken out to address the concerns of PC gamers.

Speaking at the Eurogamer Expo this weekend, Hill told Eurogamer that Rocksteady is careful to pay attention to the individual needs of each platform.

"We're really aware of all the different SKUs," he said. "What's great for us is we have gamers who are real console gamers and gamers who are PC gamers. I guess, generally, I would consider myself more of a console gamer. I do play more of my games on console. But then we have people in the office who are really hardcore PC players, and they will always pull me up and say, we need to sort this out, we need to sort that out."

Hill assured PC gamers that the game will look great when it is eventually released.

"All of the source textures and assets are done at a very very high res and we make them work on all the different SKUs," he said. "People will really love the PC version when it comes out."

As for the delay, Hill added that PC gamers will ultimately be satisfied.

"The wait will definitely be worth it. The PC version has just been pushed back, but it's only by a couple of weeks, so hopefully no-one will be too upset about it. We're working as hard as we can to get it out as soon as we can," he said.

The PC version of Batman: Arkham City is set to release in November. The console versions will hit stores on October 18.

Riot Games has officially gone live with League of Legends: Dominion, the brand new, capture-and-hold style game mode.

On the official website, Riot had this to say:

"Nearly a year in the making, League of Legends: Dominion represents the largest and most ambitious update to League of Legends since its launch in October of 2009. In Dominion, summoners do battle on a brand new map, the Crystal Scar, and vie for control over five Capture Points, a style of play never before attempted in the League of Legends universe.

 

League of Legends: Dominion is the latest example of our ongoing commitment to bringing you the best of the MOBA genre in new and innovative ways. You've been requesting new battlefields upon which to test your skills, and today you'll do battle not only on a brand new Field of Justice, but in an entirely new and groundbreaking game mode!

We've had a lot of fun playing Dominion and we think that diehard League of Legends fans will love it, but we also think that it has something to offer new players as well. The capture and hold gameplay is so familiar for fans of first-person shooters, that we think a whole new crowd of players may find something to love in League of Legends.

For more information on the game or to get started playing for free, check out http://na.leagueoflegends.com/.

BioWare heads Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk just announced the EU and NA launch dates and subscription options for Star Wars: The Old Republic. December 20th for the NA, and December 22nd for the EU.  Yes, of 2011. Mark those calendars!

“This is an incredible moment for everyone at BioWare and our partners at LucasArts who have dedicated their lives to build this extraordinary game. We appreciate the patience from the millions of fans who have been waiting for the game’s release.”

It's also worth noting that those who pre-order will still get early access, so if you're anxious to get in ahead of everyone else and you haven't already done so, you may want to pre-order now.

Read more over at the Official SWTOR Site.

The release window for Diablo 3 has shifted from sometime this year to early next year. Blizzard have decided to use the time to extend the current beta. “We didn’t put so many years of work into Diablo III to release a game that was almost ready,” says co-founder and CEO of Blizzard, Mike Morhaime. “The beta test is going very well, and we look forward to making the most of the extra time we’re taking to deliver an experience that lives up to our vision for the game and the expectations of our players.”

The announcement also says that Blizzard will be “potentially adding more testers than initially projected,” so if you’re eager to get an early look at one of the most anticipated PC games in development at the moment, make sure you’ve opted in on your accounts page on Battle.net.