Capcom backs Origin with key franchises

Tokyo group Capcom has become the first external publisher to release its games on the Origin service, in a move that will intensify the digital games battle between Valve and EA.

Capcom has launched both Super Street fighter IV Arcade Edition and Dead Rising 2 on EA’s PC portal.

More games, from other publishers including THQ and Warner Bros, are also due to land on the service.

EA recently revealed that more than five million customers have installed Origin. Valve’s Steam portal, by comparison, has more than 35 million users.

But the support from Capcom, THQ and Warner Bros will, in theory, give EA’s portal a competitive edge that numerous Steam rivals have hitherto lacked.