Origin Player Appreciation Sale chops up to 70 percent off EA's big franchises

It isn't often we see the words "Origin" and "sale" next to each other, but this week is the exception: EA is running a week-long Player Appreciation Sale which discounts some pretty hefty games in the publisher's lineup—titans such as Mass Effect 3, Crysis 3, and Battlefield 3.

Here's the full list of games on sale and their prices:

• Battlefield 3 Premium—$25
• Battlefield 3—$12
• Battlefield 3 Premium Edition—$30
• Crysis 3—$30
• Crysis 3 Digital Deluxe Edition—$40
• Crysis 3 Digital Deluxe Upgrade—$10
• The Sims 3 Seasons—$20
• The Sims 3 University Life—$28
• The Sims 3 Supernatural—$15
• Dead Space—$6
• Dead Space 2—$6
• Dead Space 3—$30
• Resident Evil 5—$10
• Mass Effect 3—$10
• The Walking Dead—$10
• Batman: Arkham City GOTY Edition—$12
• FIFA Soccer 13—$20
• Command & Conquer Ultimate Collection—$15
• Hitman: Absolution—$15
• Saints Row: The Third Full Package—$25
• Assassin's Creed 3—$35
• Assassin's Creed 3 Deluxe Edition—$56
• Darksiders 2—$18
• Dead Island GOTY Edition—$10
• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City—$25

Normal and special editions on sale? And they're big games? I don't want to spoil this rare opportunity to enjoy a good Origin sale with cynicism, but it's hard not to chortle lightly at the convenient devaluing of nearly half the games EA offered SimCity players for free earlier this week.