I'm pretty stoked about BF3, especially so because I haven't played a serious FPS game on my PC in quite a long time because playing on the Xbox has been much more convenient at school.  In an effort to do what I could to try and get an invite for the Alpha, I signed up for Origin and also the EA Gun Club.  Marketing shinanegins doesn't really bother me all the much, so it wasn't a big deal. 
 
I received an email today regarding my new account to the Gun Club, and with it came a promo code that got me a 25% discount when buying any "Shooter" game from Origin.  So, all in all, I didn't really have to do anything at all and I ended up getting BF3 preordered in time for the free upgrade to Limited Edition, and only payed $45 for it.  People are flaming Origin a lot, but this kind of deal, coupled with the 5 dollar sale going on right now, puts the service in a bit higher regard than people are making it out to be.