Giant game publisher Electronic Arts made a move this week that hastens the eventual demise of video game DVDs.

EA joined Steam, an online content delivery service by Valve Corp. that lets people purchase video games digitally, download those purchases onto their computers and keep updating the content as needed, instead of buying disc after disc from a retailer.

Steam works like a feed reader, distributing content from dedicated servers based on the subscriber’s location and platform. If a game is updated, Steam can rout those new files to a user’s computer the moment of system startup.

EA announced it has begun distributing five games via Steam: “FIFA Manager 09″ “Mass Effect,” “Need for Speed: Undercover,” “Spore” and the “Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack,” and “Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.” Other games coming soon include “Dead Space,” “Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3,” and “Mirror’s Edge.”

The arrangement lifts Valve’s profile and makes Steam a must-have tool for PC gamers. More important however, it gives those gamers one less reason to clutter their lives with game discs and the bulky packaging that comes with them.