Running Sims 1 & 2 Legacy Editions on Mac M1/M2: Issues and Solutions
Hi everyone,
I’ve been testing out the new Sims 1 and Sims 2 Legacy Editions on my M1 MacBook Pro (2021) and wanted to share my experience. These games are designed for Windows 10/11, but running them on a Mac comes with challenges due to the ARM architecture. Here’s what I’ve tried:
What Didn’t Work:
- Parallels Desktop (Windows 11):
- Sims 1: The game wouldn’t launch at all.
- Sims 2: Showed a DirectX 9 error: "Failed to find any DirectX 9.0c compatible graphics adapters."
- Despite adjusting Parallels settings (e.g., allocating 4–6 CPU cores, 8 GB RAM, and enabling DirectX), the VM didn’t emulate the required DirectX features correctly.
- Running dxdiag revealed that Direct3D Acceleration was disabled, and DirectX 12 Ultimate was marked as unavailable.
- Parallels Desktop (Windows 10):
- Couldn’t test this because Microsoft no longer supports Windows 10 ARM, and Parallels doesn’t allow it to be installed on M1/M2 Macs.
- Other Tools:
- I haven't tried any other tools, as honestly, I was antsy to play. Once I found Shadow PC, I decided to try it.
What Worked:
- Shadow PC: A cloud-based x86 Windows PC solved all compatibility issues.
- Full DirectX 9 support, high-end GPU (equivalent to RTX 3070), and native Windows gaming.
- Both Sims 1 and Sims 2 ran smoothly without errors or tweaks.
Next Steps: I plan to keep an eye on EA release notes and updates to see if future patches improve compatibility with virtualization tools like Parallels or Wine/Crossover. I'll update on this discussion as I find out anything new.
