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mata25's avatar
mata25
4 years ago
Solved

Buying Sims 3 on Origin and Steam

Hello everyone,

firstly I want to apologize if my question has already been answered by someone but I've been looking for some answers for days now and haven't been successful.

I want to get into the Sims 3 and with that I want to buy all the DLC, which is obviously cheaper on Steam. So i wanted to ask if I buy the Sims 3 Base Game on Steam and use the Key to activate it on Origin, will I be able to buy DLC from both platforms (Origin and Steam) or just Steam? I have read that I will be able to buy DLC on both platforms if the game I'm buying it for uses Origin. And does anybody know if I buy the Base Game on Origin can I buy DLC from Steam for it or is it not compatible? I'm a bit confused by everything so I would very much appreciate any insight

Thank you for your help.

pc
technical issues
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    4 years ago

    @mata25  Standalone worlds, for example Hidden Springs or Dragon Valley, work like other store content.  It all needs to be downloaded and installed from store.thesims3.com regardless of what kind of install you have.  Steam doesn't sell these worlds; some are only sold through Origin, while some can be bought with SimPoints, also sold through Origin and tied to the EA/Origin account that bought them.

    So if you buy Sims 3 through Steam and want to buy a world as well, you can still do so, you just need to register your game in Origin or on the store site.  (Origin and the store share information.)  Then you can buy worlds through Origin and/or the store and download them from the store into an install from either Origin or Steam.  You can download from your purchase history or from a world's product page.  There's no compatibility issue with Steam.  In case you're worried, I and many other people have bought most or all of the store worlds and run them fine in our Steam installs.

    By the way, you should get 1000 SimPoints each for registering the base game and World Adventures.  You'll need to click a button on the store site, maybe on My Page, to redeem the points.  If you want advice on stretching your points further, just ask.  For example, Sunlit Tides is on sale once per Daily Deal rotation for something like 1,127 points rather than the standard 2,450.  The venue that comes with the Gold edition, which is the only content not included in the standard edition is on sale for 513, making it significantly cheaper to buy these separately than to get the Gold version for 3,524.

4 Replies

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @mata25  If you want to buy any Sims 3 packs in Steam, you need to also buy the base game in Steam.  And when you're playing the Steam-installed version, only packs you've bought and installed from Steam will work.  You don't need to involve Origin at all—just install the game and launch it either through Steam or through TS3W.exe, which will work even if Steam isn't running.

    For any content you own in Steam, you'll receive a CD Key that you can register in Origin, and the corresponding content will show in your Origin game library just as if you'd bought it directly from Origin.  So you couid buy the base game and some packs in Steam, then buy more packs in Origin, and install it all through Origin without any issues.  You would need to launch the game from Origin every time.

    In case you haven't seen it, this Steam bundle includes all expansion and stuff packs except for Katy Perry Sweet Treats:

    https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/1247/The_Sims_3_Collection/

    And when Steam has a sale, as it sometimes does, the bundle is 50% off.

  • mata25's avatar
    mata25
    4 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict thank you for your help! 

    So if I understood you correctly after buying the Base Game and DLC on Steam I'll be able to register it and have it on Origin also? But I'll have to play it on Origin if I decide to buy some DLC like the worlds there? I plan on buying all the packs on Steam because it's cheaper but the worlds are only available on Origin so I could buy them on Origin and I wouldn't have any compatibility issues? Personally, I doesn't matter to me where I launch it from as long as I get the best deal.

    Thank you for the information about the bundle and for your patience.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @mata25  Standalone worlds, for example Hidden Springs or Dragon Valley, work like other store content.  It all needs to be downloaded and installed from store.thesims3.com regardless of what kind of install you have.  Steam doesn't sell these worlds; some are only sold through Origin, while some can be bought with SimPoints, also sold through Origin and tied to the EA/Origin account that bought them.

    So if you buy Sims 3 through Steam and want to buy a world as well, you can still do so, you just need to register your game in Origin or on the store site.  (Origin and the store share information.)  Then you can buy worlds through Origin and/or the store and download them from the store into an install from either Origin or Steam.  You can download from your purchase history or from a world's product page.  There's no compatibility issue with Steam.  In case you're worried, I and many other people have bought most or all of the store worlds and run them fine in our Steam installs.

    By the way, you should get 1000 SimPoints each for registering the base game and World Adventures.  You'll need to click a button on the store site, maybe on My Page, to redeem the points.  If you want advice on stretching your points further, just ask.  For example, Sunlit Tides is on sale once per Daily Deal rotation for something like 1,127 points rather than the standard 2,450.  The venue that comes with the Gold edition, which is the only content not included in the standard edition is on sale for 513, making it significantly cheaper to buy these separately than to get the Gold version for 3,524.

  • mata25's avatar
    mata25
    4 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict thanks again for the help and your patience. 

    I finally know everything I wanted to know before buying any contect for the game.

    Thanks for the tip about SimPoints and I will be sure to ask advice if I have any big questions when purchasing something from the Sims 3 Store.

    I really appreciate you taking time and answering my conserns in detail.

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