Forum Discussion

6 years ago

Solved

External Application??

Im trying to download my sims 3 game from my origin account on to my Mac and it says I need and external application?? is that a CD drive?? or what is it and how do It??

mac

technical issues

puzzlezaddict
6 years ago
@aleahjo1 I take it your Mac runs Catalina? If so, that's the issue: Sims 3 is a 32-bit app, and Catalina is 64-bit only. There's no way around this error. However, EA has announced a 64-bit-compatible version of Sims 3 for macOS, to be released hopefully some time this year. Here's the full announcement:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/An-announcement-for-The-Sims-3-players-on-Mac/td-p/8271641

In the interim, your only options are to play on a different computer, to install Windows on your Mac (via Bootcamp or Parallels), or to install Mojave or earlier on an external hard drive or USB and boot into that when you want to play. Let me know if you want more information about the last two options.

If you only recently bought Sims 3 and don't want to wait for the new version, you can request a refund from EA:

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/account/returns-and-cancellations/

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puzzlezaddict
Hero+
6 years ago
@Markimooimoo What exactly is happening on your computer, and what operating system does it run?
Markimooimoo
6 years ago
It just updated to the latest Mac OS Catalina. The whole reason I got origin on my mac was because I wanted to play the Sims 3 on here, and I fail to understand how it's so suddenly against downloading
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
6 years ago
@Markimooimoo The problem is that Sims 3 is a 32-bit app, and Catalina is 64-bit only. There's no way around this issue. However, EA has announced a 64-bit version of Sims 3 for macOS, to be released (hopefully) some time this year; given the current situation and the latest news from Apple, delays are kind of inevitable. Here's the full announcement, and the latest update on the project:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/An-announcement-for-The-Sims-3-players-on-Mac/td-p/8271641

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/the-sims-3-64-bit-amp-metal-release/m-p/9257271#M7664

In the interim, your only options are to play on another computer, to install Windows on your Mac (via Bootcamp or Parallels), or to install Mojave on an external hard drive or USB and boot into that when you want to play. For the second option, you'd need enough drive space to devote to Windows and the game; for the third, you'd need at least temporary access to a Mac running Mojave or earlier. Let me know whether you'd like more information about either of these options.

If you only recently bought Sims 3 and would rather not wait for the update, you can instead request an automatic refund instead:

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/account/returns-and-cancellations/