Re: Does the Sims 3 require origin to play?

It depends (I know, that's what you wanted to hear)

IF you bought the physical disc a while ago (probably before November 2012), you don't need Origin. If you go out and buy it now, you'd buying the Sims 3 refresh. This version is already patched up to 1.42 and does require Origin.

You can try to get an older version (new) on Ebay which is not the Sims 3 Refresh and you won't need Origin but I can't say exactly when they made the cut and if it maybe does go for all newly registered games. It might as well have something to do with the time Origin came out.

I for one don't use Origin. I bought the game when it first came out and don't even have Origin installed. It works like a charm and it doesn't matter that I buy EPs after this tiime. As long as I get the disc version, I'm fine. The base game is what's important.