I saw from WWDC that Apple will be discontinuing Rosetta from 2027. Am I right in thinking that Rosetta is required to enable the Sims 3 64 bit to run on Silicon Macs? The app is labelled as 'Intel' when you click on it to 'Get info'.
If so, what will happen to Sims 3 for Mac players? I'm worried.
I'd be very happy to be corrected and told that Sims 3 for Mac doesn't require Rosetta or that there's no need to worry.
FreddyFox1234 Yes, Rosetta is the translation layer that makes Sims 3 run on ARM Macs at all. So no Rosetta means no Sims 3, at least not in its current form.
There are a few reasons not to worry about this though. One is that Apple won't be removing Rosetta from existing OSs, so you could simply not update to whichever build no longer included Rosetta. The previous OS should be compatible with almost any other app you'd want to run for at least a couple years, if current patterns hold. And by the time you actually had to update, would you be ready for a new Mac? Unless you only recently bought your current one, it might be time to upgrade in 2029-2030 when you really did need to be on the new OS, and you could keep your old Mac around for Sims 3.
There is also the possibility of running Windows on your Mac, either through Parallels or possibly through Bootcamp if that comes back. ARM Macs cannot be Bootcamped at the moment, but the original reason for that—Microsoft had an exclusive contract with someone else for Windows on ARM—is gone. And while the Windows ARM-to-x86 translation layer isn't as good as Rosetta, it's serviceable and still getting better.
The other reason is that it's still possible EA will update Sims 3, or release some kind of compilation as was done for Sims 1 and 2. I do realize these were only released for Windows, but Sims 2 at least has a compatible Mac version, and Aspyr still holds the license to sell it. Two years, or realistically four years before you have to make a decision, is a long time, and this is already-popular content that would take much less work than a full new game to bring to market.
Thanks puzzlezaddict , that’s very helpful — even if it does confirm what I feared!
I tend to upgrade my Mac to the latest OS as soon as it’s released — it’s primarily my work computer that I just happen to play games on, and it’s also very new. So I don’t think that’s an option for me. And I personally am not keen on having Windows on my Mac. But those might be good solutions for others, so it’s good to know about them.
I guess I’ll hope that EA will update Sims 3 so it’s compatible. You’re right that it’s still a long time away. But in the meantime I’ll just make the most of it. Realistically, these games do have to end at some point anyway, and it’s been great that we’ve had the 64 bit version for a while — and still do for at least a couple of years to come.
FreddyFox1234 There are other workarounds for this issue as well, including installing Windows or your current version of macOS on an external drive. I think I've read somewhere that installing macOS on an external is losing support, or maybe it already has, but at the very least, there are going to be third-party tools to help. (Rufus is one that already exists.) Then you'd have Windows or an older macOS available when you wanted and could disconnect it the rest of the time. And if it's an NVMe SSD with a Thunderbolt connection, you wouldn't be losing any significant performance, at least not for Sims 3.
I realize I'm suggesting you spend more money on Sims 3 without asking whether that's reasonable to you, but I did want to mention the possibility.
puzzlezaddict OK, thanks - it's really helpful to know all the options. Thankfully we've got a bit of time to prepare!
