Forum Discussion

itsdevinboi's avatar
6 years ago
Solved

Sims 3 next sale?

WHERE ARE MY CRAZY SIMS FANS? I am a crazy sims 3 fans and absolutely love the game but it sucks to see all the other games on sale but never sims 3. I have purchased almost all the sims 3 expansion packs and made it a mission to buy all of them. But since I am a student I need to prioritize my money towards schooling only. I would love for the sims 3 expansion packs to go on sale so that all the sim community can enjoy the wonderful gameplay in full effect

  • @itsdevinboi  Steam probably won't have a Sims 3 sale for a couple of months, but you could always make an account now and put the game on your wishlist—I think you'll get an email alert when it's on sale.  Once you buy the game, you login to Steam, go to your library, click on the Sims 3 entry, then the cog wheel (in the red box, below), then Manage, then CD Keys.  You'll see a 20-character code for each pack you've bought, and another one for the base game, if you ever want to register your second copy.

    To register the codes, open your Origin game library, click Add a Game in the upper right corner, then input each code.  Alternately, you can register the codes on the old Sims 3 store site (store.thesims3.com), which still works quite well.  Just make sure you're using the same account that has your Origin games.  You'll be able to tell because your existing packs will show in the left panel on your own page.  In either case, the packs should appear in your Origin game library; if they don't, clear Origin's cache and look again.

    Please keep in mind that you can only access the Steam codes from a computer running Windows.  You don't have to have the game installed, just sign in and grab them.

    By the way, I don't know what packs you already own, but there are occasionally bundles that bring the cost down even further.  I bought the base game, Pets, Seasons, and Generations together for $7.50 (normally $30), and I've seen a bundle with six stuff packs for something like $21.  If Steam itself doesn't show you the bundles, a google search ("Sims 3 bundle Steam" or similar) will turn up the direct links.

15 Replies

  • djikiii's avatar
    djikiii
    4 years ago

    I think you’re right. You don’t have to have the game purchased on Steam but just have the game on your PC. Steam will recognise it. I’m pretty sure this is correct.

  • are you sure? I just tried to purchase the dlc bundle with my origin sim 3 base game, and steam would not recognize it even though i added it as a "non-steam game" to my library. Is there any possible way to fix this?

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @MehSan29  Steam allows players to launch "non-Steam games" without any hassle, but that's an entirely different matter.  Steam has never allowed people to buy Sims 3 packs unless they already own the base game in Steam.  And no, there's no way to "fix" this, as it's entirely deliberate.

  • @itsdevinboi The only issue with Steam (for me) is, that it's not available for MacOS. Which I don't understand, because how is it possible, that Sims 3 is available for MacOS players on EA but that's not the case on Steam.
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @hewiyant  EA's deal with Steam apparently didn't include Mac players.  The 32-bit Mac version of the game installs in a way that Steam may not support, so that may have been the reason; or there was some greed involved; or there was no good reason at all.

    What you can do, if you have at least temporary access to a Windows PC, is take the CD keys you get from Steam and register them in Origin.  Then you'll be able to download the game onto your Mac using Origin.  And if you ever get a Windows PC instead, you'll be able to play through Origin or Steam, whichever you prefer.

About The Sims 3 Technical Issues

Get help with issues in The Sims 3 from fellow Simmers.83,286 PostsLatest Activity: 3 hours ago