According to The Sims' website, the game will be available in 18 languages, with simplified Chinese being released in January. But in fact it's already February, and I still can't switch languages, and I don't see any information about it. So I hope to get an official reply.
@LINDIE_lydia Hi! I don't work for EA so this isn't "official" but I was able to find the language settings. When you open Origin and click on your game library, you right click on The Sims 4 and choose Game Properties from the menu. You can also get to the properties menu from the loading page by clicking the cogwheel below the Play button.
When the properties menu opens, select Advanced Launch Options and then select the language you want from the drop down menu. Simplified Chinese is at the bottom of the list.
I have the a similar problem. Unfortunately, I bought the CD version in a local store and now I am stuck with only 3 languages (none of them is my maternal language). All I want is an option to play the game in english and it makes me so sad that I cannot. What game nowadays does not support english language for all players? The answer is ONLY The Sims 4. I honestly did not even think about the language restrictions (according to the area where you live) when buying the game, bucause the concept is just simply stupid. I legally own the game, I even have to install it by downloading it from the internet, so why is it impossible to download the game in any language that is available to other players when installing??? It has been over 6 years since the release and this is still a thing that surely does not bother only me.
PLEASE, ENABLE ALL LANGUAGES TO ALL PLAYERS. THANK YOU.
@LINDIE_lydia @Madam_MariaCurie I did a little bit of digging and discovered several articles that suggest it's possible to buy a copy of the Sims 4 with a key for only certain languages, though that seems to be limited to third-party sellers but may also occur in direct downloads depending on the country from which you bought and downloaded the game. If you have a disc or digital copy, the box or packaging should have the language options printed on the back.
If I understand it correctly, you should be able to convert to any of the languages supported by EA regardless of the languages available in your copy. It seems there are language files that need to be downloaded which only come from the installation process. So you may be able to get the full list of languages by using Origin to uninstall and then reinstall the game. If reinstalling the game doesn't work, another option would be to get a refund for the game and then look for a version that supports your language preference; ideally directly from EA / Origin but likely also available from sites like Amazon or Gamestop. I bought my English version disc from Amazon then connected to Origin during the installation process.
Let me be clear that I am not 100% certain this will work for you. If you have any doubts or don't feel comfortable with the reinstallation process, you should probably try a live chat with an EA game advisor here: https://help.ea.com/en/contact-us/
First, please go into Origin and click the Origin menu in the upper left corner, then select Application Settings. In the Application tab, check the default language setting. This should prepare the game to reinstall with the language you choose.
Before uninstalling the game, you may wish to copy the Sims 4 files to another location first. If you're using a PC, the Sims 4 folder should be in C: Program Files (x86) Origin Games. Right click on that folder, select copy and then paste in another folder or on your desktop.
((You may also wish to copy your game saves, households, lots, etc. Those files are located in your Documents / Electronic Arts / The Sims 4 folder.))
Once you begin reinstalling, immediately pause the reinstall, move the Sims 4 folder you pasted back to the Origin Games folder, and resume reinstall. The installer should check for needed files and this should speed up the download since you already have most of the necessary game files.
Uninstall / Install:
In Origin, go to your game library and right click on the Sims 4 and select uninstall. The game itself should remain available in your Origin game library. Once the uninstall is complete, right click the game again and select Install. (If you copied your Sims 4 folder and want to put it back, remember to click the pause install button, move the folder and then resume install.) At some point during the installation process, you should be given a prompt to select the default language. You should also now be able to select languages in Origin per my previous post.
@JonaO703 Thank you for your reply, but it does not help at all.
I reinstalled the game multiple times and it always gives the option to choose only those 3 languages. My Origin have always been set to English. I already bought the game and a lot of packs from EA, so why would I have to buy the same game again just to download a different language? I bought the disc version and only used the product key to download it from origin, so the disc was completely useless. But still, I can only play in a language that is not used in my country. It is just stupid and frustrating and honestly, with all the bugs in the game, it is not even worth playing anymore...
Thank you again for your time.
@Madam_MariaCurie Wow, this is really frustrating! I did just read an article stating that the Sims 4 is, in fact, region locked and another article that stated Origin uses your IP address to determine location. I wish I knew how to help you all :-(
I contacted the customer support and they said that they are not able to help me because I have not bought the game online.
It is an EA game, I legally BOUGHT it, the EA took my money, but they are so incompetent that they cannot even add a language pack for us to download.
I was told to buy the game again from an English speaking country. No wonder EA has the worst reputation among the gamers.
@Madam_MariaCurie Oh yes! A language pack is a great idea! I'm sorry you've had so much trouble with this. It really sux!
@Madam_MariaCurie What you could do is contact EA customer support, get your current version of Sims 4 removed from your account, and buy a new copy when it's on sale. During a typical Origin sale, the base game is usually $5/5€ rather than 40. If you buy from Origin while you're in a country that offers the global (not language-locked) version, or you buy a physical copy from a store in one of those countries, you should get all available languages regardless of where you're located when you download the game.
I know it's frustrating not to have access to all the languages, but it's not an uncommon policy for game sellers. They usually say something about selling copies at a lower price in countries with lower average incomes, but then the company wouldn't want everyone globally to buy from those locations (by using a VPN or going through a key seller, for example). So the compromise is to offer a discounted game in only a few languages—the local people can play in their native language, and others need to pay full price in their own countries.
It's unfortunate that expats and others who'd like the global version are caught in the middle, but there may not be a good solution here.
@puzzlezaddict
Wouldn't that delete all my expansions, game and stuff packs as well?
@Madam_MariaCurie If you ask that only the base game be removed, that's what should happen. I can't promise that an EA support rep wouldn't mess it up, just that this is how it should work. Without a copy of the base game, you wouldn't have access to your owned packs, but they should be perfectly usable again once you get a new base game copy.
