Can I play/access the Sims 4 on both Mac and PC?

So, we used to be able to access The Sims 4 via the Origin App, right? I had them both on my Mac and PC.

Ever since they moved to the EA app on PC, i've only been playing on my Mac because I was scared to lose access to my save files there.

Is it still possible to play on the PC, without losing access to the Sims 4 on my Mac?

gameplay issue

puzzlezaddict
2 years ago
@dandylittlelion You can absolutely run Sims 4 on both your Mac and your Windows PC. I have the game installed four times covering both OSs, and none of the installs affect the others.

It's always a good idea to back up your saves. Playing on multiple systems shouldn't be a risk factor, but you never know when you'll run into computer trouble. A reasonably-sized external drive or USB stick is cheap and can hold a giant pile of saves while giving you peace of mind.

6 Replies

puzzlezaddict
Hero+
2 years ago
@dandylittlelion You can absolutely run Sims 4 on both your Mac and your Windows PC. I have the game installed four times covering both OSs, and none of the installs affect the others.

It's always a good idea to back up your saves. Playing on multiple systems shouldn't be a risk factor, but you never know when you'll run into computer trouble. A reasonably-sized external drive or USB stick is cheap and can hold a giant pile of saves while giving you peace of mind.
luthienrising
Hero+
2 years ago
@dandylittlelion Just want to add that I find the cleanest way to transfer my game content between (in my case) my PC and my laptop is a USB key, especially for mods -- uploading to an online host and then downloading again can change filetype and make it all take longer.

The folders you'd be transferring are Saves, Mods (if you use them), and Tray (if you need to access your Library or have a habit of saving re-edited households or lots to it).
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
2 years ago
@luthienrising USB sticks have been known to corrupt files transferred to macOS from Windows, and I believe vice versa too. That's where the recommendation to zip files comes from. There's also a problem loading .package files from an exFAT-formatted drive in macOS, which may or may not have the same root cause.

I've found that the only file extension change when downloading from cloud storage is that some services zip the download. That seems reasonable given how much it can lower the bandwidth and storage requirements for what is usually a free service. Fixing it is as simple as extracting the files, no harm done.
luthienrising
Hero+
2 years ago
@puzzlezaddict There's my non-Mac self showing!
dandylittlelion
2 years ago
@puzzlezaddict Thanks for this!
dandylittlelion
2 years ago
@luthienrising oh, thanks for the tips! Will definitely keep this in mind.