Can't launch The Sims 4 while Steam is in Family View
Hi,
I bought The Sims 4 on Steam, so my daughter can play it (she does not yet have an account of her own since she is <13 years). This requires the Origin game launcher to run. That was unexpected, but fine. However, when I try to launch The Sims 4 (either from Steam or from the Origin client), the Origin client gives the following message: "Error: Try relaunching your game to continue linking your accounts".
This error occurs only when Steam is in Family View.
Since I like to control which games my daughter can play, this is a requirement for me.
So far, I was supervising the first few game plays (so I disabled Family View), but feel that she can now start it on her, and I really want Family View on for that.
I have contact Origin support, and asked for help, suggesting options:
- Migrate the game to Origin (using the process on https://help.ea.com/in/help/account/how-to-provide-proof-of-purchase/#steam), so I no longer have to use the Steam client at the same time. This actually used to be possible with most EA games, by right-clicking the game in Steam, select Manage > CD keys, and enter the given code in the Origin client. Sadly, this no longer seems to work.
- Purchase the Sims 4 again on Origin, ensuring my daughter retains the saved games. EA strongly advised me not to unlink my Steam and Origin accounts, since that would make me lose the saved games. Nevertheless, I dived a bit deeper, and noted that I can't buy it again; the Origin client won't let me, claiming that I already own the game. Of course, I can make an Origin account for my daughter (bending the truth about her birthyear a little, given that she does not meet the required age listed on https://help.ea.com/en/help/account/online-access-for-child-accounts/#agerequirements). I willing to choke up the price again, but could not get confirmation from EA support that I can move the saved games from my account to another account. Since I also bought 3 DLC, this is a bit too much money to spend on a gamble "hoping it will work".
- Best -of course- is if this error is fixed, either by Valve (Steam) or EA (Origin). EA support told me that I needed to "contact [Steam support] and ask if you can access or how you can access The Sims 4 with Family View feature on. Only ask this much from them." Of course, I tried, but when trying to do so leads me to this page: https://help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithGameTechnicalIssue?appid=1222670. From that page, I'm redirected back to EA support or to a page asking for a refund. Well, I rather play rather than asking for a refund. So I ended up here.
I would appreciate any advice or suggestion how to proceed from here.
One last personal note: I've been a fan of Maxis and EA games ever since I received my very first computer game, the original SimCity, now over 30 years ago. I really like that my daughter is now sharing some of that joy, but frankly that joy has been hampered by the unreasonable complicated DRM that EA is forcing upon me as a paying customer. I can only say that I am saddened by this, and hope that it will not deter her from enjoying video games (my son, sadly, reverts to free online games, because that's according to him "easy", he just has to open a webbrowser. I'm currently trying to convince him to spend his money on Gog, so at least he can play decent games without this * DRM).
Thanks for listening.
@macfreek EA games don't work with Steam Family View, unfortunately. I'd guess this is a deliberate "feature" on EA's end, although I'm not sure I've seen any official confirmation. Either way, there's nothing you can fix on your end.
Transferring Steam games to Origin hasn't worked for years, at least not for "newer" releases. Games as old as Sims 3 often still work that way, but certainly anything added to Steam's catalog after the Steam-Origin tie-in from 2019 does not.
Your saves are stored locally on your computer, specifically in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 > saves. This Sims 4 folder contains all your user data: in addition to saves, saved households and builds are in Tray, mods and custom content in Mods, etc. The contents of this folder can be transferred from one install to another, from one computer to another, and even between Windows and macOS; they're not specific to any particular install. As long as all packs originally used in the save are also present in the new install, the saves and other content should work fine.
By the way, you can have separate user folders for yourself and your daughter if you want and just swap one for the other as necessary. Many of us have several user folders for different purposes.
So it sounds like buying the game in Origin is the best option here. If you're still eligible for a refund from Steam, which sounds unlikely, you could buy directly through Origin after the refund went through. Otherwise, the only way to buy directly through Origin on your current account would be to unlink. You could however buy product codes from a third party and register them in Origin. As long as you buy from an authorized third-party seller, you should be fine.
https://help.ea.com/en/help/faq/where-to-buy-ea-games-v2/
Newegg.com isn't on that list, but given that it's a trusted retailer in general, it's also worth looking there, especially given the current prices:
https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=sims+4
Sims 4 is also on sale in Origin right now, so buying directly from Origin wouldn't be too expensive either.
Whether you create another account or just rebuy the content on your account is really just about your personal preference. Personally, I'd go for separate accounts just so your daughter can have her own when you're ready for that, but then again who knows if she'll still be playing Sims 4 at that point.
Off-topic, your son might be interested to know that the Epic Games store doesn't force a DRM on users either—it leaves that up to the game's publisher. I'm not a huge fan of the Epic launcher, but it works well enough, and it also offers about one free game a week.
