So, Steam is having a sale, but all of my current games and expansions for the sims are on Origin. I know that in the past it was possible to get a CD key on the Steam game and apply it on the EA website so you can use the expansion in Origin. I found an artice explaining how to do it, but before I buy anything I want to make sure this information is still accurate since the article I found was last updated back in 2013. Sorry if this has been answered somewhere else, but any answers I found were posted so long ago that I didn't know if it still works.

Yes. There was a huge sale last month ($5 packs) and no one reported any issues. Here's a thread over on reddit where people were discussing it: Steam Sale

Thanks. They are still on sale for $5. Finishing up my collection now lol

How does one get Steam to understand that I do in fact have Sims 3?

You have to purchase (though not install as it will be a useless extra copy) the Steam version of TS3 in order to be eligible to purchase the Steam version of the EP/SPs.

...Well that sucks.

Ok so I saw that I could add Sims 3 to my Steam list, as in the copy I already have. It shows up in my library list. It displays that I have it. And yet it still won't let me buy the expansions. How do I get it to recognize that IT even says that I have it?

If this is a non-Steam copy of TS3, the answer is you cannot. Steam will allow you to use its client software to run just about any game, that's just a matter of convenience. I think Origin has this feature too.

Steam is not a purchasing agent, it's a gaming platform that has been around for quite a while. You can't get creative on them, they have things tightened down pretty well. The Steam version of the TS3 base game is not exactly the same as the Origin/disk version, the build number is different, although it should play the same if it were installed through Steam. That's what their system would be looking for.

Then how can we play with an unregistered copy, as suggested above?

In theory, you can use Steam to launch anything. But that wasn't the question. If you want to purchase TS3 EP/SPs from Steam, you must purchase a TS3 base game from Steam.

Yeah, you had said to purchase but not install the base game. If we don't install it then we're just playing with the one we already have. Ergo, we're adding Steam's expansions to a game we didn't purchase from Steam. Buying a copy through them and then not installing it shouldn't be necessary. Is it just for the "you spent the money with us so you get the rest on discount"?

No, you would be adding EA's expansions to a game you purchased from EA (or some other reseller). You aren't adding Steam's actual expansions, that would require an all-Steam reinstall and of course a Steam version of the base game.

What's confusing things is this agreement that EA has with Steam for Steam to provide Origin codes alongside their purchases. You are purchasing Steam products and getting the rights to EA products at no extra charge. You can still construe that as a bad deal if you wish, it's not really when a deeply discounted Steam sale is taking place, but that would be something to take up with Steam's customer support. I'm sure they have heard it all before, though. Think of the Origin codes as the free toy that comes inside. It's the part you personally (and others) may really be interested in, but it's not what is actually being offered for sale.


Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Steam and am not here to defend or attack their business model. I prefer to try to help players who need it and who would rather not waste their time trying to accomplish something that cannot be accomplished.

So...it's like buying something on sale at a specific store but only if I bought the base there, and that the company that makes the something has nothing to do with it? This is confusing. It's the whole "get the base game from Steam but don't register it" that's got me, because that means I'm adding the expansions I get through them to a base game that I don't have registered with them. Ergo I'm not playing the game I bought from them.

You wouldn't be playing the base game or any expansions you purchased from them, although you could if you chose to sometime in the future. You would be playing the EA versions of those EPs that they are tossing in some codes for alongside the ones you are purchased and not playing.

Orign/disc TS3 and Steam TS3 are two different things. They look, feel, sound, smell, and taste the same (uhm, I'm assuming), but they are still two different sets of programs with different build numbers under the hood.

It's a similar situation to the Beanie Baby toys that were in McDonalds kids meals a few years ago.
What the adults wanted when they bought 5 kids meals were the toys. But McDonalds hadn't started selling individual toys yet, so to get the toy you had to buy the food. (Once the dumpsters outside were constantly filled with uneaten kids meals with the toy gone, they got the message, so now they do sell individual toys. But Steam hasn't gotten that far yet, and won't because they are only allowed to actually sell their own version.)

The Steam versions are the kids meals. The Origin registration code is the beanie baby. You buy the kids meal, you play with the toy.

Oh! ok, I get it now.

Though on a side note that's bizarre. I've been able to buy Happy Meal toys without the meal itself no issue.

Yes, you can do it now. But the first time they had the mini beanie babies in happy meals they hadn't expected to have to sell the toys individually. It was about halfway through that promotion where they announced that you could now buy just the toy for 50 cents. (The price of the meal has just about doubled since then, and the toy is still 50 cents.)

Haha, I've been able to do it for about...gosh, I wanna say about 8 or so years (Pokémon toys are my indulgence), and it's been 1 USD.

I'm pretty sure what Ghostie is talking about was over 20 years ago, it varied by area and the issue did keep resurfacing when the toys were collectibles. Then we also had the nutty kids who kept landing in the emergency room because they preferred to eat the toys and play with the food. (Not that I'm speaking from experience or that McHappy job helped put me through college and grad school or anything, or at least I don't think anyone here can prove this one way or the other.)

One of the problems with getting older is that 20 years stops looking like a long time. (I'm hoping to get to the age where 50 years is just a few years ago. Preferably not due to Alzheimers. Then I can really confuse people by talking about stuff from before they were born like it happened yesterday.)