Yeah, that sounds promising to me as well It'd be cool if I could put my store bought content into an offline version of Sims 3 to play.
If your old/original base game is already registered, you should be able to. EA doesn't recognize that I'm downloading to another base game entirely. And either way--it shouldn't matter because we PAID legitimately for that content and it's there for us to download at any time, no matter how many times, until/if EA closes the store.
My old base game is registered to me and will always be registered to me even though I sold it to someone else years ago.
So yeah, as long as you can prove to the store that you own a copy of Sims 3, I don't think it matters.
And I don't *think* registering a new base game/ep to the store would force you into using Origin, because you do it through the old My Page system, which was pre-Origin. I think the store and Origin are two different animals entirely, which is good for us.
Just to add, if I may, about the TS3 site being not secure. That's been going on for a long time, way before this recent maintenance window. I believe that once you get to a place that actually uses your account for something or requires a purchase (usually requiring a second or relogin), that section of the site becomes secure again.
@slynnski, that is good news, thanks I wouldn't want to lose my worlds or items I bought from the store.
@igazor, could it be an antivirus not liking the Sims 3 store? Sometimes my antivirus complains about websites I go on but the websites are not dodgy at all.
@igazor, could it be an antivirus not liking the Sims 3 store? Sometimes my antivirus complains about websites I go on but the websites are not dodgy at all.
Oh, yes but I'm not getting AV warnings. My browsers are simply telling me that the pages are not secure (no https, just regular http) until I get to a portion of the site that wants me to buy something, whether that be with points or something else, or display/edit my own (boring) community page. If I force an https (secure) connection on the site's main pages, then half the displayed information disappears and it reverts to regular again upon clicking on a link. Seems to have been arranged that way on purpose for some reason, not just that a security cert expired or is malfunctioning behind the scenes which has happened there in the past.
@igazor, could it be an antivirus not liking the Sims 3 store? Sometimes my antivirus complains about websites I go on but the websites are not dodgy at all.
Oh, yes but I'm not getting AV warnings. My browsers are simply telling me that the pages are not secure (no https, just regular http) until I get to a portion of the site that wants me to buy something, whether that be with points or something else, or display/edit my own (boring) community page. If I force an https (secure) connection on the site's main pages, then half the displayed information disappears and it reverts to regular again upon clicking on a link. Seems to have been arranged that way on purpose for some reason, not just that a security cert expired or is malfunctioning behind the scenes which has happened there in the past.
@igazor and @phoebebebe13, Ok then, I see now I hope that the store isn't going down or anything!
If you are talking about for good, I doubt it. I think EA still gets a good chunk of money from the store yet. But, back up all of your store content whenever you get a chance -- I have no doubt that it will be shut down eventually someday.
I finally got around to testing Sims 3 on my laptop to make sure nothing is missing. All my eps were bought from Wal-Mart, all but 2 sps were bought from either Wal-Mart or origin, those two were bought from Amazon, but they were other sellers thru Amazon.
When I first updated origin and loaded Sims 3, only the base game loaded, even though all eps and sps were in the launcher and checked. I restarted, and, as far as I could tell, everything loaded the 2nd time.
I didn't have time to shut it all down and try again, so I'm just curious, is this something I should be worried about? Or is it a "if it was gonna happen, it would have" thing and the first time when only the base game loaded it was 1.69 being weird.
Hi everyone! i need a little help with my situation and i'm looking for suggestion. Now i'll try to explain it.
I bought the Starter pack (on disks) that required an origin account to be played over a year ago,then i bought from ebay the product keys for seasons,UL,Pets,Island paradise and generations. (what a great mistake,i didn't know they were unauthorised sellers until i found out that my island paradise was missing 4 days ago;the others ep that i bought from ebay are still in the launcher for now. i don't know why)
However i have already contacted EA,i'm just waiting for the email where they'll say i have to rebuy island paradise in order to play it. I have contacted Ebay and they told me that they can't refund me since my purchase is not covered by the ebay buyer protection program so their intervention to force the seller to refund would be impossible and digital items are not covered by the ebay customer guarantee. The seller in question has already deleted all the items on sale in his ebay shop.
The point is this: i think that sooner or later ea will deactivate the other EP too so i was wondering if i could rebuy all of my ts3 games on steam (maybe a bundle when it's on sale) and continue only on Steam after uninstalling all my games and origin off my computer of course,only saving the "the sims 3" folder. if i do that will i be able to use the store? i know i will have to create a steam account so the one i have with origin will be deleted or i can still use it to buy things from the store and install them even if i play with steam? for example i have Sunlit tides,riverview and roaring heights...will they appear since they are in the sims 3 old folder or i have to download all of the items on the store again? I don't think i have figured out how these things work :/ Thank you for your help and patience.
Hi everyone! i need a little help with my situation and i'm looking for suggestion. Now i'll try to explain it.
I bought the Starter pack (on disks) that required an origin account to be played over a year ago,then i bought from ebay the product keys for seasons,UL,Pets,Island paradise and generations. (what a great mistake,i didn't know they were unauthorised sellers until i found out that my island paradise was missing 4 days ago;the others ep that i bought from ebay are still in the launcher for now. i don't know why)
However i have already contacted EA,i'm just waiting for the email where they'll say i have to rebuy island paradise in order to play it.
I have contacted Ebay and they told me that they can't refund me since my purchase is not covered by the ebay buyer protection program so their intervention to force the seller to refund would be impossible and digital items are not covered by the ebay customer guarantee.
The seller in question has already deleted all the items on sale in his ebay shop.
The point is this: i think that sooner or later ea will deactivate the other EP too so i was wondering if i could rebuy all of my ts3 games on steam (maybe a bundle when it's on sale) and continue only on Steam after uninstalling all my games and origin off my computer of course,only saving the "the sims 3" folder.
if i do that will i be able to use the store? i know i will have to create a steam account so the one i have with origin will be deleted or i can still use it to buy things from the store and install them even if i play with steam? for example i have Sunlit tides,riverview and roaring heights...will they appear since they are in the sims 3 old folder or i have to download all of the items on the store again? I don't think i have figured out how these things work Thank you for your help and patience.
Not all game keys bought through Ebay seem to be effected by this mass revoking event. Some seem to be fine. EA has not officially explained what exactly is the difference. But, from what I've read here about the ToS emails sent to effected players, it seems that keys that were involved in a chargeback fraud scheme are being revoked. And no, I'm not accusing anyone here of actively participating in such fraud. Most end-users, and quite a few resellers, are totally innocent and unaware that they were caught up in someone else's nefarious schemes. That said...
Keys purchased from Origin will not work with Steam. Keys purchased from Steam will work with the Origin Client after you register the game key(s) with Origin. Due to current events, I'll not even address keys bought from 3rd party resellers. This situation is very confusing and I'd hate to steer you wrongly.
So, to use Steam for TS3 you must have a Steam based TS3 core game key. All EPs & SPs would need to have a Steam enabled key code. You cannot transfer any Origin purchased EP/SP keys to Steam.
Steam does not sell Dragon Valley or Roaring Heights. These are only available for purchase from Origin. Once you have purchased them, you can use the game's launcher to download & install them from your EA Store's Purchase History. All of the Store content works the same way. You'd never need to install/use the Origin Client. I can't say if the downloaded store content will work with a simple copy/paste/move to the new Steam folder(s) as I started over with a clean slate.
If you do plan to re-purchase everything on Steam wait for their upcoming summer sale that begins June 22. Its worth the wait! I re-purchased everything TS3 that way for about $125usd, a sale of about 75% off regular prices.
@Dusty_Boots If i do that i'll definately wait for the summer sale then! But how do i know if the other ep's are fine? will i have to recontact EA and ask if they have checked them just to be sure? If they are fine i think i'll just repurchase island paradise from origin than repurchase all games on steam...
@Dusty_Boots If i do that i'll definately wait for the summer sale then!
But how do i know if the other ep's are fine? will i have to recontact EA and ask if they have checked them just to be sure? If they are fine i think i'll just repurchase island paradise from origin than repurchase all games on steam...
I'm sorry but I really don't know. I wish I did. I wish I could give you a reliable answer or even a decent guess. Its quite a volatile situation at present. I don't know if Origin is acting independently or if this chargeback fraud has finally reached a tipping point and is rippling outward to effect the entire authorized distribution industry. I can only say what I might do, which is to wait a week or three and see if it blows over. If it looked clear then I'd do exactly what you're thinking. Just re-purchase that one missing EP and stay with Origin.
And to be fair & clear, your Ebay reseller most likely was innocent, unaware of getting caught up in a net. Some of these 3rd party resellers, and even the platforms they utilize, are facing heavy financial losses from this activity.
@Dusty_Boots I'll just wait until the end of June and see what to do...meanwhile i will continue to check if the ep's are still there..i don't feel like playing for now,too sad... :'( thank you for your answers.
@puffetta944, I am sorry that you lost an EP too I lost Seasons and I'm still too sad to play...just playing Sims 4 at the moment.
@Dusty_Boots, I think my reseller (for Seasons) was innocent, as they told me they believed where they bought their keys from was legit. They offered me a refund too, which was tops of them, as I'd had Seasons nearly a year before it was removed.
@plushtrap_107 I'm playing Sims 2 at the moment :) yes,for now only one is missing...hope the others are fine. My reseller offered me no refund for now.
I finally got around to testing Sims 3 on my laptop to make sure nothing is missing. All my eps were bought from Wal-Mart, all but 2 sps were bought from either Wal-Mart or origin, those two were bought from Amazon, but they were other sellers thru Amazon.
When I first updated origin and loaded Sims 3, only the base game loaded, even though all eps and sps were in the launcher and checked. I restarted, and, as far as I could tell, everything loaded the 2nd time.
I didn't have time to shut it all down and try again, so I'm just curious, is this something I should be worried about? Or is it a "if it was gonna happen, it would have" thing and the first time when only the base game loaded it was 1.69 being weird.
Quoted my comment, @phoebebebe13 or @igazor can one of you help me with this? Not sure if i should be concerned or not. TYIA
@DivieOwl - Sorry for not responding the first time, but we're kind of in unknown territory here. If everything loaded the 2nd time, I would be inclined more towards the 1.69 glitch theory thing than anything with your account at that stage. But that's nothing more than a (somewhat) educated guess, really.
@igazor okay, thank you! It's no worries, I just know a lot of people got hit with this, and it's not their fault and seems like EA is being less than understanding.
> Did you buy the codes directly off Amazon or a 3rd party seller? If you bought them direct from Amazon you would be a first I have seen with this issue. Amazon direct is an authorized dealer for EA
I was wrong. I thought they were both bought on Amazon but my Seasons pack was bought from eBay. I received an email from ea basically saying that I have the repurchase the expansion pack. This is so annoying! I'm not rebuying anything. I spent so much money on Ea and all they're Sim related items. Hopefully I can get an advisor who'll just give me a product code.
> Did you buy the codes directly off Amazon or a 3rd party seller? If you bought them direct from Amazon you would be a first I have seen with this issue. Amazon direct is an authorized dealer for EA
I was wrong. I thought they were both bought on Amazon but my Seasons pack was bought from eBay. I received an email from ea basically saying that I have the repurchase the expansion pack. This is so annoying! I'm not rebuying anything. I spent so much money on Ea and all they're Sim related items. Hopefully I can get an advisor who'll just give me a product code.
At the risk of repeating myself, possibly within this very thread (sorry, there's so many of these discussion threads now that I'm getting them confused), here is a description of what a chargeback scam is and what seems to have happened here. It's not just limited to TS3.
Someone obtains thousands of keys in bulk from EA with the intent of re-selling them. Eventually it becomes evident that the purchase was bogus or a chargeback was otherwise processed to EA, meaning that EA has received a net gain of nothing for the "sale" of these codes. In the meantime, many of them have since been sold to players or other re-sellers, none of whom have any idea that this had or was about to take place. EA finally becomes aware of the issue and deactivates the essentially stolen bulk sets of codes, but by that time it's the subsequent re-sellers or the end users (players) who suffer.
I'm sorry, but this is why purchasing from unauthorized re-sellers has always been a risky proposition. Your beef is not with EA, and it's probably not with the re-seller you transacted with, but you also probably have little to no recourse at this point (although you could try with the eBay re-seller if they still exist). This can't or at least shouldn't happen with EA direct sales or with authorized re-sellers; if it ever did, the customer should expect a free replacement code at the very least.
While EA arguably may have been able to come up with a kinder, gentler way to deactivate these "stolen" codes, Loss Prevention and Customer Service are not the same corporate functions and from what we can see it doesn't sound like they had been working together on any of this. Getting upset with EA and not sending them "any more money" is not going to help. With respect to this EP transaction in particular, you never sent EA any money in the first place. Or rather, they never received any of it. Sorry to be blunt about this, but again purchasing from unauthorized re-sellers is breaking the rules and there is thus always an element of risk involved in exchange for saving some money over the stated retail price of a product.
@SquidlyDiddly, it seems to be Seasons that gets deleted most of the time, though I'm not sure why.
It seems in talking to people allot have bought their seasons code off ebay and had illegitimate codes . Both you and SquidlyDiddley bought seasons codes off ebay and so have others. All of you got the letter from EA
For what its worth, EA does keep a list of 'Trusted' Re/E -tailers. Updt. Dec. 2016 WHERE TO BUY EA GAMES
As stated by Origin, they do not guarantee support with 2nd or 3rd party sellers, which means anyone other than themselves (Origin). One caveat I'd add is that a chargeback fraud can happen to any seller/platform. This type of fraud is exploding, especially with digital products like game keys. Digital merchandise is its own unique category. And unlike hard goods, its almost universally NOT covered by the protections consumers have come to know and rely on. This has created an enormous potential for abuse, including this chargeback fraud activity.
@phoebebebe13, yeah, I am thinking that (especially with what @igazor said too), it must have been a big batch of dodgy Seasons codes. I feel bad for the resellers too, especially if a lot of them could now be getting messages of players, saying what has happened.
@Dusty_Boots, thanks for the list, that is really useful
Comments
If your old/original base game is already registered, you should be able to. EA doesn't recognize that I'm downloading to another base game entirely. And either way--it shouldn't matter because we PAID legitimately for that content and it's there for us to download at any time, no matter how many times, until/if EA closes the store.
My old base game is registered to me and will always be registered to me even though I sold it to someone else years ago.
So yeah, as long as you can prove to the store that you own a copy of Sims 3, I don't think it matters.
And I don't *think* registering a new base game/ep to the store would force you into using Origin, because you do it through the old My Page system, which was pre-Origin. I think the store and Origin are two different animals entirely, which is good for us.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
@igazor, could it be an antivirus not liking the Sims 3 store? Sometimes my antivirus complains about websites I go on but the websites are not dodgy at all.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
same here my warnings are from my browser not AV
If you are talking about for good, I doubt it. I think EA still gets a good chunk of money from the store yet. But, back up all of your store content whenever you get a chance -- I have no doubt that it will be shut down eventually someday.
When I first updated origin and loaded Sims 3, only the base game loaded, even though all eps and sps were in the launcher and checked. I restarted, and, as far as I could tell, everything loaded the 2nd time.
I didn't have time to shut it all down and try again, so I'm just curious, is this something I should be worried about? Or is it a "if it was gonna happen, it would have" thing and the first time when only the base game loaded it was 1.69 being weird.
I bought the Starter pack (on disks) that required an origin account to be played over a year ago,then i bought from ebay the product keys for seasons,UL,Pets,Island paradise and generations. (what a great mistake,i didn't know they were unauthorised sellers until i found out that my island paradise was missing 4 days ago;the others ep that i bought from ebay are still in the launcher for now. i don't know why)
However i have already contacted EA,i'm just waiting for the email where they'll say i have to rebuy island paradise in order to play it.
I have contacted Ebay and they told me that they can't refund me since my purchase is not covered by the ebay buyer protection program so their intervention to force the seller to refund would be impossible and digital items are not covered by the ebay customer guarantee.
The seller in question has already deleted all the items on sale in his ebay shop.
The point is this: i think that sooner or later ea will deactivate the other EP too so i was wondering if i could rebuy all of my ts3 games on steam (maybe a bundle when it's on sale) and continue only on Steam after uninstalling all my games and origin off my computer of course,only saving the "the sims 3" folder.
if i do that will i be able to use the store? i know i will have to create a steam account so the one i have with origin will be deleted or i can still use it to buy things from the store and install them even if i play with steam? for example i have Sunlit tides,riverview and roaring heights...will they appear since they are in the sims 3 old folder or i have to download all of the items on the store again? I don't think i have figured out how these things work :/ Thank you for your help and patience.
Not all game keys bought through Ebay seem to be effected by this mass revoking event. Some seem to be fine. EA has not officially explained what exactly is the difference. But, from what I've read here about the ToS emails sent to effected players, it seems that keys that were involved in a chargeback fraud scheme are being revoked. And no, I'm not accusing anyone here of actively participating in such fraud. Most end-users, and quite a few resellers, are totally innocent and unaware that they were caught up in someone else's nefarious schemes. That said...
Keys purchased from Origin will not work with Steam. Keys purchased from Steam will work with the Origin Client after you register the game key(s) with Origin. Due to current events, I'll not even address keys bought from 3rd party resellers. This situation is very confusing and I'd hate to steer you wrongly.
So, to use Steam for TS3 you must have a Steam based TS3 core game key. All EPs & SPs would need to have a Steam enabled key code. You cannot transfer any Origin purchased EP/SP keys to Steam.
Steam does not sell Dragon Valley or Roaring Heights. These are only available for purchase from Origin. Once you have purchased them, you can use the game's launcher to download & install them from your EA Store's Purchase History. All of the Store content works the same way. You'd never need to install/use the Origin Client. I can't say if the downloaded store content will work with a simple copy/paste/move to the new Steam folder(s) as I started over with a clean slate.
If you do plan to re-purchase everything on Steam wait for their upcoming summer sale that begins June 22. Its worth the wait! I re-purchased everything TS3 that way for about $125usd, a sale of about 75% off regular prices.
But how do i know if the other ep's are fine? will i have to recontact EA and ask if they have checked them just to be sure? If they are fine i think i'll just repurchase island paradise from origin than repurchase all games on steam...
I'm sorry but I really don't know. I wish I did. I wish I could give you a reliable answer or even a decent guess. Its quite a volatile situation at present. I don't know if Origin is acting independently or if this chargeback fraud has finally reached a tipping point and is rippling outward to effect the entire authorized distribution industry. I can only say what I might do, which is to wait a week or three and see if it blows over. If it looked clear then I'd do exactly what you're thinking. Just re-purchase that one missing EP and stay with Origin.
And to be fair & clear, your Ebay reseller most likely was innocent, unaware of getting caught up in a net. Some of these 3rd party resellers, and even the platforms they utilize, are facing heavy financial losses from this activity.
@puffetta944, I am sorry that you lost an EP too
@Dusty_Boots, I think my reseller (for Seasons) was innocent, as they told me they believed where they bought their keys from was legit. They offered me a refund too, which was tops of them, as I'd had Seasons nearly a year before it was removed.
My reseller offered me no refund for now.
Quoted my comment, @phoebebebe13 or @igazor can one of you help me with this? Not sure if i should be concerned or not. TYIA
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
I was wrong. I thought they were both bought on Amazon but my Seasons pack was bought from eBay. I received an email from ea basically saying that I have the repurchase the expansion pack. This is so annoying! I'm not rebuying anything. I spent so much money on Ea and all they're Sim related items. Hopefully I can get an advisor who'll just give me a product code.
Someone obtains thousands of keys in bulk from EA with the intent of re-selling them. Eventually it becomes evident that the purchase was bogus or a chargeback was otherwise processed to EA, meaning that EA has received a net gain of nothing for the "sale" of these codes. In the meantime, many of them have since been sold to players or other re-sellers, none of whom have any idea that this had or was about to take place. EA finally becomes aware of the issue and deactivates the essentially stolen bulk sets of codes, but by that time it's the subsequent re-sellers or the end users (players) who suffer.
I'm sorry, but this is why purchasing from unauthorized re-sellers has always been a risky proposition. Your beef is not with EA, and it's probably not with the re-seller you transacted with, but you also probably have little to no recourse at this point (although you could try with the eBay re-seller if they still exist). This can't or at least shouldn't happen with EA direct sales or with authorized re-sellers; if it ever did, the customer should expect a free replacement code at the very least.
While EA arguably may have been able to come up with a kinder, gentler way to deactivate these "stolen" codes, Loss Prevention and Customer Service are not the same corporate functions and from what we can see it doesn't sound like they had been working together on any of this. Getting upset with EA and not sending them "any more money" is not going to help. With respect to this EP transaction in particular, you never sent EA any money in the first place. Or rather, they never received any of it. Sorry to be blunt about this, but again purchasing from unauthorized re-sellers is breaking the rules and there is thus always an element of risk involved in exchange for saving some money over the stated retail price of a product.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
It seems in talking to people allot have bought their seasons code off ebay and had illegitimate codes . Both you and SquidlyDiddley bought seasons codes off ebay and so have others. All of you got the letter from EA
WHERE TO BUY EA GAMES
As stated by Origin, they do not guarantee support with 2nd or 3rd party sellers, which means anyone other than themselves (Origin). One caveat I'd add is that a chargeback fraud can happen to any seller/platform. This type of fraud is exploding, especially with digital products like game keys. Digital merchandise is its own unique category. And unlike hard goods, its almost universally NOT covered by the protections consumers have come to know and rely on. This has created an enormous potential for abuse, including this chargeback fraud activity.
@Dusty_Boots, thanks for the list, that is really useful