So then buying a second-hand copy is a violation of the terms of service?
yes. Especially if it's tied into origin. You can probably get away with buying used discs as long as it comes with the codes. You won't be able to register those disc codes if they were already registered to another account in origin. If you are one of those people who has the base game disc issued before 2012 that does not require origin you can add used discs eps with code and not play with origin. If you dont own that base game that does not require origin anything you buy used won't work
Besides serving as their DRM, another purpose to Origin was to shut down the second hand games market, which cuts into their profits.
They created Origin to compete with Steam and stopped selling their games to steam. Steam only has a few older EA games. I played the sims 3 DRM free while still having origin on my computer. Then in 2015 EA tired to lock all of us who were DRM free that have the original base game into origin. EA using origin to go after 3rd party sellers and illegal codes just happened this week. They could have stopped them a long time ago and none of these innocent people would be getting these letters. I don't know why EA did not contact Ebay and other unauthorized sellers and demand they stop selling game codes. I guess the way they are handling this now comes out cheaper for EA than a legal depute and the player pays the price.
@Linamints I'm sorry you and others have to deal with this
I do not believe that they created Origin to compete with Steam. There is no way that they can actually "compete" with Steam. Origin has just a fraction of games compared to Steam.
But what they can do is to prevent Steam from getting a portion of profits that would go solely to EA by creating their own client that sells their own games directly to customers, creates a DRM barrier (just by it's very nature - it's an online tool that authenticates your purchase every time it starts), and cuts out the second-hand games market by making it impossible for people to purchase used games codes that will work since that code has already been registered to someone else.
Compete with steam in the sense that now all games from EA must be purchased through origin. EA saw a market for DRM. Steam existed before Origin. DRM is a new concept. They won't sell games to steam anymore. EA is not making discs anymore. Everything is download . EA makes 100% profit on their games and does not have to give a % to steam (accept for the games steam still has) . More than likely EA has a contract with steam that could end. You will then be forced to register the steam codes on origin and will only be able to play through origin
I don't believe they created Origin to stop piracy. That came later . Origin was in existence for a while before trying to force people to a new lock down patch 1.69 and everything tied into origin. I still have a DRM free game as do some others. I have the old download version of the game still installed in my computer. The old downloads don't require origin. When EA first tried to lock everyone into origin you could uninstall the base game, reinstall it and patch back to 1.67. When EA figured out people could do that , they put a block in place. If you now try to uninstall the base game download, all the eps get removed with it. They did this in 2015. It is now 2017 and just really started a week ago cracking down on piracy codes installed on origin. The sims 3 is 8 years old and they are just NOW combating the piracy codes? Some of these people who have lost their eps have had them a few years. If EA created Origin to stop piracy from the beginning people would have gotten these letters and removal of EPs a long time ago, not a week ago. These pirates have been selling EA game ( and other games) codes for a very long time.
It also won't stop pirates from uploading a DRM free game since there are so many disc copies still out there. EA can't stop this. People will resort to downloading these versions of the game if they can't afford to replace the ep's EA has now taken away from them. Anyone reading this DO NOT download torrent copies. Your game will never play correctly and your game files will be all messed up. Save your money and buy a legit copy of the game though origin or buy sealed discs. Buying direct though steam is fine too.
People bought ( not stole) game codes in good faith. The seller is being punished as they can no longer sell codes however the player is paying the ultimate price by not having their game or a refund for the codes they paid for.
I was browsing on Ebay and there are still sellers on there selling sims game codes. I hope EA has plans on shutting them down so no one else has to get their ep's taken away. I think all of you that bought codes and had their ep's taken away should ban together and keep sending complaints to Ebay
I was browsing on Ebay and there are still sellers on there selling sims game codes. I hope EA has plans on shutting them down so no one else has to get their ep's taken away. I think all of you that bought codes and had their ep's taken away should ban together and keep sending complaints to Ebay
I could not agree more strongly with you! Even shady Ebay has some rules concerning the selling of games/keys/codes. Most/All? of these resellers are in violation of that policy. Even if its discounted, if you have to buy it twice its no longer such a hot bargain. Why not stalk sales, buy legit, and protect yourselves and your hard earned money!
Your listing clearly states that you legally own the content (sometimes called intellectual property) or are authorized to sell it by the owner, the owner's authorized agent, or the law.
You have to be verified on PayPal to help confirm your identity.
And that doesn't even begin to address Copyright/Trademark violations, which is an area of the law where angels fear to tread!
See? Look at what this one is peddling. Its absolutely in violation of Origin's legal mumbojumbo rules and is totally NOT legit. Selling/Transfers of Origin accounts are not allowed.
Edit to remove link. I'm not sure if by posting that link if I may run afoul of the rules here?
IMPORTANT: This is an Origin account. No CD / No Key
Account details (username, password, security question answer) will be sent within 24 hours via Ebay message
See? Look at what this one is peddling. Its absolutely in violation of Origin's legal mumbojumbo rules and is totally NOT legit. Selling/Transfers of Origin accounts are not allowed.
Edit to remove link. I'm not sure if by posting that link if I may run afoul of the rules here?
IMPORTANT: This is an Origin account. No CD / No Key
Account details (username, password, security question answer) will be sent within 24 hours via Ebay message
Why would someone even buy into this kind of thing? You can buy direct from origin and have your own account. Is this person trying to sell the Original account for more money than they paid EA? Is this an individual person just trying to sell off their personal account or is it a seller selling off origin accounts in bulk? All of it is against TOS. A person who buys a whole origin account off ebay may also run into trouble down the line trying to prove proof of purchase if the original owner decides they want their origin account back and they can prove it's theirs. If someone bought into this scheme I hate to say it but they deserve what they get.
ADD. Search origin account on ebay and there are several people trying to sell off origin accounts with different EA games not just the sims. Even steam accounts for sale
See? Look at what this one is peddling. Its absolutely in violation of Origin's legal mumbojumbo rules and is totally NOT legit. Selling/Transfers of Origin accounts are not allowed.
Edit to remove link. I'm not sure if by posting that link if I may run afoul of the rules here?
IMPORTANT: This is an Origin account. No CD / No Key
Account details (username, password, security question answer) will be sent within 24 hours via Ebay message
Why would someone even buy into this kind of thing? You can buy direct from origin and have your own account. Is this person trying to sell the Original account for more money than they paid EA? Is this an individual person just trying to sell off their personal account or is it a seller selling off origin accounts in bulk? All of it is against TOS. A person who buys a whole origin account off ebay may also run into trouble down the line trying to prove proof of purchase if the original owner decides they want their origin account back and they can prove it's theirs. If someone bought into this scheme I hate to say it but they deserve what they get.
YupYup, this seller, just-ask-botzi, is selling off multiple Origin accounts where, I presume, the game is currently installed. Totally illegal by both Origin & Ebay. But wait... there's more...
Here's a real contender for the Fuggedaboutit Trophy! (Its listed as USED)
Has codes- if they don't work you need to contact a game support person at EA and they can reset for you.
hahahahahahaha - sure they will...NOT. I never looked on ebay before, some of this stuff is priceless
Sorry for all the posting in your thread. I'm amazed at what passes muster on/at ebay, that's one very shady marketplace.
...
ADD. Search origin account on ebay and there are several people trying to sell off origin accounts with different EA games not just the sims. Even steam accounts for sale
I'm sorely tempted to make an ebay account. I could make myself a brand new full time hobby just reporting all that! Unbelievable! There's listings selling for hundreds of dollars for accounts with vast game libraries. wow I got so engaged I'm running late - I'm off to work!
See? Look at what this one is peddling. Its absolutely in violation of Origin's legal mumbojumbo rules and is totally NOT legit. Selling/Transfers of Origin accounts are not allowed.
Edit to remove link. I'm not sure if by posting that link if I may run afoul of the rules here?
IMPORTANT: This is an Origin account. No CD / No Key
Account details (username, password, security question answer) will be sent within 24 hours via Ebay message
Why would someone even buy into this kind of thing? You can buy direct from origin and have your own account. Is this person trying to sell the Original account for more money than they paid EA? Is this an individual person just trying to sell off their personal account or is it a seller selling off origin accounts in bulk? All of it is against TOS. A person who buys a whole origin account off ebay may also run into trouble down the line trying to prove proof of purchase if the original owner decides they want their origin account back and they can prove it's theirs. If someone bought into this scheme I hate to say it but they deserve what they get.
YupYup, this seller, just-ask-botzi, is selling off multiple Origin accounts where, I presume, the game is currently installed. Totally illegal by both Origin & Ebay. But wait... there's more...
Here's a real contender for the Fuggedaboutit Trophy! (Its listed as USED)
Has codes- if they don't work you need to contact a game support person at EA and they can reset for you.
hahahahahahaha - sure they will...NOT. I never looked on ebay before, some of this stuff is priceless
Sorry for all the posting in your thread. I'm amazed at what passes muster on/at ebay, that's one very shady marketplace.
wow has codes if they don't work contact EA to reset the code . Yea right. That person must have gotten the notice from several people their codes were no good
Why would someone even buy into this kind of thing?
Well, let's see...
1- eBay takes PayPal as a method of payment, no? Not everyone has or can easily get a credit/debit card. I think in some countries, some purchasers have trouble using other forms of cash cards with EA and maybe other vendors.
2 - Imagine the thrill of taking ownership of a celebrity's former accounts! Wonder how much additional market value mine would have... (three cents, maybe four and a half?)
Not that either scenario makes the transfer any more legitimate. But the sellers must be taking advantage of something other than purchasers lack of awareness as to how this is all supposed and not supposed to work.
Why would someone even buy into this kind of thing?
Well, let's see...
1- eBay takes PayPal as a method of payment, no? Not everyone has or can easily get a credit/debit card. I think in some countries, some purchasers have trouble using other forms of cash cards with EA and maybe other vendors.
2 - Imagine the thrill of taking ownership of a celebrity's former accounts! Wonder how much additional market value mine would have... (three cents, maybe four and a half?)
Not that either scenario makes the transfer any more legitimate. But the sellers must be taking advantage of something other than purchasers lack of awareness as to how this is all supposed and not supposed to work.
1. EA should fix their purchasing rules so people don't get scammed. You must have a bank account to use paypal. I believe it has to be a checking account not savings. With that bank account should come an ATM card.
2. I could see that. I hear one of the Kardasians plays the sims ( ROLLS EYES) . I doubt a celeb would sell their account to give someone their home address and phone number and trust the buyer to not steal the celebs personal info. They can also afford to just give up their origin account without having to sell it to anyone
@igazor Is that really true ? I paid EA ok-I-don't-want-to-go-into-that-too-deeply-out-of-self-protection a lot of money, hundreds of euros, and still they will be able to take it away from me whenever they feel like it (I bought good old disks)? I apologize if this is a dumb question but I really want to know
Well yes, in theory. But if EA randomly revoked legitimately obtained licenses to play the game without having an actual reason for doing so, at least without pulling the plug on the entire franchise for all players, then they wouldn't be holding up their end of the agreement either. No one is going to sue them for breach of contract over such a relatively small matter on an individual basis, but there could be other nasty consequences if they made that a regular practice indiscriminately. That's not what is happening here.
All software companies whose products "phone home" for authentication can do this as per the terms of their agreed upon EULA and none of us actually "own" these products we have purchased the rights to use. When discs are involved we may own the discs themselves, I mean the physical media and the boxes they came in, but those alone don't have much value.
Because for installing the patches you'll always need Origin you mean?
Origin client will not let you start the game without origin being attached to the game. If EA decided to pull the plug on the sims 3 and did not offer the player an option to play without origin, you would no longer be able to play the game. That is if you bought the version of the game that is tied into origin
I play the game without origin. I can patch my game without origin. Im patched to 1.67 . I have the original version of the game that does not require origin. If you are lucky to have this version , even if EA pulls the plug on the origin version of the game, you will still be able to play your game
I hope this makes sense
Thanks, yes, I think I'm fine then (having all the disks; bought everything after WA at release date).
Until I get my EP's and SP back, I've *kinda* challenged myself to build/buy using ONLY BASE materials.
All my EP's and SP (Sweet Treats) are gone from my game, so it's kind of a challenge to not have any pieces from them now. Pretty much ALL my saved games are useless until I get my game back to normal.
Go ahead and try this challenge too, while your game is down to only BASE like mine. To be honest though, I REALLY can't wait for it to be back to normal.
@Dusty_Boots and @phoebebebe13 I don't think EA is pursuing this matter with eBay, getting the code sellers off of eBay is most likely going to have to be a community effort. As others have said before, if EA wanted them gone they would be gone. eBay and paypal support said that if they can't provide proof that they are allowed to sell and are an official seller registered with EA then they can't stay on eBay, so if an EA rep went to them and said specifically that they are not allowed to sell they would be gone already.
There are still a few left, but most of the sellers are gone now though, many closed up shop as soon as the angry customers started asking where their content was.
@5782341b77vl That's not a bad idea, maybe I'll try that.
"Parenting is just like gardening, except if you let your garden die you don't go to prison." - Anna Blast
I currently play in the pure base game environment; it isn't so bad. Here's a bit of info which may make your game a bit better (or at least tolerable) if you use CC.
Official TS3 Content:
*Ultra Lounge Set (excluding bathroom, kitchen and teen sets) are base game compatible and there are a few build items such as windows, stairs and fences included in the set.
*The Storybook set is also compatible with pure base and it includes doors and windows.
*Jet Set Clothing (all ages) is compatible. And some Indy items which are not a part of any set such as the tennis dress YA Female are compatible. As are a couple of hairstyles.
On the 3rd Party CC front, I currently am able to use:
*Hairs
*Makeup
*Contacts
*Jewelry (excluding necklaces)
*Some Clothing (actually a lot of clothing)
*Some Furniture items
**This includes styles and designs which were created recently (Speaking on CAS type items).
***Sorry, haven't tried build items in any of my games, since my base game is used primarily to build Sims skills.
Hope this gives you a few more options to play with than just pure base game items.
I have heard of game mills in poor countries that make a business out of building up accounts for online games - getting the avatar to the highest level or building in-game wealth, etc. - -and then selling the accounts for profit. But I don't see advantage for a Sims game. It's not like there is an end-game skill-up you need to reach to play with your friends or anything. People are weird.
So then buying a second-hand copy is a violation of the terms of service?
yes. Especially if it's tied into origin. You can probably get away with buying used discs as long as it comes with the codes. You won't be able to register those disc codes if they were already registered to another account in origin. If you are one of those people who has the base game disc issued before 2012 that does not require origin you can add used discs eps with code and not play with origin. If you dont own that base game that does not require origin anything you buy used won't work
Besides serving as their DRM, another purpose to Origin was to shut down the second hand games market, which cuts into their profits.
They created Origin to compete with Steam and stopped selling their games to steam. Steam only has a few older EA games. I played the sims 3 DRM free while still having origin on my computer. Then in 2015 EA tired to lock all of us who were DRM free that have the original base game into origin. EA using origin to go after 3rd party sellers and illegal codes just happened this week. They could have stopped them a long time ago and none of these innocent people would be getting these letters. I don't know why EA did not contact Ebay and other unauthorized sellers and demand they stop selling game codes. I guess the way they are handling this now comes out cheaper for EA than a legal depute and the player pays the price.
@Linamints I'm sorry you and others have to deal with this
I do not believe that they created Origin to compete with Steam. There is no way that they can actually "compete" with Steam. Origin has just a fraction of games compared to Steam.
But what they can do is to prevent Steam from getting a portion of profits that would go solely to EA by creating their own client that sells their own games directly to customers, creates a DRM barrier (just by it's very nature - it's an online tool that authenticates your purchase every time it starts), and cuts out the second-hand games market by making it impossible for people to purchase used games codes that will work since that code has already been registered to someone else.
Compete with steam in the sense that now all games from EA must be purchased through origin. EA saw a market for DRM. Steam existed before Origin. DRM is a new concept. They won't sell games to steam anymore. EA is not making discs anymore. Everything is download . EA makes 100% profit on their games and does not have to give a % to steam (accept for the games steam still has) . More than likely EA has a contract with steam that could end. You will then be forced to register the steam codes on origin and will only be able to play through origin
I don't believe they created Origin to stop piracy. That came later . Origin was in existence for a while before trying to force people to a new lock down patch 1.69 and everything tied into origin. I still have a DRM free game as do some others. I have the old download version of the game still installed in my computer. The old downloads don't require origin. When EA first tried to lock everyone into origin you could uninstall the base game, reinstall it and patch back to 1.67. When EA figured out people could do that , they put a block in place. If you now try to uninstall the base game download, all the eps get removed with it. They did this in 2015. It is now 2017 and just really started a week ago cracking down on piracy codes installed on origin. The sims 3 is 8 years old and they are just NOW combating the piracy codes? Some of these people who have lost their eps have had them a few years. If EA created Origin to stop piracy from the beginning people would have gotten these letters and removal of EPs a long time ago, not a week ago. These pirates have been selling EA game ( and other games) codes for a very long time.
It also won't stop pirates from uploading a DRM free game since there are so many disc copies still out there. EA can't stop this. People will resort to downloading these versions of the game if they can't afford to replace the ep's EA has now taken away from them. Anyone reading this DO NOT download torrent copies. Your game will never play correctly and your game files will be all messed up. Save your money and buy a legit copy of the game though origin or buy sealed discs. Buying direct though steam is fine too.
People bought ( not stole) game codes in good faith. The seller is being punished as they can no longer sell codes however the player is paying the ultimate price by not having their game or a refund for the codes they paid for.
Yes, I already know all this. Except I *do* believe that Origin was developed in part to stop piracy (and to get rid of disks and stop the second hand games market, to make color-by-numbers games based on data mining, yada yada). TS3 came out long before they finished developing Origin and that's the only reason why it was not tied to Origin from the beginning.
But as we've seen they are attempting to backtrack and hog tie the game to their poorly made client. EA knows NOTHING about how to provide good customer service. They don't think they have to know, either, because even people who profess to hate them will not abandon their favorite games. Too much sacrifice, woe is me. So the bottom line is that they really don't care. All they care about is the cash people throw at them and that's it.
The Sims
Where are we going, and why am I in this hand basket?!
So then buying a second-hand copy is a violation of the terms of service?
yes. Especially if it's tied into origin. You can probably get away with buying used discs as long as it comes with the codes. You won't be able to register those disc codes if they were already registered to another account in origin. If you are one of those people who has the base game disc issued before 2012 that does not require origin you can add used discs eps with code and not play with origin. If you dont own that base game that does not require origin anything you buy used won't work
Besides serving as their DRM, another purpose to Origin was to shut down the second hand games market, which cuts into their profits.
They created Origin to compete with Steam and stopped selling their games to steam. Steam only has a few older EA games. I played the sims 3 DRM free while still having origin on my computer. Then in 2015 EA tired to lock all of us who were DRM free that have the original base game into origin. EA using origin to go after 3rd party sellers and illegal codes just happened this week. They could have stopped them a long time ago and none of these innocent people would be getting these letters. I don't know why EA did not contact Ebay and other unauthorized sellers and demand they stop selling game codes. I guess the way they are handling this now comes out cheaper for EA than a legal depute and the player pays the price.
@Linamints I'm sorry you and others have to deal with this
I do not believe that they created Origin to compete with Steam. There is no way that they can actually "compete" with Steam. Origin has just a fraction of games compared to Steam.
But what they can do is to prevent Steam from getting a portion of profits that would go solely to EA by creating their own client that sells their own games directly to customers, creates a DRM barrier (just by it's very nature - it's an online tool that authenticates your purchase every time it starts), and cuts out the second-hand games market by making it impossible for people to purchase used games codes that will work since that code has already been registered to someone else.
Compete with steam in the sense that now all games from EA must be purchased through origin. EA saw a market for DRM. Steam existed before Origin. DRM is a new concept. They won't sell games to steam anymore. EA is not making discs anymore. Everything is download . EA makes 100% profit on their games and does not have to give a % to steam (accept for the games steam still has) . More than likely EA has a contract with steam that could end. You will then be forced to register the steam codes on origin and will only be able to play through origin
I don't believe they created Origin to stop piracy. That came later . Origin was in existence for a while before trying to force people to a new lock down patch 1.69 and everything tied into origin. I still have a DRM free game as do some others. I have the old download version of the game still installed in my computer. The old downloads don't require origin. When EA first tried to lock everyone into origin you could uninstall the base game, reinstall it and patch back to 1.67. When EA figured out people could do that , they put a block in place. If you now try to uninstall the base game download, all the eps get removed with it. They did this in 2015. It is now 2017 and just really started a week ago cracking down on piracy codes installed on origin. The sims 3 is 8 years old and they are just NOW combating the piracy codes? Some of these people who have lost their eps have had them a few years. If EA created Origin to stop piracy from the beginning people would have gotten these letters and removal of EPs a long time ago, not a week ago. These pirates have been selling EA game ( and other games) codes for a very long time.
It also won't stop pirates from uploading a DRM free game since there are so many disc copies still out there. EA can't stop this. People will resort to downloading these versions of the game if they can't afford to replace the ep's EA has now taken away from them. Anyone reading this DO NOT download torrent copies. Your game will never play correctly and your game files will be all messed up. Save your money and buy a legit copy of the game though origin or buy sealed discs. Buying direct though steam is fine too.
People bought ( not stole) game codes in good faith. The seller is being punished as they can no longer sell codes however the player is paying the ultimate price by not having their game or a refund for the codes they paid for.
Yes, I already know all this. Except I *do* believe that Origin was developed in part to stop piracy (and to get rid of disks and stop the second hand games market, to make color-by-numbers games based on data mining, yada yada). TS3 came out long before they finished developing Origin and that's the only reason why it was not tied to Origin from the beginning.
But as we've seen they are attempting to backtrack and hog tie the game to their poorly made client. EA knows NOTHING about how to provide good customer service. They don't think they have to know, either, because even people who profess to hate them will not abandon their favorite games. Too much sacrifice, woe is me. So the bottom line is that they really don't care. All they care about is the cash people throw at them and that's it.
Yes it's about money. They stopped making discs because they cost more to make. Places like Walmart and Target that sell the discs make a profit off them. EA eliminates the cost of printing discs and giving a % of the game to other sellers by no longer printing disc. They own their own DRM. It does not cost them to give you a download link to the game. They make 100 % profit.
They are not stopping piracy. There are DRM free games that can be downloaded. There are many sellers still on Ebay selling codes, origin accounts, complete copies of the game DRM free etc. The seller is the one who should be punished for defrauding the public but instead EA has gone after the buyer and taken away their games.
Being devils advocate... ...EA must do it this way (Origin). This way they are in full control of their software (ideally).
If they go through Valve, they must give percentages away. Best business is 100% profit. -That EA must invent a good DRM, well... ...thats a cost they must admit to. -Hence, all future games will be online-games. Sad, but true. DRM for singleplayer/offline-games will be broken shortly after release.
@phoebebebe13 I totally agree that they should punish the fraudulent sellers and not the players. It's just easier for them to punish players, and besides if they can get them to purchase the game(s) again they make more money. Easy peasy.
The only downloaded games that I have on my PC right now are from Steam. I've never had any problems from Steam (can't say the same for Origin), although I have not played my Steam games extensively for long periods of time. Steam is not trying to steal my data and control me or my game play - AFAIK, so they certainly seem a lot friendlier and less restrictive to me. They are just offering lots and lots of different games at great prices (since I only buy on sale).
But I rarely play those other games because I'd rather play TS3! And Origin is not invited into my house. If they ever made it so I couldn't play TS3 without it, I would buy the Steam version before I'd install Origin on this PC. The only exception to that is if they ever make a worthy successor to TS3 - I might then reconsider, although I sure wouldn't like it.
The game publishers can claim that I'm leasing their product and they are in control and can take it away any time, yada yada - and I can just find other hobbies because they don't and will never own me. If more people took that attitude they might actually have to start caring about how to treat their customers.
The Sims
Where are we going, and why am I in this hand basket?!
So I have a major problem that I am dealing with in regards to University Life, Master Suite Stuff, Town Life Stuff, Fast Lane Stuff, Outdoor Living Stuff, and Diesel Stuff. I paid for all of them and installed them all through Origin. No problem at all, they were all digital codes, and everything seemed to work out fine. A week ago, I logged in through Origin and when the Sims 3 launcher popped up and I went to uncheck University Life (because it slows my game down and I don't really play it much anyway) ALL of those games were gone. So I started a chat session with EA and ended up finding out that something called the "TOS Team" (Terms of Service Team) had inactivated all of those games and that they were the only ones who could tell me why and that they would contact me within 72 hours. That was 4 days ago and still nothing. So I started up another chat tonight, they told me the same thing and that I would have to wait to hear from this TOS team to contact me and explain what was going on and hopefully reactivate my games. Soooo... has this happened to anyone else? Can someone explain how it is that some team from EA can go into my account and just pick and choose which games I can and can't play? I understand that this isn't EA or its teams here, this is just a Sims 3 chat place, but I'm frustrated and 🐸🐸🐸🐸 off and I just want to play all the games that I paid for when I want to play them. Not when EA and their team decide I can play them.
i get that you're frustrated lmao but no one here is gonna be able to tell you what you're waiting for customer support to tell you you just have to wait and see what's going on my guess is that some illegitimacy was involved but you said you bought digital codes and they worked through origin so I don't see how that could be the case
I know that no one here is going to be able to tell me why this happened, I worded that wrong. I just was wondering if this was something that was happening to other people and if they ever got a resolution for it.
I know that no one here is going to be able to tell me why this happened, I worded that wrong. I just was wondering if this was something that was happening to other people and if they ever got a resolution for it.
It's been happening to many, so you are not alone. There are threads about it all over the TS3 forums here and elsewhere, including this one. You said that you purchased these packs (from where?) and then installed them through Origin -- so were the purchases from an authorized or independent unauthorized re-seller or from EA?
Here is what's happening in most cases, though of course there could be false positives being caught up in the process (not many we have heard of). Someone buys thousands of install codes from EA with the intent of re-selling them to players or other re-sellers through such portals as eBay, G2A, Amazon Marketplace, etc. EA eventually finds out that the original transaction was bogus or that a chargeback has been issued against them, meaning that they received nothing for the sale of these codes and they were essentially stolen. So, although it may be much later now, EA deactivates all of the codes and issues TOS Holds against any players using them even though it's not the players who stole the codes, and possibly not even the merchant they purchased them from.
It is against the rules to sell/purchase codes from unauthorized re-sellers, and this is the risk players take when they do so anyway. For authorized ones like Steam, Amazon Direct (not the independent merchants), WalMart, GamersGate, there are others, the player has recourse and can demand replacements or their money back, but possibly not so much with the independents although they can try.
The way EA is carrying this out is not gentle and not kind perhaps, but they are well within their rights to do this. If your purchases were really with Origin/EA directly and there were no unauthorized re-sellers involved, then this is unfortunate but you should be able to get it fixed. By the way, when 72-hour turnaround is promised, that usually means 72 business hours so weekends shouldn't really count. Although it appears some have had to wait longer than that to hear back regardless.
Thank you for moving my original post to this thread, whoever did it. I found this after posting and after reading all the comments on here, am pretty much realizing that there isn't too much I can do at this point except uninstall the games that I bought that have been deactivated and chalk it up to a total loss on my part. I bought the digital codes from eBay, which I am realizing now was a stupid thing to do on my part, especially since I was so skeptical about buying codes and not the actual games. I can only hope to find these games at a reasonable price and just buy them all over again, but the problem I am having is that none of the game stores or stores like Walmart carry Sims 3 games anymore, just the codes. How do I know they are not bogus or stolen codes? Is there any safe way of buying these digital codes?
Thank you for moving my original post to this thread, whoever did it. I found this after posting and after reading all the comments on here, am pretty much realizing that there isn't too much I can do at this point except uninstall the games that I bought that have been deactivated and chalk it up to a total loss on my part. I bought the digital codes from eBay, which I am realizing now was a plum thing to do on my part, especially since I was so skeptical about buying codes and not the actual games. I can only hope to find these games at a reasonable price and just buy them all over again, but the problem I am having is that none of the game stores or stores like Walmart carry Sims 3 games anymore, just the codes. How do I know they are not bogus or stolen codes? Is there any safe way of buying these digital codes?
WalMart is an authorized re-seller. They have a contract with EA to sell those codes, same with the other legitimate re-sellers I listed. Or you could purchase through Origin or Steam. Or you could go shopping for sealed, never been touched discs at retail stores in person, not online, but what they have left in stock will vary by location. But you are going to have to get your Origin account unlocked again before you can use any newly purchased codes and your store content at the same time, from the sound of it.
I don't own a single TS3 disc. Half of my purchases have been though GamersGate and Amazon Direct, whoever had better sales at the time, and the other half through Origin. It's all legit, above-board, and authorized. If anything were to go wrong with any of these codes, and gosh sure hope I never have to go through all this, the retailer would have to replace them for me as their right to sell them in the first place was again under a contract with EA.
Comments
Compete with steam in the sense that now all games from EA must be purchased through origin. EA saw a market for DRM. Steam existed before Origin. DRM is a new concept. They won't sell games to steam anymore. EA is not making discs anymore. Everything is download . EA makes 100% profit on their games and does not have to give a % to steam (accept for the games steam still has) . More than likely EA has a contract with steam that could end. You will then be forced to register the steam codes on origin and will only be able to play through origin
I don't believe they created Origin to stop piracy. That came later . Origin was in existence for a while before trying to force people to a new lock down patch 1.69 and everything tied into origin. I still have a DRM free game as do some others. I have the old download version of the game still installed in my computer. The old downloads don't require origin. When EA first tried to lock everyone into origin you could uninstall the base game, reinstall it and patch back to 1.67. When EA figured out people could do that , they put a block in place. If you now try to uninstall the base game download, all the eps get removed with it. They did this in 2015. It is now 2017 and just really started a week ago cracking down on piracy codes installed on origin. The sims 3 is 8 years old and they are just NOW combating the piracy codes? Some of these people who have lost their eps have had them a few years. If EA created Origin to stop piracy from the beginning people would have gotten these letters and removal of EPs a long time ago, not a week ago. These pirates have been selling EA game ( and other games) codes for a very long time.
It also won't stop pirates from uploading a DRM free game since there are so many disc copies still out there. EA can't stop this. People will resort to downloading these versions of the game if they can't afford to replace the ep's EA has now taken away from them. Anyone reading this DO NOT download torrent copies. Your game will never play correctly and your game files will be all messed up. Save your money and buy a legit copy of the game though origin or buy sealed discs. Buying direct though steam is fine too.
People bought ( not stole) game codes in good faith. The seller is being punished as they can no longer sell codes however the player is paying the ultimate price by not having their game or a refund for the codes they paid for.
I could not agree more strongly with you! Even shady Ebay has some rules concerning the selling of games/keys/codes. Most/All? of these resellers are in violation of that policy. Even if its discounted, if you have to buy it twice its no longer such a hot bargain. Why not stalk sales, buy legit, and protect yourselves and your hard earned money!
Here's Ebay's Digitally delivered goods policy
Take note of some of their rules:
And that doesn't even begin to address Copyright/Trademark violations, which is an area of the law where angels fear to tread!
Edit to remove link. I'm not sure if by posting that link if I may run afoul of the rules here?
Why would someone even buy into this kind of thing? You can buy direct from origin and have your own account. Is this person trying to sell the Original account for more money than they paid EA? Is this an individual person just trying to sell off their personal account or is it a seller selling off origin accounts in bulk? All of it is against TOS. A person who buys a whole origin account off ebay may also run into trouble down the line trying to prove proof of purchase if the original owner decides they want their origin account back and they can prove it's theirs. If someone bought into this scheme I hate to say it but they deserve what they get.
ADD. Search origin account on ebay and there are several people trying to sell off origin accounts with different EA games not just the sims. Even steam accounts for sale
YupYup, this seller, just-ask-botzi, is selling off multiple Origin accounts where, I presume, the game is currently installed. Totally illegal by both Origin & Ebay. But wait... there's more...
Here's a real contender for the Fuggedaboutit Trophy! (Its listed as USED) hahahahahahaha - sure they will...NOT. I never looked on ebay before, some of this stuff is priceless
Sorry for all the posting in your thread. I'm amazed at what passes muster on/at ebay, that's one very shady marketplace.
I'm sorely tempted to make an ebay account. I could make myself a brand new full time hobby just reporting all that! Unbelievable! There's listings selling for hundreds of dollars for accounts with vast game libraries. wow I got so engaged I'm running late - I'm off to work!
wow has codes if they don't work contact EA to reset the code . Yea right. That person must have gotten the notice from several people their codes were no good
1- eBay takes PayPal as a method of payment, no? Not everyone has or can easily get a credit/debit card. I think in some countries, some purchasers have trouble using other forms of cash cards with EA and maybe other vendors.
2 - Imagine the thrill of taking ownership of a celebrity's former accounts! Wonder how much additional market value mine would have... (three cents, maybe four and a half?)
Not that either scenario makes the transfer any more legitimate. But the sellers must be taking advantage of something other than purchasers lack of awareness as to how this is all supposed and not supposed to work.
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1. EA should fix their purchasing rules so people don't get scammed. You must have a bank account to use paypal. I believe it has to be a checking account not savings. With that bank account should come an ATM card.
2. I could see that. I hear one of the Kardasians plays the sims ( ROLLS EYES) . I doubt a celeb would sell their account to give someone their home address and phone number and trust the buyer to not steal the celebs personal info. They can also afford to just give up their origin account without having to sell it to anyone
All my EP's and SP (Sweet Treats) are gone from my game, so it's kind of a challenge to not have any pieces from them now. Pretty much ALL my saved games are useless until I get my game back to normal.
Go ahead and try this challenge too, while your game is down to only BASE like mine. To be honest though, I REALLY can't wait for it to be back to normal.
@Dusty_Boots and @phoebebebe13 I don't think EA is pursuing this matter with eBay, getting the code sellers off of eBay is most likely going to have to be a community effort. As others have said before, if EA wanted them gone they would be gone. eBay and paypal support said that if they can't provide proof that they are allowed to sell and are an official seller registered with EA then they can't stay on eBay, so if an EA rep went to them and said specifically that they are not allowed to sell they would be gone already.
There are still a few left, but most of the sellers are gone now though, many closed up shop as soon as the angry customers started asking where their content was.
@5782341b77vl That's not a bad idea, maybe I'll try that.
I currently play in the pure base game environment; it isn't so bad. Here's a bit of info which may make your game a bit better (or at least tolerable) if you use CC.
Official TS3 Content:
*Ultra Lounge Set (excluding bathroom, kitchen and teen sets) are base game compatible and there are a few build items such as windows, stairs and fences included in the set.
*The Storybook set is also compatible with pure base and it includes doors and windows.
*Jet Set Clothing (all ages) is compatible. And some Indy items which are not a part of any set such as the tennis dress YA Female are compatible. As are a couple of hairstyles.
On the 3rd Party CC front, I currently am able to use:
*Hairs
*Makeup
*Contacts
*Jewelry (excluding necklaces)
*Some Clothing (actually a lot of clothing)
*Some Furniture items
**This includes styles and designs which were created recently (Speaking on CAS type items).
***Sorry, haven't tried build items in any of my games, since my base game is used primarily to build Sims skills.
Hope this gives you a few more options to play with than just pure base game items.
Keep On Simming!
Yes, I already know all this. Except I *do* believe that Origin was developed in part to stop piracy (and to get rid of disks and stop the second hand games market, to make color-by-numbers games based on data mining, yada yada). TS3 came out long before they finished developing Origin and that's the only reason why it was not tied to Origin from the beginning.
But as we've seen they are attempting to backtrack and hog tie the game to their poorly made client. EA knows NOTHING about how to provide good customer service. They don't think they have to know, either, because even people who profess to hate them will not abandon their favorite games. Too much sacrifice, woe is me. So the bottom line is that they really don't care. All they care about is the cash people throw at them and that's it.
Where are we going, and why am I in this hand basket?!
Yes it's about money. They stopped making discs because they cost more to make. Places like Walmart and Target that sell the discs make a profit off them. EA eliminates the cost of printing discs and giving a % of the game to other sellers by no longer printing disc. They own their own DRM. It does not cost them to give you a download link to the game. They make 100 % profit.
They are not stopping piracy. There are DRM free games that can be downloaded. There are many sellers still on Ebay selling codes, origin accounts, complete copies of the game DRM free etc. The seller is the one who should be punished for defrauding the public but instead EA has gone after the buyer and taken away their games.
If they go through Valve, they must give percentages away. Best business is 100% profit. -That EA must invent a good DRM, well... ...thats a cost they must admit to. -Hence, all future games will be online-games. Sad, but true. DRM for singleplayer/offline-games will be broken shortly after release.
Rawwrr...
I have bought download only games but most likely won't do so in future.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuW44b3uCMtCSaq4gwC8EZg
The only downloaded games that I have on my PC right now are from Steam. I've never had any problems from Steam (can't say the same for Origin), although I have not played my Steam games extensively for long periods of time. Steam is not trying to steal my data and control me or my game play - AFAIK, so they certainly seem a lot friendlier and less restrictive to me. They are just offering lots and lots of different games at great prices (since I only buy on sale).
But I rarely play those other games because I'd rather play TS3! And Origin is not invited into my house. If they ever made it so I couldn't play TS3 without it, I would buy the Steam version before I'd install Origin on this PC. The only exception to that is if they ever make a worthy successor to TS3 - I might then reconsider, although I sure wouldn't like it.
The game publishers can claim that I'm leasing their product and they are in control and can take it away any time, yada yada - and I can just find other hobbies because they don't and will never own me. If more people took that attitude they might actually have to start caring about how to treat their customers.
Where are we going, and why am I in this hand basket?!
you just have to wait and see what's going on
my guess is that some illegitimacy was involved but you said you bought digital codes and they worked through origin so I don't see how that could be the case
Here is what's happening in most cases, though of course there could be false positives being caught up in the process (not many we have heard of). Someone buys thousands of install codes from EA with the intent of re-selling them to players or other re-sellers through such portals as eBay, G2A, Amazon Marketplace, etc. EA eventually finds out that the original transaction was bogus or that a chargeback has been issued against them, meaning that they received nothing for the sale of these codes and they were essentially stolen. So, although it may be much later now, EA deactivates all of the codes and issues TOS Holds against any players using them even though it's not the players who stole the codes, and possibly not even the merchant they purchased them from.
It is against the rules to sell/purchase codes from unauthorized re-sellers, and this is the risk players take when they do so anyway. For authorized ones like Steam, Amazon Direct (not the independent merchants), WalMart, GamersGate, there are others, the player has recourse and can demand replacements or their money back, but possibly not so much with the independents although they can try.
The way EA is carrying this out is not gentle and not kind perhaps, but they are well within their rights to do this. If your purchases were really with Origin/EA directly and there were no unauthorized re-sellers involved, then this is unfortunate but you should be able to get it fixed. By the way, when 72-hour turnaround is promised, that usually means 72 business hours so weekends shouldn't really count. Although it appears some have had to wait longer than that to hear back regardless.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
I don't own a single TS3 disc. Half of my purchases have been though GamersGate and Amazon Direct, whoever had better sales at the time, and the other half through Origin. It's all legit, above-board, and authorized. If anything were to go wrong with any of these codes, and gosh sure hope I never have to go through all this, the retailer would have to replace them for me as their right to sell them in the first place was again under a contract with EA.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net