Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.

Sims 3 player numbers

«1
I'd be really curious to know the player numbers for the Sims 3, because I suspect is larger then anybody suspects.

For example, I've noticed on Steam the Sims 3 maintains a constant average between 4000-7000 players DAILY. That might not seem like a lot, but considering steam has over like a million games and the Sims 3 has always been on its top 100 played games DAILY - that is huge. Especially when you have new AAA released games that barely make it on the list for more a then a month.

I personally play the Sims 3 via my CD install, but I'm sure a lot of people play it via origin digital install too (maybe 70/30?) since I suspect most Sims 3 players probably bought the game before origin was origin.

So based on steam alone, at the very least I'd suspect Sims 3 has probably 10K daily players - thats a lot of people playing a game that is nearly 10 years old! And pretty cool.

Personally, especially with the right mods (visual and gameplay) I simple enjoy the Sims 3 more, especially as a story teller.

Its too bad the Sims team/EA didn't manage a small Sims 3 team to keep supporting the game as a legacy title.

Comments

  • puzzlezaddictpuzzlezaddict Posts: 1,877 Member
    edited November 2018
    It is impressive how active this community still is. AHQ gets a lot of TS3 traffic too, much of which pertains to issues with new purchases and installs. So there are a number of people still buying the game for the first time, only a fraction of whom ask for help installing it.

    A month ago, a problem surfaced with the authentication process between a computer and EA's servers. This only affects new or fresh installs, not existing ones, only those in mac OS, and only players who install just the base game, WA, and/or HELS. (Anyone who installs a newer pack thereby fixes the issue.) The master thread had dozens of posts in a few days; almosr one hundred people clicked the "Me Too" button in the first week. And I'm sure there were more who didn't bother to click or post but still needed a solution.

    The fact that probably over one hundred people tried to install or reinstall TS3 on macs in just one week really says a lot about the continuing popularity of this game. I'm most grateful though that there are still knowledgeable people around (igazor) who can help the rest of us figure out how to run this game on modern systems, and maybe, if we ask nicely, teach us enough that we learn something about troubleshooting ourselves. Whether EA cares to address TS3 issues or not, the players are still here helping each other out wherever we can, and it's wonderful to be a part of it all.
  • Odonata68Odonata68 Posts: 1,076 Member
    I agree that there are probably more players than one might think. I just found out one of my co-workers plays Sims3 B)
  • GraceyManorGraceyManor Posts: 20,079 Member
    Agreed.I wish there was a small legacy team to fix some of the bugs they never fixed, and to keep the store updated.
  • CororonCororon Posts: 4,275 Member
    I'm never logged in with the game, so I'm not in the statistics. And I think most "hardcore" Sims 3 players play offline. I'm not surprised at all that Sims 3 is still popular. It's the best game in the series.
    cUrfGkA.gif
  • InfraGreenInfraGreen Posts: 6,693 Member
    There's just a lot of replay value to Sims games, hence why a legacy Sims can still top Steam's charts where a new AAA game won't stay there indefinitely. I do wish it was reflected in TS3 custom content creation though, lol. That community is d e a d and TSRW just gets worse and worse to work with.
    A thousand bared teeth, a thousand bowed heads

    outrun / blog / tunglr
  • JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    edited November 2018
    I'm one of those invisible Sims 3 players. That is, I don't play through Origin (patch 1.67) nor Steam and I only ever played online when Showtime had just been released and Simport was new.
    5JZ57S6.png
  • king_of_simcity7king_of_simcity7 Posts: 25,102 Member
    Do more people play TS3 than TS4? That would an interesting answer to an interesting question!
    Simbourne
    screenshot_original.jpg
  • InfraGreenInfraGreen Posts: 6,693 Member
    edited November 2018
    Do more people play TS3 than TS4? That would an interesting answer to an interesting question!

    I'm sorry but there has been no moment where an older Sims title still eclipsed a newer one's popularity. It's obvious in not just stuff like community metrics (forum use, online uploads, etc.) but even asking people/known casual players you see in real life which Sims game they play right now if they do. It's TS4 and I don't think it's just something unusual about where I work or whatever. And there is something to be said with ragequitting TS3 over performance. I love the game but some people (like actual serious simming friends of mine) just didn't want to deal with it any longer, even people who loved TS3.

    But I mean it's also just my experience. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The popularity of a game really brought together by player uploads/mods/content matters more than it does for, like, music (so I had to put away that analogy) but in the end...everything has to stand on its own with zero fans or a million.
    A thousand bared teeth, a thousand bowed heads

    outrun / blog / tunglr
  • JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    Playing an old game for many people, especially the ones who love the game, means replaying gameplay they already played so yes, it’s logical a current version will be played more. In fact I’m sometimes under the impression new content is Sims 4’s main charm, the way people keep begging for it because the last addition was 3 whole weeks ago. In fact it’s surprising people keep returning to old versions, not a good sign. This also goes for people who stuck to Sims 2, that was mainly because they weren’t happy with Sims 3.

    Ragequitting is an entirely different subject. I see people ragequitting Sims 4 as well by the way, the game isn’t exactly bugless. I never ragequit Sims 3 nor 4 because I never had performance issues.
    5JZ57S6.png
  • InfraGreenInfraGreen Posts: 6,693 Member
    I'm not gonna argue this point into the ground and will drop the subject if needed but getting TS3 to run well can take extra money and technical knowledge that a lot of simmers downright don't have. It's easy to think it's worth it when you have a rabid passion for TS3 but passion's always been in the minority...welcome to a casual franchise. I'm just going with responses I've gotten in several communities. Of course I've known ragequitting TS4 players as well or those who otherwise stopped playing, but very few I've known go back to TS3 either. If you can't run TS4 then it's a bad sign (if not guaranteed) for being able to run a more intensive/finicky/poorly optimized game like TS3.
    A thousand bared teeth, a thousand bowed heads

    outrun / blog / tunglr
  • TOLKIENTOLKIEN Posts: 1,594 Member
    InfraGreen wrote: »
    I do wish it was reflected in TS3 custom content creation though, lol. That community is d e a d and TSRW just gets worse and worse to work with.

    The Sims 3 def. doesn't have the community for new content the Sims 4 has now, especially for modders (whats really been done is done in most respects) but for CC (like hair and outfits, skins) there is a very small and incredibly talented pool of creators mostly found on tumblr and a few other sites (not tsrw) that are making incredibly detailed custom content mostly like clothes and bringing items from other games into the Sims 3. The creator community is def. not dead, just much smaller but I'd argue more talented then ever.

    On the other hand, honestly a shrinking community isn't a bad thing either. I can't tell you how much CC I have downloaded between the Sims 3 and 4, take hair for example. I probably have over 300 hairs if not more - of which I still find myself using something between the same 4 or 8 hair styles. So a lot of CC just isn't used.

    Now the Sims 2 CC community is truly dead though lol.

  • JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    edited November 2018
    Bugs don’t care about what kind of computer you’re playing on, but actually, when Sims 4 was released, I couldn’t play it, while my Sims 3 game ran just fine on highest settings. My computer would shut down after about 4 minutes. Which probably was caused by the fact Sims 4 demands more of your video card than Sims 3 does?

    Sims 3 has never caused performance issues for me, without having any technical knowledge whatsoever ;) I did always make sure to have a good PC, that’s true, the game indeed needs that (and the last computer I bought because I wanted to be able to play Sims 4, though it is an additional blessing Sims 3 loads so fast now in comparison to before) and it’s worth it for me. I seriously don’t care if it’s a casual game or not, I’m not casual about it ;)

    I actually know several players who returned to Sims 3 (and 2, or play all versions) and even two who started playing Sims 3 after being disappointed with Sims 4 (one was a disappointed Sims 2 fan who learned to appreciate the game after all, the other is someone who had never played Sims 3 and started with Sims 4). So, what does that tell us? Nobody is the same and we all decide for ourselves what a game is worth for us.
    5JZ57S6.png
  • SimsophoniqueSimsophonique Posts: 1,410 Member
    edited November 2018
    TOLKIEN wrote:
    Its too bad the Sims team/EA didn't manage a small Sims 3 team to keep supporting the game as a legacy title.

    @TOLKIEN I wish the same for the sims 2 as well but no, they rather focus on sims 4 and get famous nobody wants.
    TOLKIEN wrote:
    Now the Sims 2 CC community is truly dead though lol.

    And do not tell about the sims 2 cc community, go to sssvitlans almost everyday I find conversions we don't have in the sims 3 , clothes , hairstyles or furnitures, more than we can find in the sims 3.
    And there are still mods for the sims 2, much more than we can find in the sims 3.
    This is the sims 3 cc that is truly dead. I download much more goodies for my explosing sims 2 cc than I do for the sims 3.
    Follow and read Miss V Detective (ts3 story)
    on wordpress: thesimsophonique.wp.com / on dreamwidth: simsophonique.dreamwidth.org
    Follow me on tumblr (sims only)
    simsophonique.tumblr.com (please no triggers I am autistic asperger)
  • Rflong7Rflong7 Posts: 36,584 Member
    TOLKIEN wrote: »
    InfraGreen wrote: »
    I do wish it was reflected in TS3 custom content creation though, lol. That community is d e a d and TSRW just gets worse and worse to work with.

    The Sims 3 def. doesn't have the community for new content the Sims 4 has now, especially for modders (whats really been done is done in most respects) but for CC (like hair and outfits, skins) there is a very small and incredibly talented pool of creators mostly found on tumblr and a few other sites (not tsrw) that are making incredibly detailed custom content mostly like clothes and bringing items from other games into the Sims 3. The creator community is def. not dead, just much smaller but I'd argue more talented then ever.

    On the other hand, honestly a shrinking community isn't a bad thing either. I can't tell you how much CC I have downloaded between the Sims 3 and 4, take hair for example. I probably have over 300 hairs if not more - of which I still find myself using something between the same 4 or 8 hair styles. So a lot of CC just isn't used.

    Now the Sims 2 CC community is truly dead though lol.

    No, it's not. :cookie:
    InfraGreen wrote: »
    I'm not gonna argue this point into the ground and will drop the subject if needed but getting TS3 to run well can take extra money and technical knowledge that a lot of simmers downright don't have. It's easy to think it's worth it when you have a rabid passion for TS3 but passion's always been in the minority...welcome to a casual franchise. I'm just going with responses I've gotten in several communities. Of course I've known ragequitting TS4 players as well or those who otherwise stopped playing, but very few I've known go back to TS3 either. If you can't run TS4 then it's a bad sign (if not guaranteed) for being able to run a more intensive/finicky/poorly optimized game like TS3.

    To add, I haven't been able to buy a new computer, nor components, for over 5 years and TS3 runs fine. Even CAW loves my old computer.
    Really, if you want to play a PC game longer than 5 minutes a day, you (3rd person) have to learn some computer tech knowledge. TS2/3 has taught me a lot about computers.

    I don't ragequit, I ragepout and then I learn- if I really want it. :)

  • InfraGreenInfraGreen Posts: 6,693 Member
    TOLKIEN wrote: »
    InfraGreen wrote: »
    I do wish it was reflected in TS3 custom content creation though, lol. That community is d e a d and TSRW just gets worse and worse to work with.

    The Sims 3 def. doesn't have the community for new content the Sims 4 has now, especially for modders (whats really been done is done in most respects) but for CC (like hair and outfits, skins) there is a very small and incredibly talented pool of creators mostly found on tumblr and a few other sites (not tsrw) that are making incredibly detailed custom content mostly like clothes and bringing items from other games into the Sims 3. The creator community is def. not dead, just much smaller but I'd argue more talented then ever.

    On the other hand, honestly a shrinking community isn't a bad thing either. I can't tell you how much CC I have downloaded between the Sims 3 and 4, take hair for example. I probably have over 300 hairs if not more - of which I still find myself using something between the same 4 or 8 hair styles. So a lot of CC just isn't used.

    Now the Sims 2 CC community is truly dead though lol.

    I'm talking about TSR Workshop the program which is what most TS3 CC is made with, what most tutorials use, etc. Even creators on Tumblr...which is still a much less active CC-making community than even TS2's.

    @Rflong7 @JoAnne65: cool anecdotes, mine say the opposite. I'll graciously leave the thread though.
    A thousand bared teeth, a thousand bowed heads

    outrun / blog / tunglr
  • SindocatSindocat Posts: 5,622 Member
    edited November 2018
    I am sure that many, many players still play The Sims 3, and that EA/Maxis is well aware of this. I would argue that they DO maintain it as a Legacy title. Note that they do maintain TheSims3.com and its functionality (Store, Friends list, Memories, Blogs, etc.) which does take some attention and resources that they'd not spend otherwise.

    That's a different matter from content development, which they have shuttered. The Last Venue of Amore was the developers' loving farewell to Sims 3 players, and it's really an astoundingly beautiful tribute.

    NRaas is also still maintaining, if not necessarily developing*, Mods for TS3, and through the ever-patient and helpful @igazor maintain a presence on these Forums.

    Edit - * I have not been paying attention. NRaas is still developing new mods for TS3! The CC scene is certainly thinning, but the Sims 3 Community is alive and well!
    Post edited by Sindocat on
  • Rflong7Rflong7 Posts: 36,584 Member
    TOLKIEN wrote: »
    InfraGreen wrote: »
    I do wish it was reflected in TS3 custom content creation though, lol. That community is d e a d and TSRW just gets worse and worse to work with.

    The Sims 3 def. doesn't have the community for new content the Sims 4 has now, especially for modders (whats really been done is done in most respects) but for CC (like hair and outfits, skins) there is a very small and incredibly talented pool of creators mostly found on tumblr and a few other sites (not tsrw) that are making incredibly detailed custom content mostly like clothes and bringing items from other games into the Sims 3. The creator community is def. not dead, just much smaller but I'd argue more talented then ever.

    On the other hand, honestly a shrinking community isn't a bad thing either. I can't tell you how much CC I have downloaded between the Sims 3 and 4, take hair for example. I probably have over 300 hairs if not more - of which I still find myself using something between the same 4 or 8 hair styles. So a lot of CC just isn't used.

    Now the Sims 2 CC community is truly dead though lol.

    I'm talking about TSR Workshop the program which is what most TS3 CC is made with, what most tutorials use, etc. Even creators on Tumblr...which is still a much less active CC-making community than even TS2's.

    @Rflong7 JoAnne65: cool anecdotes, mine say the opposite. I'll graciously leave the thread though.

    You don't have to leave. :(:cookie: Conversation is Awesome! I'm glad people still enjoy The Sims, no matter which. I play TS2 most but I love CAW in TS3. Nothing beats that for me. :mrgreen:
  • JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    edited November 2018
    @InfraGreen Our comments aren’t anecdotes, they are our experience.
    5JZ57S6.png
  • TadOlsonTadOlson Posts: 11,380 Member
    I love both TS2 and TS3 though I've had to start adding Mods to Sims 2 which wasn't needed on my old computer though UC needed the game to be Modded and TS3 plays best heavily Modded for me.That's the one that runs on my computer with between 700 and 800 Mod files and no lag in my apcoalypse challenge in Sunset Valley2.
    44620367775_0442f830c1_n.jpg
  • Deshong04Deshong04 Posts: 4,278 Member
    InfraGreen wrote: »
    Do more people play TS3 than TS4? That would an interesting answer to an interesting question!

    I'm sorry but there has been no moment where an older Sims title still eclipsed a newer one's popularity. It's obvious in not just stuff like community metrics (forum use, online uploads, etc.) but even asking people/known casual players you see in real life which Sims game they play right now if they do. It's TS4 and I don't think it's just something unusual about where I work or whatever. And there is something to be said with ragequitting TS3 over performance. I love the game but some people (like actual serious simming friends of mine) just didn't want to deal with it any longer, even people who loved TS3.

    But I mean it's also just my experience. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The popularity of a game really brought together by player uploads/mods/content matters more than it does for, like, music (so I had to put away that analogy) but in the end...everything has to stand on its own with zero fans or a million.

    I wonder how many who rage quit TS3 don't know much about computers and it's just easy to blame the game for every single fault they have than their inexperience and ignorance. Not even I, who knew very little, gave up on getting the best experience possible out of TS3. I made sure I learned enough about computers and PC Gaming and it's paid off a lot. TS3 still has issues but my computer is not one of them. And usually that is what I think is the most common problem with 2nd likely being not understanding how mods/cc affect your game's performance.

    TS3's popularity was based on two things I think.
    1. The success and love of TS2
    2. Everything TS3 bought to the franchise that is improved and advanced over TS2 plus new and worthwhile features to better imitate a life simulator

    There wasn't much third-party content around in the early days of release and TS3 became popular on it's own. So popular that it outsold TS2 in 7 days.
    https://www.cnet.com/news/sims-3-sets-franchise-sales-record/
    https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/the-sims-2-sells-a-million-smashes-ea-records

    What record did TS4 make? Because as far as I'm concerned, the majority has spoken with their wallets. Had TS4 been a true sequel to TS/TS2/TS3 then I am sure it would have even outsold TS3.
    “What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
    Stand a little taller
    Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
    What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
    Footsteps even lighter”
  • ParyPary Posts: 6,871 Member
    edited November 2018
    I don't think running TS3 nicely costs any extra money at all. I've never heard or read that before, unless you want to upgrade a PC , which isn't necessary. My PC is six years old, and runs TS3 beautifully. I don't have game issues beyond the odd glitch that happens in most games, thanks to NRAAS, and a bunch of other tweaks that keep my game running nicely.

    I think users simply have to understand the limitations of their hardware, particularly since many seem to use laptops, and stop trying to fill their games with every SP & EP available, as well as gigs of third party CC, and then blame the game for not running nicely.

    Resource sucking EPs like Pets and Seasons are also not very nice to laptops. Pets have a nasty habit of getting stuck in really dumb places causing lag. If you're not going to turn those kinds of things off , knowing what can happen, then you're going to have an unpleasant play time experience.
    Should we have to ? Absolutely not. Should EA learn to optimise better, and allow for silly things like horses getting stuck in ovens in kitchens? Absolutely.
    But they haven't, and to get a nice experience playing the game, yes, we have to micromanage it. It IS possible to have TS3 run well.

    As for many simmers being "computer non-savvy" , sure, a lot of them aren't. However now, the sheer volume of tips and tricks available to get your game running well is abundant. There isn't any excuse for not educating yourself on how to get the game running well. It isn't hard information to understand either, and many of the guides come with pictures and clear instructions.

    Also, the TS2 CC community is still alive and well and thriving. It isn't dead at all. What rubbish.

    Edit - I don't know anyone who actually plays logged in to the game. I avoid the launcher completely - it's a useless, clunky piece of garbage. I've not played on Steam or hideous Origin either. I despise such clients needed to run games and only ever use them grudgingly when I have absolutely no choice. Thankfully, my sims games have such a choice.

    Sims 3 Household Exchange - Share your households!
    PoppySims Archive
    InnaLisa Pose Archive
    Devolution of Sims - a once customisable open world sandbox which has become a DLC Party catalog in a shoebox
    I ♡ Pudding
  • MikezumiMikezumi Posts: 49,697 Member
    I play TS3 on a laptop that probably isn't particularly suited to TS3 although it plays very well because I don't push it by adding the more resource intensive EPs. I agree with @Pary that you just need to know the limitations of what you have and, with a little TLC and the readily available information provided by other players, the game gives back way more than the work that goes into running it :)
  • IreneSwiftIreneSwift Posts: 6,247 Member
    JoAnne65 wrote: »
    @InfraGreen Our comments aren’t anecdotes, they are our experience.

    Dictionary definition of anecdote: a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. So yes, your stories are anecdotes about your own or others' experiences.

    I agree with everything @Deshong04, @Pary and @Mikezumi said on those last three posts.
  • Nikkei_SimmerNikkei_Simmer Posts: 9,403 Member
    I didn't know much about computers when I started playing TS3 two years ago as of this coming January. TS3 forced my learning curve...let's just say I know more about tweaking this game to get it to run than I ever wanted to learn. But the balance is "do I want to keep playing my Sims 3 game or end up spending another couple thousand buying a system that will handle Digital Combat Simulator and its resultant expansion packs." Hopefully, I'll have the money to do the latter AS WELL as keep playing Sims 3.
    GYZ6Ak9.png
    Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
  • JoAnne65JoAnne65 Posts: 22,959 Member
    edited November 2018
    IreneSwift wrote: »
    JoAnne65 wrote: »
    @InfraGreen Our comments aren’t anecdotes, they are our experience.

    Dictionary definition of anecdote: a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. So yes, your stories are anecdotes about your own or others' experiences.

    I agree with everything @Deshong04, @Pary and @Mikezumi said on those last three posts.
    The difference between experience and an anecdote is, that sharing experience isn’t meant to be amusing, nor does it describe an ‘interesting’ incident. Me playing Sims 3 without performance issues for almost ten years now isn’t exactly an incident. And that’s why I say we weren’t telling an anecdote, we’re plainly sharing our experience there. As have Deshong, Pary and Mikezumi after us (they are underlining the exact same thing, with arguments even so yeah, completely agree with them).
    5JZ57S6.png
This discussion has been closed.
Return to top