The Sims 3 vs. The Sims 4: Which Game Is Better?

The Sims 3 vs. The Sims 4: Which Game Is Better?
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Comparisons are part of our daily lives, and we always ” weigh” what is better and what isn’t. Gamers do it all the time, especially if a new game or title of the franchise comes out. The Sims franchise is one of the more notable games we have had the pleasure to play in the last two decades, and with every new release, new discussions awaken. Sims 3 and Sims 4 changed the life simulator genre with their releases, and some fans are still debating which game is better. Well, this article will try to determine this debate objectively. 

Sims 3 is a better game than Sims 4, and most of the Sims fans will agree. The reason why Sims 3 is better is pure because of its gameplay. Overall, players value building and customization in Sims 4 with more fluid performances, but the gameplay gets stale faster than in Sims 3. I genuinely enjoyed playing Sims 3 and building relationships with other Sims, while Sims 4 got me excited about customization, but the gameplay got boring really fast. At the end of the day, gameplay is the most important aspect of any game, and Sims games aren’t different.

We will discuss this topic more by comparing the most important technical aspects of the game, like graphics and game performances, and conclude the article with an objective explanation of why is one Sims game better than another. We are doing the usual best-of-seven scoring metric, which means the first game that gets four points will be “the winner” of this discussion.

Game performance

The Sims 3 vs. The Sims 4: Which Game Is Better?

This section will determine if Sims 3 and Sims 4 are running smoothly on their gaming platforms. Let’s start with Sims 3. This Sims game was revolutionary when it first came out in 2009, and the open-world feature truly “opened many doors” for players to progress their Sims’ storylines and other aspects of their life.

Smooth transition from one place to another is what Sims 3 did amazingly well, but one thing was always an issue for older Sims in this discussion – long loading screens and lags. Maxis added so many new features to Sims 3 that game performance lacked in various ways, but the biggest one was the long loading screens between transitions.

When it comes to Sims 4, Maxis improved that aspect massively, and the game’s performance is so much better. Yes, Sims 4 didn’t hold on to the open-world aspect of Sims 3 that every fan liked, but at least the polished game performance issues were happening. For that, The Sims 4 gets points in this section.

The Sims 3 0 : (1) The Sims 4

Gameplay

Now, gameplay in Sims games is close to other sections in this article that we will discuss later, but for now, we will focus on the content and things a player can do with their Sims. The third Sims has a plethora of content one can do in the game. With the introduction of an open world, more flexible properties and lots were made available for the players. There were no limitations on where players could build their properties, and Sims had much more to do in Sims City.

The gameplay in Sims 3 is extremely fun, and players have many options and paths – players can visit comic stores, tattoo shops, and other cool places. In Sims 4, this aspect of the game isn’t smooth as its predecessor. One would say Maxis and EA Games decided to remove some of the features to improve the game’s performance, but that is not the case here. Sims 4 feels more “boring,” and the gameplay is much staler. This notion is shared among most Sims fans (including me), who said they got bored in Sims 4 after spending hours building houses and customizing their character.

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There are many expansions and packs one can add to the Sims 4, but Sims 3 seemed to have more “content-heavy” aspects, which meant more additions to the game. Yes, building and customization are important parts of the Sims games, but ultimately, Sims is a life-simulator game, and Sims 3 does a much better job than its “younger sibling.”

Point for The Sims 3.

The Sims 3 (1): 1 The Sims 4

DLC content

The Sims 3 vs. The Sims 4: Which Game Is Better?

Looking back to 2009, Sims 3 was already a great game, to begin with, but when Maxis started adding more content and features, Sims 3 became even more fun. Special fantasy expansion packs that are filled with great content and so many things to do with your Sims are something fans welcome with open arms.

Into the Future, Movie Stuff, Island Paradise, and other cool expansion packs brought many possibilities to players, and unfortunately for Sims 4, that part just lacked. There are over twenty expansion packs available for Sims 4, but they still lack the number of content Sims 3 had in its own DLCs. Besides bloated prices, fans criticized this aspect a lot, even today.

We know EA Games love pricing its content, which is a disadvantage for both games, but when it comes to content, Sims 3 is superior, and for that reason, it gets the point in this section.

The Sims 3 (2): 1 The Sims 4

The environment and open world

Another great aspect of every Sims game is exploring neighbors and neighborhoods and interacting with the many features available. We already mentioned the famous open world introduced in Sims 3, and today is still discussed as one of the best additions to the game ever.

The feature where your Sims can go around the city without any loading screens or breaks is immersive and amazing for story progression. The open world brought many great lots, beautiful gardens, and places Sims could relax or exercise.

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Unfortunately, Sims 4 does not have this feature. Some fans will say that “veteran” Sims players are overreacting when they mention that the open-world feature in Sims 3 is superior to most of the things Sims 4 did, and mostly, they are not wrong. Loading screens are back; this time, the world is smaller, and added vehicles are useless. Now, the next section will “fix” the state of Sims 4, but for now, Sims 3 is once again superior.

The Sims 3 (3): 1 The Sims 4

Graphics

The Sims 3 is a game released in 2009 and automatically should have worse graphics, which doesn’t have to be necessarily true. Some older games are still better looking than most of the newer projects (I’m looking at you, Shadow of Colossus), and Sims 3 still holds up alright. However, its counterpart looks much better, which is emphasized in character customization. Sims 3 characters can be a little hard to create, and Sims 4 has much better tools and options when optimizing a new Sims.

Of course, the graphics of the game environment is also really important, and Sims 4 again has the upper hand in this section. Yes, there are great mods for the Sims 3 graphics upgrade, which is fine, but the base game sometimes looks outdated. Sims 4 gets the point in this section.

The Sims 3 3 : (2) The Sims 4

Progression

Building, customizing, and overall creation are staples of Sims games. However, most players, especially new ones, forget the progression of the Sims and their lives.

Sims games were always life-simulator games first, and the progression of the characters was always significant. From the first Sims game, this aspect of the game was a mantra, and many people wanted to recreate lives in the virtual world and see the progress their characters are going through on their life journey.

Sims 3 does this amazingly well and still holds up incredibly fourteen years later – the way it offers the players to have their Sims go the career or family route or go a complicated way of having both. The continuity of the gameplay is always on point in Sims 3, and your Sims always have the option for progression in their lives until their elder days.

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Sims 4 is more complicated than that, and fans never fully appreciated how Maxis and EA Games developed the progression aspect of Sims. The stale gameplay and shallow awards can be too much for some players; unfortunately, I agree with that notion.

Less remarkable life achievements and other aspects of Sims’ lives are truly harming the Sims 4 progression and the lives of its characters. Also, the removal of toddlers in Sims 4 is proving to be an issue for family lives and the role-play potential of the game, and that’s not good at all.

For that, the final point goes to Sims 3 and ultimately, ends this debate.

The Sims 3 (4): 2 The Sims 4

The Sims 3 vs. The Sims 4 – which game is better?

After a thorough analysis of both games, I got to say it was really hard since both Sims 3 and Sims 4 have great features. The technical aspects of Sims 4, better game performances, and customization settings are probably the best in the franchise, but the gameplay seems to be abandoned by Maxis and EA Games.

Not saying that Sims 4 doesn’t have any good gameplay features and story progression for its Sims, but players make a good point of getting quickly bored of playing the game after a few hours. As someone who spent unhealthy amounts of time on Sims games, Sims 3 seemed like a much better experience, even fourteen years later. Sims 3 offers inclusive gameplay, organic progression of Sims and their lives, and, most importantly, it’s extremely fun.

In conclusion, if you are a fan of the building and customization, definitely check out Sims 4 since it has the best building mode and Create-a-Sim aspect of the franchise. Sims 3 is for players who want to play with their Sims and reenact various lives, and in the end, create role-play scenarios which can be really fun. Sims 3 has its problems (mostly monetary, like Sims 4), but that’s an issue of the company.

Hopefully, with a new Sims game coming up, we will see aspects and features that made the franchise great and, once again, relive the hype around Sims games that we had when Sims 2 first came out.

EA Reveals the Next Sims Game Will Be Free-to-Play Without Subscription

EA Reveals the Next Sims Game Will Be Free to Play without Subscription
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The Sims 4 was released more than nine years ago, and even though many fans criticized the game due to some obvious restrictions that the previous game in the franchise did not have, it was well enough played and pumped out a lot of additional content.

The publisher behind The Sims 4 has been working on the next-gen installment in the series code-named ‘Project Rene’ for quite some time now, and recently, we got new information regarding the project.

The most surprising news is, however, the fact that the game will be free and open for all, without seemingly hidden game mechanics that are designed to trick the players into spending more money.

Project Rene will be Free to Download. This means that when Project Rene is ready and fully open to players, you will be able to join, play, and explore it without a subscription, core game purchase, or energy mechanics. We want the play to be super easy for you to invite or join friends and experience new features, stories, and challenges.

Behind the Sims Community Stream Episode 3

But in the rest of the aforementioned blog post, the catch has been mentioned. For quite some time now, it’s obvious that the real monetization strategy of EA when it comes to The Sims games are not the initial releases but the plenty DLCs, content packs, customization options, and other resources that often come at a pretty hefty price and are often a target for criticism.

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The Sims 4 is currently free to download, but to experience everything that the game has to offer, a fan should shell out hundreds of dollars to access some of the features that were left out of the original game and were included in the subsequent expansions.

EA confirmed that this monetization strategy will also continue in the future, as Project Rene will include content and packs, but the updates that add new features will be free to an extent.

Beyond regular updates to the core game, we will sell content and packs, but we plan to change this up a bit. For example, basic weather may be added to the core game for free, for everybody. And in the future, a pack for purchase may be focused on winter sports with activities like ice dancing or a snowman building competition. It’s important that with Project Rene we lower barriers to play and give all players the broadest shared systems because that feels like the strongest foundation for us to grow from.

Project Rene is, according to EA, still in the early stages of development, and quite a lot of time will pass before the game sees the light of day. However, you put it, there is an eager community waiting for any news related to the release.

How Long Does It Take To Download ‘The Sims 4’? Can You Speed It Up?

How Long Does It Take To Download the Sims 4 Can You Speed It Up
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The Sims 4 is still the world’s most popular life simulator game. The franchise’s fourth installment will be ten years old in 2024, and the fans feel that new content and game should be coming. Until then, The Sims 4 will be the go-to game for new and old players to play, and with the recent availability of the base game for free, Sims became even more popular. Of course, people are wondering if it is worth waiting for the download of the The Sims 4 base game with potential expansion packs. So how long does it take to download The Sims 4, and is it possible to speed it up?

The base Sims 4 game is approximately 50 Gbs, with the contents and save files storage being included. If you add in the expansion packs, for example, ‘Seasons,’ which requires 25 Gbs of hard disk space, the total size of the Sims 4 game is around 75 Gbs. Of course, if your internet download speed clocks up to 40 Mbits per second, the base game and the expansion pack of Sims 4 will take around 4 hours and 7 minutes. Download speed depends on the PC’s strength, household members using the Internet, and the processes your computer engages in during the download.

All things considered, The Sims 4 is quite a big game, at times comparable to the likes of God of War game, which is fascinating knowing that Maxis’ game is nine years old. If we include the expansion packs and other add-ons, Sims gets even bigger, which will be the main topic of this article. If you’re interested, stay with us until the end.

What is the size of The Sims 4 game?

Life simulator games are vastly different from RPGs or first-person shooter games because they focus on the opposite style of gameplay, and with that, the “machine” needs to deal with different things when running it.

The Sims franchise is notorious for its game size and many game expansions over the years, which escalated with the release of The Sims 3 game. This 2009 life simulator was the first Sims game that included the open world features, where the Sims could walk and travel to other ‘cities.’ The Sims 3 game was huge, and even good computers struggled at times to load it – it was just too big and “clunky” to load.

The process of loading the game was an issue, but the game was huge as well, even for the base game. This trend continued with Sims 4, which was released in 2014.

How Long Does It Take To Download the Sims 4? Can You Speed It Up?

The game developers removed the open-world feature for the new release but expanded Sims 4 in other aspects – especially with the customization, add-ons, and graphics.

The Sims 4 game is huge, with the base game being around 50 Gbs in size, while the players also need to make sure they have additional hard disk space for the save files and other add-ons.

Now, the base Sims 4 game is sufficient enough for most players, but there is a reason why EA Games released so many expansion packs and add-ons over the last decade. They are supposed to expand the gameplay potential and add more things into the game so players have more to do, and the game manages to still be interesting.

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If you want to dedicate yourself to the Sims 4 game, you’ll probably need at least one expansion pack that costs $30, and those need additional disk space on your device. For example, the ‘Seasons’ expansion pack needs at least 25 GB of disk space with an additional 1 Gb for safe files and other add-ons.

This makes The Sims 4 game at least around 75 GB in size, which will take some time to download on your device, but how long? Let’s find out.

How long does it take to download The Sims 4 on your device?

To determine the time for the download, we need to determine the internet speed. Of course, in this case, the download internet speed is the focus, and one can measure it with the special ‘speed tests that are available with one search on your browser.

Let’s make an example from my specifications and internet speed information. After measuring my download internet speed, the speed test clocked it at 40.36 Mb per second.

How Long Does It Take To Download the Sims 4? Can You Speed It Up?

This is a fairly decent download speed if I consider that it was only 18 Mb per second only a year ago when researching the topic of Fortnite game download speed.

As I did then, I used Omni Calculator, which determines the download speed and how long it takes for The Sims 4 game to download on my device. I put in my download speed information and the approximate size of the game with the additional expansion pack.

The results showed that the 75 GB-sized Sims 4 would take approximately four hours and seven minutes to fully download on my personal computer. This is discounting other factors – other members using the Internet in your household and the strength of your device.

This software and tools mostly don’t consider those, so let’s apply these examples to my personal experience. How to speed up the download speed? Let’s find out.

How to speed up The Sims 4 download speed?

In this case, Task Manager on your Windows is your friend because you can ensure that the background task and applications don’t run and disrupt your efforts in downloading The Sims 4 game.

How Long Does It Take To Download the Sims 4? Can You Speed It Up?
Task Manager is a go-to tool to relieve your device from unwanted processes and applications running in the background.

Believe it or not, those background processes really do mess up with your PC, so to prevent the disruptions, open the Task Manager by simultaneously clicking the CTRL+Shift+Esc buttons on your keyboard.

When the Task Manager is opened, the ‘Processes’ tab is where you can turn off unwanted applications – by ‘Right-clicking’ with your mouse on one of the processes and selecting the ‘End Task’ option.

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Browsers are notorious for ‘eating’ out your PC’s performance, so make sure you don’t have one opened. Another issue that most people encounter is the temporary files, which are mostly the leftover trash files from deleted applications, which you can get rid of by going to the search tab using your ‘Windows Key’ and writing the ‘%temp%’ command in it and delete all files from that folder.

These files cause clutter on your PC, so make sure you clean out your folder regularly.

Of course, the internet router is another important culprit, especially regarding internet speed. If the members of your household use the internet during the download time of The Sims 4, you can expect slower performance and the longer time it takes.

If there is no one and you’re download speed is pretty slow, reset your internet router, which will “fix” the issue in most cases, or acquire a WiFi extender that increases the number of signals in your home.

Nevertheless, The Sims 4 will take some time to download because it’s a fairly big game, especially when we include expansion packs that are an important part of the game – and that’s not including other “smaller” add-ons and packs that EA Games regularly sells.

Are The Sims Games Fun? Here Is What We Think

Are the Sims Games Fun? Here Is What We Think
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For various reasons, life simulators were never the most popular gaming genre in the gaming industry. One of the reasons was that life simulators could erase the line between real and virtual lives, which made some people anxious. When Maxis first released The Sims in 2000, players were shocked at how one game replicated real lives without blurring the lines of real life. Sims were in their own fictional world, speaking different languages and living their lives with some supernatural happenings. After two decades, The Sims franchise became one of the most notable games worldwide, which made us think – are The Sims games fun?

Sims games are really fun. Some people would find this answer unbelievable, but since the first Sims game, the franchise has offered players many great features that made controlling their characters fun and immersive if they wanted to role-play. Game mechanics like socializing, going to the gym, and Sims trying to make it in their career is extremely fun. The games also offer less serious gameplay like Sims partying, supernatural beings making their appearance, or players just torturing their Sims. Sims is fun and full of content for every player to experience.

We will discuss this topic by mentioning why Sims games are fun, comparing the franchise games, and some aspects that need improvement. If you are interested in this topic, stay with us until the end.

Reasons why Sims games are fun

The gameplay of Sims is interactive and full of content.

One thing new players will like about Sims games is the content. The way your Sims can interact with almost everything around them. Kitchen appliances, throwing trash, cleaning, eating, sleeping, and socializing with other Sims are just “drops in the sea of the interactions” in The Sims.

You can go with your Sims to concerts and parties and attend various other events. Interaction with other Sims is one of the most interesting things about Sims, and players can hang out with their friends and even find their love interests. Sims can adopt pets and children, find love, eventually move in together, and stay together until imminent death. If Sims had children, players could continue playing with descendants of the original Sims.

These only prolong the experience and enrich the gameplay of Sims games.

Sims games always had good bonus content or expansion packs that added so much to the gameplay.

We already mentioned Sims game expansions that became part of the Sims experience from the franchise’s early days. The Sims Unlimited was the first expansion pack released for Sims games twenty years ago. Today, these packs are full of content and include the Get Famous installment, where your Sim can become a famous actor, High School years, which is focused on teenagers during high school years, and many more.

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Expansion packs are expensive, and some fans won’t spend their hard-earned money, but most base Sims games are good.

Customizing your character is widespread and diverse for everyone to play. 

Are the Sims Games Fun? Here Is What We Think

Before you start the Sims experience, you can customize your character in any way you want. Sims 4 is best because it allows players to customize their characters from scratch. Mods and CC addons add even more options for players to use. Do you want your character to have merchandise from Harry Potter? Download CC from the Sims community and talented modders doing their best to make the game even more enjoyable.

In this aspect, players have many options, whether they buy expansion packs or find CCs or mods from the community. As players, we have many options, making Sims games even more fun.

Customization of the buildings is enjoyable, and one can lose hours editing them.

Building and customization of the houses in Sims games made the games so popular in the gaming community. Players can start building their homes after they customize their characters. First, you need to pick the land/area where Sims will live and start customizing their house.

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Players can choose anything from the foundation and material of their roofs and even decide if they will have one or two floors in their house. After putting the foundation in place and the walls up, one can start designing the interior. This is the most exciting part about building because players have many options to choose from. Even though I love the pure gameplay of Sims, the building aspect is pretty “neat,” and it will take hours for one to work on the house.

Besides Sims, pets are also part of the game.

Sims games are mostly about Sims, but Sims Unleashed presented us with special pet expansion packs, letting players have the whole Sims experience. Pets have become part of every Sims game since the first game, and Sims 2 implemented the feature fully into the game.

One of the funniest experiences I had with pets was in Sims 3. My Sim had an Animal Lover trait, and all of a sudden, dozens of dogs would come in front of my Sims house and just stand there waiting for you to adopt them. Of course, the interactions were the best part because you could feed them, pet them and play with them.

CC designers and modders added more animals to Sims games, and some expansion packs added animals like rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, and more.

Besides Sims, you’ll have to take care of your pets, which makes the gameplay organic.

Are Sims games fun to play?

With all being said, we can conclude that Sims games are fun to play. The game experience is innovative enough for players to enjoy it, and seeing the progression of your Sims is entertaining, with many features the Sims franchise offers.

Expansion packs that offer good unique features and storylines one can pursue while also making your Sim becoming the best in their field of the world.

Customization is a huge factor in these games, and your Sim can be edited in any way you want. Do you wish to self-insert your own look and put your counterpart in the game? Sims game will provide you with those tools. CC addons and mods from the Sims community are impressive and easily added to the game, so definitely check out the Sims community for those features.

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Sims games are expensive, but there is an option to download the base Sims 4 game for free, and if you like it, purchase special expansion packs and more. Don’t worry; you won’t have to spend your money in most cases because the base game is enough.

Overall, each Sims game brought many great features: First two games added so many great new features to the game that revolutionized the franchise, and Sims 3 added an open world and dynamic gameplay that never got stale. Sims 4 focused on additional content and customization of Sims and houses, which are the best part of the most recent game, but the gameplay could use some work.

Sims games are fun, and we cannot wait for a new one to be released soon.