The Sims™ 3 on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
The Sims 3: Create the perfect world with full customization at your fingertips. Refine personalities and help fulfill destinies.
The Sims™ 3 is a life sim, simulation and character customization game
developed by The Sims Studio and Maxis
and published by Electronic Arts.
Released on January 27th 2011 is available only on Windows
in 17 languages: Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese - Portugal, Russian, Spanish - Spain, Swedish and Traditional Chinese.
It has received 32,705 reviews of which 28,375 were positive and 4,330 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.5 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 19.99€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified The Sims™ 3 into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at The Sims™ 3 through various videos and screenshots.
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows XP (Service Pack 2) or Windows Vista (Service Pack 1)
- Processor: (XP) 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent; (Vista) 2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
- Memory: (XP) 1 GB; (Vista) 1.5 GB
- Graphics: 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
- DirectX®:
- Hard Drive: At least 6.5 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content
- Sound:
- Built-in Graphics:
- Intel Integrated Chipset, GMA X3000 or above.
- 2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU, or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, or equivalent
- 0.5 GB additional RAM
- Intel Integrated Chipset, GMA X3000 or above.
- Supported Video Cards:Nvidia GeForce series: FX5900 or greater, G100, GT 120, GT 130, GTS 150, GTS 250, GTX 260, GTX 275, GTX 280, GTX 285, GTX 295; ATI Radeon™ series: ATI Radeon 9500 series of greater, X300, X600, X700, X800, X850, X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950, 2400, 2600, 2900, 3450, 3650, 3850, 3870, 4850, 4870 series or greater; Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA): GMA 3-Series, GMA 4-Series
- *Please note that the GeForce 6100 and 7100 cards are not supported
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
I tried sims 4 and didn't like how much was lost compared to the sims 3. I still go back to the sims 3 pretty regularly. The game is relaxing, packed with content, and has infinite potential. Live a couple of sim lives to help you decompress from how much real life sucks these days. At least you can afford a place to live with your low paying office job there.... Its not like that anymore out here in the real world. Reminds me of better times, when there was a middle class.
Expand the review
good(?) how i've been able to run the game; 1. open Sims 3 launcher 2. open task manager 3. in task manager, locate 'Sims3LauncherW' 4. open details 5. right click 'Sims3LauncherW' -> set affinity 6. deselect all CPU cores. select CPU 1 only 7. press play 8. in task manager Details, 'TS3W.exe' should now appear 9. right click 'TS3W.exe' -> set affinity 10. select all cores game will now run. you have to do this each time, though it goes pretty fast once you get the hang of it. hope this helps.
Expand the review
Grew up playing all the older sims releases and this is honestly my all-time fav. Sims 4 wishes it could have the same charm as this game, but it never will. I miss when they actually cared abt their players rather than just their money. FUCK ea games.
Expand the review
Probably the best Sims experience currently available. There is so much content and freedom in this game that it's actually insane. Sure, there are many bugs and performance issues, but that can mostly be solved by installing a few essential mods and clearing your cache/save file from time to time. The open world in this game is exactly why it feels so amazing and alive. It's so nice being able to spend time outside your home and seamlessly go to the gym, go out for a coffee, go to the movie theater, go horse riding, grocery shopping, take part in eating contests, local festivals, etc... The Sims 4 has some of that but it's plagued with a tedious loading system and lacks the aforementioned open world system. This system is the reason why it's so easy to juggle a large family in The Sims 3. There is also simply more content in this game and there are more things to do gameplay-wise. The Sims 3 is a great life simulator, whereas the Sims 4 just has a great character creator and is a great house building sim. Sadly as we already know, there won't be a new Sims game any time soon, so for the time being, I recommend you skip The Sims 4, and just play this old but amazing masterpiece.
Expand the review
Sims 3 very gud, game is no longer supported by EA (thank f*cking god) so you can download all paid content and DLCs from online sources and not have to worry they'll download a file checker or force you to use their origin launcher. It just has a base launcher that minimizes to your tray (that can be disabled if wanted) Run the game atleast once, and let it slowly chug its way to you being able to make your first save. No matter how long it takes it atleast ensures that the bare minimum scripts have ran and will allow you to mod your game later if desired. If it runs perfectly then stop reading and enjoy the game. If you experience crashing after running the game multiple times, please download the Mod "Sims 3 GPU Add-On Support" from Nexus Mods; as the description says "This is an easy app that adds most of the GPU after year 2013 to the list and its rules." Follow the instructions of the mod and please read the disclaimers and adjust your games settings appropriately as to not have your game have the wrong graphics setting and accidentally damage your system; or overheat your room. Mod says you must OWN basegame, idk how valid/true that is; i feel its the bare minimum morally if you want a better experience. (Fuck buying the Dlcs and the Sims 3 store content though, i wont judge you for not buying it and 'procuring' it from other sources.) Next google Nraas and go to their website, the orange and white will blind you a bit but once adjusted look at the right of the page at the column of orange and yellow mods and download at minimum: ErrorTrap = ( intended to catch and correct data corruption errors that can render a save-game unloadable) Overwatch = (( act as a periodic clean up system for correcting errors and eliminating junk)Winton)) Saver = (prompts the user to save after a given amount of play-time. By default, the mod will wake after 30 minutes) Place everything into your sims 3 mods folder in your documents folder (c:user/YOURNAME/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Mods) If you don't have one; make a folder called Mods, and in the Mods folder create another one called "Packages" Download a Sims 3 Resource.Cfg File and place it in the Mods folder. If you get any errors remove the old resource file and remove any extra files that may be unnecessarily populating your Mods folder. To Install Mods download it to your computer, open/unzip the file to get the .package file (macs will need Keka for extracting i've heard), and place them in your packages folder. If its not recognized or doesn't show up at the main menu with its little pop-up that lists mods installed; then it may be better to have it inside the Mods file itself, instead of your packages file. Alternatively make a cheat savegame and cheat your way to being able to check if the mod is working. I.E. More inventions on the inventing table at higher skill levels, so cheating to a higher skill level to see if your sim is able to even craft the custom content downloaded. (Old games have finicky solutions for problems, and it can just not list mods you have for no reason so a cheat save after every batch of new mods added can be a fun way to check if everything is working well together.) Everything else on their website is up to you to personally choose for your game/experience (especially if you're a coomer), but the listed ones earlier massively improved my own experience and should help in you preventing any save loss or frame dips long term. Overwatch especially, since it will turn off active speakers, Tvs and other toggle-ables that might be taking up excess resources in the games system. The game is a resource hog even now, so if you have everything ultra don't be suprised if you're suddenly looking down a barrel of a Throttling gun. Not to shill another purchase to go with your Sims 3, but the application Borderless Gaming has massively improved my experience with having this game full screen and tabbing out without crashing the game. If it doesn't improve your experience please refund it before you reach the 2 hour mark of owning it and try the program Magpie. I haven't used it, but i have heard its the Free alternative to BG and may work better on certain systems. Have fun and hopefully any problems experienced can be solved by getting a degree in googling. Many problems have had workarounds made, you just have to trust in the lengthy ass process they require unfortunately.
Expand the review
Similar games
View all
The Sims™ 4
Play with life and discover the possibilities. Unleash your imagination and create a world of Sims that’s wholly unique. Explore and customize every detail from Sims to homes–and much more.
Castaway Paradise - live among the animals
It's the ultimate Sandbox sim! Farm, catch bugs, talk to villagers, build your own tropical dream island! If you like Animal Crossing, Among Us, or Harvest Moon, you will love this game!
inZOI
"Every life becomes a story" Create your unique story by controlling and observing the lives of 'Zois'. Customize characters and build houses using inZOI's easy-to-use tools to live the life of your dreams and experience the different emotions of life created by its deep and detailed simulation.
Esports Life Tycoon
Manage your own esports squad, expand your gaming house, and defeat legendary teams to become the best in the world!
United Penguin Kingdom
A city-building game where you build a penguin settlement and satisfy the various needs of your penguins while dealing with seals and killer whales. Enjoy the growth of your settlement, become the king, and lead the United Penguin Kingdom.
My Time at Sandrock
Travel to the desert community of Sandrock and take on the role of a fledgling Builder. Use your trusty toolset to gather resources, construct machines, and turn your run-down workshop into a well-oiled production facility to save the town from the jaws of economic ruin!
Youtubers Life
Become the most successful youtuber on the planet! Create videos, get subscribers, attend events, interact with your fans… and grow your channel. Live a youtuber’s life!
Tiny Life
In Tiny Life, you control a set of people that live together in a household. You take care of their daily needs, build their skills, forge new relationships... or just mess up their entire life in whatever way you can think of!
BBQ Simulator: The Squad
Dive into a hilarious sandbox BBQ experience with friends! Grill, serve, and manage mayhem as meats soar and sizzle. Craft your grill, cook steaks, and feed everyone before hunger strikes!
Metro Sim Hustle
Take control of an underground commuter train and rise to the top in a bustling metropolis filled with cheap thrills, prime real estate, and a diverse community of unique characters.
Coral Island
Coral Island is a vibrant and laid-back reimagining of farm sim games. Be who you want and experience enchanting island living at your own pace—live off the land, nurture animals, build relationships with a diverse cast of townsfolk, and make the world around you a more vital and harmonious place.Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 08 April 2025 22:14 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 10 April 2025 21:18 |
| Steam price | 13 April 2025 12:44 |
| Steam reviews | 11 April 2025 20:04 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about The Sims™ 3, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about The Sims™ 3
- SteamCharts - Analysis of The Sims™ 3 concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck The Sims™ 3 compatibility
Online players
1,458
Developer
The Sims Studio,
Maxis
Publisher
Electronic Arts
Release
27 Jan 2011
Platforms