Comparisons between different games from the same franchise are common, mainly when we are talking about long-lasting and big famous series, such as The Sims, for instance. One of these traditional comparisons involving sims games is Sims 3 vs Sims 4.

Both games made a huge success and helped The Sims franchise to become what it is nowadays. But Sims fans seem to be divided on that matter. The Sims 4 is indeed the best-selling and longest-running game of the franchise. Besides that, five years separate Sims 3 and Sims 4 releases, which should give the newer game advantage in terms of graphics and gameplay upgrades.

Despite all that, for many, Sims 3 vs Sims 4 is still a valid debate. Thinking about all that, RoyalCDKeys decided to bring an in-depth analysis to determine the best Sims game. Let’s begin!

It will be hard to determine which Sims is the best. Despite having five years to work on the title with a new game engine, new DLC, and new content, many things and features are missing in Sims 4. So, the best way to begin our job is to select specific points and features in each game and start from there. In the end, we hope to bring a sustainable answer. Let’s go!

For someone not used to Sims 3 and Sims 4, putting these words together may seem a little strange, but those players may already understand what my point is. The game introduced the open-world mechanic to the series. That way, it generally would load the entire world at once, allowing players to take one sim whenever they want. 

Everybody loves a good open world, but we also love stability and smooth gameplay, and Sims 3 sacrificed one to give us another. Depending on the PC you had back in the time, you would suffer from lag and see several glitches due to the computer's incapacity to run everything Sims 3 tried to present to us. 

The fourth game, on the other hand,  added the neighborhood system. Now, you can move through an entire neighborhood, but if you want to leave the place you are, going to other neighborhoods, for instance, there would be a loading screen. In other words, they removed the open-world feature and packed Sims 4 with several loading screens.

A short loading screen here and there isn’t a problem for most games, but it kind of broke the immersion and the sensation of complete freedom for those playing Sims. You could say we are a group of impatient gamers. 

Even though Sims have stability problems, they were considerably reduced compared to the earlier games, and it’s clear that not needing to load the entire open world at once helped a lot. 

But it is hard to determine which is the best; it depends on the players. Personally, I love an open world, but I prefer to play my game without glitches and performance drops, so I go with Sim4 and its loading screens. You don’t have a big open world, but you can easily travel to different worlds anyway. If you have a good computer, you may prefer Sims 3.

Since the games are about creating a sim and living their lives, it is extremely important that you have the tools to customize and create sims before letting them enter the Sims community. And Sims 3 did a great job with Create a Style feature. 

It allows any member of the player base to control practically everything, such as Sims furniture or clothing. In a game where many players love to have practically everything customized, this was a great step forward.

But Sims 4 removed the Create a Style and changed how we look at other people’s creations. The new Sims brought the Create a Sim feature. Until now, Sims only had a customization with sliders for you to adjust specific features of your Sim.

The Sims 4 Create a Sim feature features redefined and upgraded ways to build your Sim. You have points of adjustment that go from the head through the body. This allows players to create far more realistic Sims and is superior to the Create a Style tool. Besides, young adults have been the most played age and are the center of the game. Several customization features are focused on this phase of life. Another point for Sims 4.

Another thing some players value is the number of lots and their sizes. This main feature allows you to correlate practically anything you want inside the Sims game. And this is also one of the key features changed from Sims 3 to Sims 4 to ensure a smooth experience with faster loading and no performance drops.

Sims 3 allows you to place all kinds of places wherever there is a free space where this thing fits, giving you total freedom to customize your world. Sims 3 even lets you change the land surface to make it suitable for whatever you want to build there. Besides that, if you don’t want a specific lot, Sims 3 offers you up to 170 other lots to choose from. 

On the other hand, the biggest world on Sims 4 is San Myshuno, from Sims 4: City Living Expansion Pack, which only offers 30 slots. Based on all of that, we could easily say that it’s a point for Sims 3, but, once again, this change brings performance improvement results, as loading all the 170 would demand too much from practically any device. 

Having only 30 improves the performance, so it’s up to you. We will give the point to Sims 3, as having more than only 30 slots is awesome, even though we know it's not cool to add all the 170.

Expansion packs are another of the most important features of the Sims franchise. They are the post release content that EA, the game developers, add to the base game to improve players’ experience more and more. All the Sims games have expansion packs, and until recently, we would say that Sims 3 is ahead of Sims 4.

That’s because EA released more content for the 2009 game in less time of lifespan than they released for the 2015 release. But, not considering the time needed for Sims 4 to surpass its predecessor, the newer game is now ahead, with the release of the High School Years expansion pack at the beginning of 2022. 

We are not here to judge all the expansions as it is far more a matter of players’ taste than anything else. We are only considering the number of different content packs each game has, and since Sims 4 overcame Sims 3, it’s impossible not to give the point to Sims 4. The complete list of expansions from both games is the following:

Besides the Expansions, Sims series is also known for the stuff packs and game packs. They are extra content released for the game but not big enough to be considered an expansion. Sims 4 has 18 and 12 of these packs, respectively. On the other hand, Sims 3 has 9 stuff packs and didn’t receive any other extra content. So, in terms of expansions, Sims 4 is a better game, even though it is not the favorite game of many.

This is not a thing many would expect in a life sim such as the Sims series, but it is one of the key differences between the third and the fourth game.  Sims 3 has story progression, which is not present in Sims 4. This feature allows other sims to have a life. That way, they apply for new jobs, a new career, start relationships or have kids, for instance. All of that without players’ interference.

 This gives the sensation we have a story running and that it’s not dependent on the gamer playing it. That is something players have been interested in and asked for since the original game launch, and it’s not available even with DLC packs for the Sims 3 sequel. That’s one of the big differences between the games. You will need to download a mod to have it on Sims 4.

If Sims 4 doesn’t present the history progression available on Sims 3, they at least compensate by putting a lot of focus on Sims's emotions. An example is a SmartSims feature, which affects each sim directly by its surroundings. For instance, objects or clothes you put close to your sim may affect behavior patterns. This interferes with how sims react to in-game events and social interactions, making everything far more realistic. But, unfortunately, it’s not available in older versions of Sims.

Besides all that, Sims can now perform more than one task simultaneously. Seems basic but, until Sims 4, EA didn't add traits like this. Now, you may wait hours for your sim to finish the meal, but it can do that while talking with someone else. That way, any fan will be excited to see the interaction boost they receive.

Another point for Sims 3 here. Cars were introduced in Sims 2, but certain aspects were improved in Sims 3. For instance, you could drive cars, and that was something that many fans playing the game liked a lot. You could literally take your car and travel with it. In Sims 4, cars became decorative items, as you can’t do anything with them.

The Build Mode and Buy mode, two different features, are now combined. You have better dragging, adjusting, and rotation options. Besides that, thanks to full integration with the gallery, you can upload pictures of your family or residences. But that is controversial, as some players would prefer to have freedom within the terrain, and some specific tools are only available in Sims 3. The point here goes for Sims 4, anyway.

The need to bring this point to analysis is kind of absurd, but when we are talking about EA, we can expect that absurd becomes natural. I hate when missing features directly impact our Sims' gameplay and life. We understand the removal of specific things when you focus on a better experience for your fan base. But you need to play for only a couple of hours to see specific features missing in Sims 4. 

It looks like EA decided to postpone the release of some possibilities or, who knows, sell it in expansion later. Things like swimming pools, ghosts, and toddlers were unavailable at the Sims 4 release, and some important improvements were only available through spending your money. Improvements that should be on the base game from the beginning and not come at cost of your money later. Another important complaint is about the lack of diversity in skin tones.

Well, if you have played EA games for some time now, you already know they can sometimes be a little mercenary. Poor Sims and FIFA Ultimate Team players. Apart from that, when you compare how complete and enjoyable both games were at release, the only possible answer is Sims 3, released back in the time when EA was more concerned about giving players a great experience than getting as much money as possible from them. No doubts Sims 4 is worse on this matter.

You will surely find Sims 4 and even Sims 3 on Playstation or Xbox Store. The games are also available on well-known PC platforms, such as Steam and Origin. But instead of going for them, you have a better option: RoyalCDKeys!

We offer safe and working game keys for a wide range of the best titles available. All of that with the best prices you will find on the market. With RoyalCDKeys, you can get affordable Sims 3 Origin CD Key and Sims 4 Origin CD Key.

That’s it. After analysis of several points in both Sims 3 and Sims 4, we give the victory for this head-to-head comparison to Sims 4, even though we understand why so many fans prefer Sims 3. The game is good; even when compared to an opponent that came almost six years later, Sims 3 put up to a fight. If you want more information, guides, comparisons, and tips about games, check RoyalCDKeys, and we will keep you ahead of the game!