The Sims 4, which is coming out on Tuesday, can be pre-loaded on the PC, according to EA.
Update: The game is now available on the PC.
“Every Sim is unique in The Sims 4, your own individual creations that come to life with big personalities and endless possibilities,” said Rachel Franklin, Executive Producer for The Sims 4, according to a news release. “Who they are on the inside changes the way you play. Your Sims embody the traits and aspirations you give them in The Sims 4, and playing out their charming, hilarious and crazy stories has never been more fun.”
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It means that one can download the game and launch it as soon as it comes out if it was pre-ordered via Origin, reported GameSpot.
“The option to download the game and have it ready to launch as soon as it’s released is currently rolling out to everyone who pre-ordered a copy through Origin. When it’s available in your area, simply launch Origin and hover your cursor over the game tile in your Game Library to check if it’s available,” website TS4News.com says. “Once The Sims 4 is pre-loaded, your game will unlock when it launches in your region.”
The game will unlock when it launches in a specific region. North America, Asia, and Russia will have a Sept. 2 release date, and more specifically, in the US and Canada, that means it will be out 12 a.m. ET on Tuesday or 9 p.m. PT on Sept. 1.
Australia, Japan, and Europe (but not the UK) will get a Sept. 4 release date.
Meanwhile, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and the UK will see a Sept. 5 release date.
About a week ago, EA and Maxis released the game’s final launch trailer.
However, the game hasn’t been without controversy. An IGN editor said a few weeks ago that there will be no reviews of the game until it’s released for everyone.
And a website dedicated to The Sims has said that a bevy of features available in The Sims 3 won’t be present in the next iteration of the game, drawing ire from many.
“Lastly, it is important to understand that much of this content will NEVER be in The Sims 4. Things like Create a Style are not compatible with the game engine, and thus cannot be added in future updates or expansions,” the site says, which added:
“No create a style (CAST) – NOT possible in future expansions (x)
No modifications to world/public spaces – The park in the demo is a mix of a community lot and public space (x1) (x2)
No “normal” careers – Law enforcement, Medical, Business, etc. were removed (x)
No open world – You must incur a loading screen between each active lot; each neighborhood has 1-5 lots total (x1) (x2)
No pools (x)
No terrain tools other than paint; everything is perfectly flat (x)
No story progression – Sims in the neighborhood age, but do not have children, get jobs, move, get married…etc. without player intervention (x)
No toddlers (x)
No way to create/place new lots – And you only have 2 empty ones at the start of the game!
No Mac version of the game at release”
