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❗ For a complete review and info post on Monte Vista, please check out our Sims 3 Store World Guide.
The Sims 3 Monte Vista has hit retail shelves worldwide, and I just scooped up my very own copy. The retail version includes a new box art, as well as a disc.
When the store team advertised the North American retail version, it was stated that the world and its content were available directly on the disc, giving the idea that it would be similar to an expansion pack. That is both true, and false.
When installing the Monte Vista DVD, the disc automatically runs the installation wizard. After a few clicks, the installation ceases, and opens up the Sims 3 Launcher. You will be greeted with a welcome screen that requires a log in to your Sims 3 account, and the 16 digit code found on the pamphlet inside the Monte Vista case.
Once you have accepted the terms and redeemed the content, your Sims 3 account is granted access to the world, a Sims3pack appears in your downloads folder, and a purchase in your Sims 3 Store purchase history is made that reads “Free”.
Now here is where I classify the retail version as nothing more than a Sims 3 store purchase. Looking into the files contained on the disc, the only content on there is a bunch of useless folders and a copy of the Sims 3 Monte Vista in simpack form. This means that the retail version may contain the actual “simpack content”, but does not have the world directly written onto the disc for installation like any stuff/expansion pack.
Even though this version of the world is not available directly on disc like an expansion pack is, the content is indeed attached to the disc in file form. The sims3pack that comes with the retail version is account locked, so you cannot simply remove the pack and dump it into the downloads folder. Disc and account activation is required.
