breu/gist:6432327

## gistfile1.txt
We'll see if this gets published

http://www.amazon.com/Sims-Starter-Pack-Online-Game/dp/B00CQOG8MM/ref=dsvrt_myd_asin_block


There is a TL;DR way down at the bottom.  Read that first then come back for the rest.

I purchased this for my daughter without reading any of the reviews because who, of course not me, reads reviews before they purchase something that can only be returned with a credit card dispute?  I had purchased the Sims3 as a digital download for a PC way back in 2011 and the technology sure has gone downhill since.  I mean we can launch a rocket and put a man on the moon with the computing power of an abacus but we can't reliably provide a method for downloading a digital item in the digital era with digital computers.  If we keep this up we may as well turn our computers in for sticks and cave wall drawings.

So, after downloading the cheesy "Installer", opening it like I do any other .DMG file, and finding the Amazon Installer I am thinking that I have somehow bested the others that have tried to conquer this task before me.  To my dismay, the installer is a 'timed installer' so you can't drag it into Applications like you would any other well behaved App, and at 5MB of total size the amount of data that this so called "Installer" provides is pathetically simple and unintuitive.  Sure I received the codes to register the game and sure I received instructions on how to download the Origin installer, but at this point, this "Installer" proceeded to completely destroy the rest of my evening.

I downloaded the Origin Installer and proceeded to remember my password through the forgotten password link, get it installed and logged into my account.  At this point the instructions provided by the Amazon "Installer" diverge like a if/else/exit statement and I am left holding a sheet of paper with some codes (AWESOME) and a sheep of instructions that MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE ANYMORE (NOT AWESOME).  I stumble around and find the Redeem Product Code, enter my product code, and am told in no uncertain terms that I (of all people) am in error for trying to redeem this product code in the section that clearly states that I can redeem my product code here and that I should instead go to some other site to redeem this product code.

So at this point, I am thinking I may be onto something.  I go to this new site, figure out that I can use my origin login to login to the site, and proceed to root around for the Redeem Product Code page.  I find it, start entering my code, and once again thwarted!  The web page has 4 groups for characters and the product code has 5!  Oh the humanity!

As this struggle to download something that I shelled out all of $19 for comes to a close with me contemplating logging into my credit card website and filing a dispute I, with my last gasp of sanity, instead hit the 'chat with us' button harkening back to an earlier time when companies (and the websites that they run) had CUSTOMER SERVICE  (I'm looking at you Amazon).  To my amazement after a stated wait of 5 minutes a gentleman comes on the chat line in under 45 seconds and proceeds to manually enter my product codes into the Origin system so that I can now download my games.

I certainly don't know if it has bugs or even works, but I am soldiering on now with the awesome support from Abhishank at EA.  Hats of to you Sir.


TL;DR
Don't try to activate this game through the Origin client, you will only cause a river of tears and profanity.  Instead, get your codes, and go to ea.com and hit the "chat with us" button.
	We'll see if this gets published

	http://www.amazon.com/Sims-Starter-Pack-Online-Game/dp/B00CQOG8MM/ref=dsvrt_myd_asin_block


	There is a TL;DR way down at the bottom. Read that first then come back for the rest.

	I purchased this for my daughter without reading any of the reviews because who, of course not me, reads reviews before they purchase something that can only be returned with a credit card dispute? I had purchased the Sims3 as a digital download for a PC way back in 2011 and the technology sure has gone downhill since. I mean we can launch a rocket and put a man on the moon with the computing power of an abacus but we can't reliably provide a method for downloading a digital item in the digital era with digital computers. If we keep this up we may as well turn our computers in for sticks and cave wall drawings.

	So, after downloading the cheesy "Installer", opening it like I do any other .DMG file, and finding the Amazon Installer I am thinking that I have somehow bested the others that have tried to conquer this task before me. To my dismay, the installer is a 'timed installer' so you can't drag it into Applications like you would any other well behaved App, and at 5MB of total size the amount of data that this so called "Installer" provides is pathetically simple and unintuitive. Sure I received the codes to register the game and sure I received instructions on how to download the Origin installer, but at this point, this "Installer" proceeded to completely destroy the rest of my evening.

	I downloaded the Origin Installer and proceeded to remember my password through the forgotten password link, get it installed and logged into my account. At this point the instructions provided by the Amazon "Installer" diverge like a if/else/exit statement and I am left holding a sheet of paper with some codes (AWESOME) and a sheep of instructions that MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE ANYMORE (NOT AWESOME). I stumble around and find the Redeem Product Code, enter my product code, and am told in no uncertain terms that I (of all people) am in error for trying to redeem this product code in the section that clearly states that I can redeem my product code here and that I should instead go to some other site to redeem this product code.

	So at this point, I am thinking I may be onto something. I go to this new site, figure out that I can use my origin login to login to the site, and proceed to root around for the Redeem Product Code page. I find it, start entering my code, and once again thwarted! The web page has 4 groups for characters and the product code has 5! Oh the humanity!

	As this struggle to download something that I shelled out all of $19 for comes to a close with me contemplating logging into my credit card website and filing a dispute I, with my last gasp of sanity, instead hit the 'chat with us' button harkening back to an earlier time when companies (and the websites that they run) had CUSTOMER SERVICE (I'm looking at you Amazon). To my amazement after a stated wait of 5 minutes a gentleman comes on the chat line in under 45 seconds and proceeds to manually enter my product codes into the Origin system so that I can now download my games.

	I certainly don't know if it has bugs or even works, but I am soldiering on now with the awesome support from Abhishank at EA. Hats of to you Sir.


	TL;DR
	Don't try to activate this game through the Origin client, you will only cause a river of tears and profanity. Instead, get your codes, and go to ea.com and hit the "chat with us" button.