RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum vs The Sims 3
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum is an open-world sandbox game from Frontier (2008) while The Sims 3 is an RPG sandbox game from Maxis (2009).
What each one is
Steam files RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum under Open-World and Sandbox. In contrast, it files The Sims 3 under RPG and Sandbox.
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 Platinum combines the excitement of rollercoasters with the fun of a great strategy simulation. RCT3 Platinum combines the roller coaster theme park fun of the Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 with included expansion packs Soaked! and Wild! Now enjoy more options than ever.
The Sims 3: Create the perfect world with full customization at your fingertips. Refine personalities and help fulfill destinies.
At a glance
| RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum | The Sims 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.6/10 | 7.9/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (92%, 5,244) | Very Positive (86%, 34,337) |
| Critic aggregate | 81/100 | 86/100 |
| Price | Not listed | $19.99 |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | unsupported | unsupported |
| Released | 2008 | 2009 |
| Developer | Frontier | Maxis |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum vs The Sims 3, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: PlatinumOpen-world sandbox gameThe Sims 3RPG sandbox gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: PlatinumSimulation, Management, SandboxThe Sims 3Life Sim, Simulation, Character CustomizationThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: PlatinumScore 7.6 · 92% on Steam · 81 criticThe Sims 3 ✓Score 7.9 · 86% on Steam · 86 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum5,244 reviewsThe Sims 334,337 reviews · 19 add-onsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: PlatinumNot listedThe Sims 3$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: PlatinumUnsupportedThe Sims 3UnsupportedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
The Sims 3 takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueRollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum and The Sims 3 on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Mobile
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: The Sims 3 (GamingPickz Score 7.9)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: The Sims 3 (34,337 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
SimulationSandboxBuildingStrategySingleplayerFamily FriendlyFunnyModdable
Where they differ
ManagementEconomyClassicReal-Time with PauseCity BuilderOpen World
Life SimCharacter CustomizationRomanceRPGReplay ValueNudity
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum is relaxed, easy to pick up. The Sims 3 is relaxed, easy to pick up.
System requirements, side by side
| RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum | The Sims 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 |
| Minimum CPU | — | (XP) 2.0 GHz P4 processor |
| Minimum RAM | — | — |
| Install size | — | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum · The Sims 3.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum and 0 for The Sims 3. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum and The Sims 3 in scope?
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum has drawn 5,244 Steam reviews. The Sims 3 has drawn 34,337 Steam reviews and ships 19 add-ons.
Is RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum or The Sims 3 better?
By the GamingPickz Score, The Sims 3 rates higher (7.9 to 7.6). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum or The Sims 3?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.