How can I play "The Sims" without an optical drive? I'm trying to play “The Sims 3” on my MacBook Retina which doesn't have an optical drive.

From what I understand, my options are:


Buy/Borrow an external optical drive
Use the Bonjour service on a PC (never used it)
Copy the CD to my PC as an ISO/IMG file of some kind?


What is the best way to allow my new Mac to play the Sims 3 without the power drain and physical weight of an external CD ROM?
Like most PC/Mac games sold now, The Sims 3 is available for purchase as a digital download. It looks like you can buy it from the official site (note the distinct download and physical options).

Once you purchase it, you’ll be able to download it and install without any physical disks.

It also seems to be available for sale on the Steam online store, also as a download, and as of July 15, 2013, it’s 50% off.