When you say it's empty, do you mean either:
01.) Saved game is there, it's just greyed out. - Gives an error message of "Cannot load this save game. It may have been saved with expansion pack data that is no longer present on this system."
--- If this is case, make sure you've got all expansions, stuff packs and store content you may have installed and try again.
02.) There are no saved games at all?
--- If this is the case, go check your Saves folder to check if they've been accidently deleted.
> Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Saves
If your saved games aren't in this folder, and you know for sure you've got saved games, you may need to search your computer for them. By searching out the name of the saved game.
If that doesn't work, go ahead and create a new game. Save it. Quit the game. Get out of the game. Load the game to see if you can see and select your new game.
Please report back what you find.
MrsFlynn