Would you buy an XBOX 360 for FSXI?

[Jimmy Angel 19]

Honestly, I just think this whole discussion is moot. I'll eat my hat if I'm wrong, but I don't think we'll ever see a serious civilian flight simulator on a console, and certainly not the next iteration of the MSFS series. There just isn't the market for it. Let's say FSX sold a million copies worldwide over its lifespan. Games like Gears of War 2 on the 360 sold double that in a single day.The pace, tone and functionality of a PC flight sim is just wrong for the consoles. Trying to release one would a) alienate the existing audience and :( not interest the core console audience. Microsoft knows this. They have no interest in putting out a console version of MSFS. It would bomb. Can you imagine an advertisement .... "Follow your flight plan via VOR radials!"There is some notable crossover for sim games to the console. Racing games, for example, can be pretty sim-like. Some of the squad-based shooters are actually pretty realistic. But a civilian flight sim? Not gonna happen.It's still mystery to me why MS dumped the aces team and what (if anything) they have planned, but I am pretty confident that a console version of MSFS is not in the cards. In a few years as FSX starts to show its age, hopefully we can look to another developer for a serious PC civilian flight sim.

[Guest Pato]

No way. The Xbox 360 sucks majorly.

[dmaher 0]

Xbox is just a cheap PC without Windows. (my videocard cost more than an Xbox)Add a USB keyboard...and a mouse...you could run FS.And, what if you could daisy chain a bunch of Xboxes to your Windows PC? That

[mabe54 17]

NO!NO!

[JonR88 0]

When I first got into flight simulator I messed around with it and flew for awhile but soon became bored with it and uninstalled it from my PC because I just thought it was a flying game (boy was I wrong). A few months later I was reading an article online about it and discovered a whole new world of add-ons for the simulator and that

[Peter Clemenko 0]

If I was a noob console gamer who thought that simple was good then yes, but since I'm the kind of person who flys sims like Falcon 4.0 and DCS, F NO!!!

[fsx_missionguy 0]

No, I wouldn't buy an X-Box to run a flight simulator?Why? Well, for one, I don't have to. Microsoft doesn't produce the only flight simulator. It's my understanding that X-Plane will continue to be developed for the PC and will probably never be released on the X-Box, I suspect. And X-Plane is an worthy flight simulator. Certainly not up to the standards of FSX yet, but without any competition it would likely flourish and surpass FSX shortly. Microsoft doesn't operate in a vacuum, and neither does Austin.I can certainly see how moving Flight Simulator to the X-Box would be in Microsoft's financial interests. That would require that I buy an entirely different and new computer system and set of peripherals to continue to use MSFS. Or, for almost no additional money, I could use X-Plane. (I have upwards of $1000 USD invested in peripherals such as joysticks, rudder pedals, TrackIR, etc.) Seems like I'd be left with no alternative here. What would I do with my super souped up PC at that point? IE doesn't require 4-gig of RAM and a video card.But what would the X-Box offer me?I would get a "living room" flight simulator. Most people connect their X-Box computers to their television set, and most television sets do not have the resolution required to view the tiny instrument variations required to perform an IFR landing, for example. Sure, HDTV will improve this ... if you want to spend another $500 to upgrade your television (again, I'm priced out.)Living rooms are also not conducive to the peripherals that I use for flight simulation. Like most people, my living room has to be kept neat, lest the wife banish flight simulation (an already expensive habit that causes friction) entirely from the house. My flight simulation room, however, gives me plenty of space where I can set up a sort of "cockpit" that is positioned directly in front of my monitor. This would not be an option in a living room that has to be shared by the entire family.Not to mention the fact that my "flight simulation room" is sort of a sanctuary where I can get away from everyone and everything and enjoy my hobby. Can't do that in the living room. Yes, I could place the X-Box in my flight simulation room, but really now, how's that going to go over with the kids? Not an option, methinks. Plus, I don't want them in my sanctuary messing with my settings and erasing my saved missions! :( Plus, I don't want to be competing for time on the machine with the Halo warriors.Getting an X-Box version of MSFS would also likely require that I subscribe to a monthly service to enjoy features such as Multiplayer, which are free in FSX. I'm not a big fan of paying for something every month in the new version that I paid for once in the previous version, and I suspect this would leave a bad taste in a lot of mouths. This new revenue stream would certainly look good on someone's resume at Microsoft ... but I'm not sure how it would benefit me. In fact, I'm pretty sure it doesn't benefit me. I'm pretty sure it costs me a bunch of extra money. How's that a good idea for me? Where's the value proposition ... for me?It's not about hating the X-Box. It's not about having, or not having, a flight simulator (remember, I can get a flight simulator elsewhere since Microsoft doesn't enjoy a monopoly in this area of computing). It would be horribly expensive. And it's about the entire flight simulation experience ... which is just not suited to a living room console.I believe that ultimately wisdom will prevail over youth. At one point, the junior management of the Coca-Cola Company believed, in chasing that one extra dollar, that they should chuck their 100-year-old recipe for success. They stupidly imperiled the company. Needless to say, the people who thought that was a good idea don't work for Coca-Cola any more and, as it should always be, we can still enjoy an old fashioned Coke and a Smile!I think (hope) the same thing may happen with Flight Simulator.

[Guest blazingcessna]

NO WAY IN H-E DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS!!!!The only reason that MSFS would be released on a console has already been mentioned. Piracy.That right, simple control. How would all these addons be installed? Again simple XBOX Live. Duh...Whoever thinks that consoles are "powerful" needs to get a new head shrinker! There is no way a console could run MSFS and it be anything more than a stupid FPS style game. It was a good run, but the MSFS series is over. FS9 was the pinnacle, 10 could have been, but it was too close to 9 and remained a CPU intensive program. As Don Henley once said:"GET OVER IT!"

[n4gix 4,947]

The only reason that MSFS would be released on a console has already been mentioned. Piracy.That right, simple control. How would all these addons be installed? Again simple XBOX Live. Duh...

I still cannot for the life of me understand this obsessive FIXATION on XBox...The one thing that has been made perfectly clear is that whatever is eventually released by the new team will be a PC based application that will simply use a PC LIVE connection for online gameplay matching, and for approved download content. Period.If or when that product might be ported to an XBox version isn't even being discussed at this time.

[gman! 1]

I still cannot for the life of me understand this obsessive FIXATION on XBox...The one thing that has been made perfectly clear is that whatever is eventually released by the new team will be a PC based application that will simply use a PC LIVE connection for online gameplay matching, and for approved download content. Period.If or when that product might be ported to an XBox version isn't even being discussed at this time.

Amen! I'd never thought I'd find someone else that understands too! There are too many limitations on the xbox, and it would be a risky move for Microsoft, so they are not thinking about it... for now....

[Guest kwilson]

I still cannot for the life of me understand this obsessive FIXATION on XBox...The one thing that has been made perfectly clear is that whatever is eventually released by the new team will be a PC based application that will simply use a PC LIVE connection for online gameplay matching, and for approved download content. Period.If or when that product might be ported to an XBox version isn't even being discussed at this time.

I hope you're right about it being a PC release Fr Bill. I've been thinking about this and one problem with an XBox release would be no more freeware. I'm not sure how things work with XBox but with the Playstation I believe developers need to get a special developers machine and software. You run the software on a PC and plug the developers machine into the PC so you can test your work. Perhaps Xbox has a similar system? Not to sure how much it would cost but I bet it wouldn't be cheap. With FS9 and FSX you can download a few free tools and make your own local airport if you want. I doubt if that would be possible on an Xbox system. Would that still be possible on an FSXI PC system if it became linked to PC LIVE or will ALL addons have to be approved by MS (who take a cut of the price no doubt)?

[Guest vtx]

christopher..what you posted is EXACTLY what i was gonna post...it will INDEED dump fs down to a casual game.so to the topic in question my answer is also no to xbox ..

If FS11 is developed for Xbox 360, it will be dumbed down to the level of casual gamers. That is not what flight simulation enthusiasts are looking for.