Interesting discussion on FlyTampa forums

[MarkRey 16]

The "folks" at PMDG have discussed many times why they decide to not to develope FS9 products any longer. Read this thread from the boss at PMDG so you can see why they made the decision. http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=273567Perhaps the folks at FlyTampa have different sales data for the products that they develope. Could also be because they have a lot more sceneries for FS9 than they do for FSX. To date they have 8 sceneries that are FS9 only, 3 that are for FS9 and FSX, and 1 that is FSX only. If they had all the FS9 stuff available for FSX then their sales data might be different.You have got to put your self in their shoes. If you spent hundreds/thousands of hours developing a product for both platforms and sales for the FSX version out sold the sales by a large margin of the FS9 version, then why would you continue to spend time and development cost and man hours working on dual platforms? Especially if doing the conversion to the other platform ended up resulting in lots of extra hours that didn't pan out to be cost effective.I know that it's disappointing if your the one who ends up being on the wrong side of the developement cycle for a product, but like the some developers mention, they are here to run their business and make the decisions that are best for them, not best for consumer that has the platform they aren't working on. I'm sure that if you were developer or business man who relied on income from your projects you would do what was best for you, not what was best for everyone.If I was using FS9 only and saw that PMDG was doing the new 737NG for FSX only I know I would be disappointed also, but having read their explanation I would just have to understand their reasoning and deal with it.

+1Why people can't understand this from individual developers' standpoints is beyond me. :(

[Charlie Chew 0]

+1Why people can't understand this from individual developers' standpoints is beyond me. :(

Feedback can change developers' minds. Carenado announced they were going FSX-only, but reversed their decision when enough people said they were willing to pay for an FS9 version of their 172. Had FS9 users simply said "Oh well, those are the breaks" when Carenado initially announced they would stop making FS9 models, many simmers--and Carenado--would have been poorer for it.

[Swoop 0]

Wow...and I thought that we lived in a free country. Freedom to suppression...wow we are really turning into a bunch of bullies...Tom this is your fault!Mark

[JET 1 0]

Wow...and I thought that we lived in a free country. Freedom to suppression...wow we are really turning into a bunch of bullies...Tom this is your fault!

What on Earth has freedom have to do with any of this??

[ZachLW 37]

Wow...and I thought that we lived in a free country. Freedom to suppression...wow we are really turning into a bunch of bullies...Tom this is your fault!Mark

I do hate when things get so off topic. This isn't a free country. This is a forum owned and operated (and "governed") by Tom and crew. :( Kyle (Jet1)- I don't think I'm missing the point, but rather trying to emphasize another. You said this:

Do you seriously think that "public pressure", as you call that openly negative remark you made, is going to help you get that developer create the addon YOU want?

I think we all got the point, and i disagree with it! No offense, of course. :(

[WarpD 824]

There is no possible amount of customer pressure/influence that can get a company to finance a project that's a failure from the get-go. Aircraft addons, in particular, have a rather large development cycle to produce it for both FS9 and FSX. If the developer is unlikely to recoup the cost of the FS9 development... then you can't possibly convince them to go that route. The developer's decision is based off of actual sales numbers they experience. Information none of you have.Given the above... the only way to get a developer to produce something is to ensure they don't see a project fail for a given platform by promoting it and boosting it's sales. Kinda a catch-22 really. You can't get what you want without the developers getting what they need.Another trend impact: Screaming and crying for something to be developed... have it developed... scream and cry about how much it sucks (whether it really does or does not isn't the point). That too impacts a developer's decisions, and not necessarily in the positive way.

[JSkorna 137]

And many of you would be surprised as to how many happy FSX users are now out there, purchasing FSX only software. Some of you over-estimate the size of the FS9 group and under-estimate the size of the FSX group.

[JET 1 0]

Kyle (Jet1)- I don't think I'm missing the point, but rather trying to emphasize another.

HiYes, I believe I do understand the other point you're making, as long as 1. it's not approached such with a derogatory/negative tone as the OP 2. I'd rather call it "public demand" or "public request" than "public pressure"Having said that, Ed's (WarpD) thoughts above pretty much sum up what I'm thinking too.

[Wolfko 0]

Robert Randazzo (spelled correctly?) of PMDG said in the monthly German FS magazine "FlightXpress" that PMDG will probably develop the new 737NG also for FS9!! The release date of the FS9 version will be considerably after the FSX release though.It seems PMDG has realized that FS9 is not dead and changed their business strategy!Wolfgang

[WarpD 824]

Robert Randazzo (spelled correctly?) of PMDG said in the monthly German FS magazine "FlightXpress" that PMDG will probably develop the new 737NG also for FS9!! The release date of the FS9 version will be considerably after the FSX release though.It seems PMDG has realized that FS9 is not dead and changed their business politics!Wolfgang

It's not politics... :(I'll tell you right now, if the FS9 sales aren't good... my guess is it won't happen again.

[flightwatch 68]

First off, I want to thank the developers who have posted their insight on this subject.Secondly, I do have to agree that bringing up PMDG's decision is like beating a dead horse. While I think that their market data is inevitably flawed by using fs9 vs fsx sales of the MD-11 (primarily due to the fact that the fsx version was released pre recession and the fs9 version was released post recession,) I can't do a darned thing about that. As we are all well aware of, they are deleting those kind of threads faster than people can type them...which means they don't give a cows behind about what we say, and that their decision is final. I am one of those fs9 users that has their copy of fsx safely tucked away in a place that they have forgotten about, but I definitely don't underestimate the fsx group. I believe that it is probably a 60/40 split with fsx being in the majority, but even if the margin was larger, I believe that it would be a mistake to cut out the fs9 group.I do believe that PMDG will make the 737 for fs9 because it is in very high demand for both platforms, and they know it would bring in good sales. Keep in mind that, just because PMDG is not going to make any more planes for fs9, we still have quite a few developers that are still creating very high quality addons for our "overrated and outdated" platform.Matt

[JP_Visser 3]

I've said it before,and I'll say it again :I couldn't care less.I don't mind if there is no-one developing for FS9 anymore,I'll still be flying FS9 as that is what I like best.I've just done a short hop in NL2000 being tossed around by turbulence,and hammered with rain,landing EHAM 06 wth the help of a nice VATSIM controller.I still feel I've got a great sim,and I have yet to buy

[felixthreeone 0]

I think JP_Visser's post pretty much sums it up....cheers, sir!

[Guest deltaflight]

And many of you would be surprised as to how many happy FSX users are now out there, purchasing FSX only software. Some of you over-estimate the size of the FS9 group and under-estimate the size of the FSX group.

And vice versa. ;)>> Actually our sales numbers are almost on a 50/50 relationship between FS9 & FSX <<E X A C T L Y !!!

[pan pan pan 55]

I dont have a problem with PMDG stating they are only going the way of FSX from now on, however the BIG problem i have with them is that ever since the announcement of the NGX they have continously stated that it was going to be made for FS9 as well over quite a period of time. Then they changed their tune suddenly, and thats what ####### me off.If they'd come out and said that everything AFTER the NGX will be for FSX then no probs, but to do a turn around like that is bad business on a trusting account. Maybe they should become politicians with backflips like that.