I think it's whatever the person buying it wants it to be. It is a game - there's missions, etc. But it can also be a hyper realistic simulation of real world aviation once you get into addon aircraft, sceneries, and services like VATSIM online.

I can play ghost recon for hours in one spot picking off the bad dudes with as much dedication that I apply to fsx....doesn't make it real or accurate.While I really enjoy fsx and I do mostly 3 hours real-time flights with tonnes of add-ons and some hardware*, I'm under no delusion. Having been in the air with Cessna 182, OK it's not a MD-11 or 737, but the real flight experience puts fsx a million miles back in terms realism....yeah, clouds and systems can be reproduced but they don't come close to 'real'...try putting yourself in the pilot seat with a intro Cessna lesson and you'll see what I mean......after that...yeah, fsx is a game.....sorry.*about £2K....worth :oEdit: My name is Chris Farrell

It is both a game and a hobby.

Just a different perspective,We have a bunch of 777/747 CBT's from boeing that run pretty much like FS, short of an outside view, crashes, and the entire world mapped. The entire purpose of these CBTs are to simulate their respective aircraft for line and training pilots.Often times the instructor will say "This is NOT a game" when introducing the programs. Because PMDGs 744 far exceeds to system depth of the company's (Boeings?) CBTs, I'm inclined to believe that FSX is a simulator, or a hobby, the moment you you run it as one. On the flip side, were I to tweak the C172 flight files to fly like a Tomahawk Missile and zoom around antartica flying into deer... then it probably ceases to be both a simulator and a hobby.

I can play ghost recon for hours in one spot picking off the bad dudes with as much dedication that I apply to fsx....doesn't make it real or accurate.While I really enjoy fsx and I do mostly 3 hours real-time flights with tonnes of add-ons and some hardware*, I'm under no delusion. Having been in the air with Cessna 182, OK it's not a MD-11 or 737, but the real flight experience puts fsx a million miles back in terms realism....yeah, clouds and systems can be reproduced but they don't come close to 'real'...try putting yourself in the pilot seat with a intro Cessna lesson and you'll see what I mean......after that...yeah, fsx is a game.....sorry.*about £2K....worth :oEdit: My name is Chris Farrell

Well after many hours in the Cessna 172, I flew one with an instructor. Sorry, but the realism of FSX is damn close to the real thing. I was right at home in the real 172 and I was very prepared to taxi, fly a pattern and land all by my self. I didn't enjoy the bumps and jolts in the real 172, that's why I prefer flying in FSX over getting my PPL.

Or maybe a flight from life! :(

I like that.Cheers,

well for me its both ie. essentially its a game - I'm not actually ATPL qualified with thousands of multi engine hours under my belt with ratings for the NGX, 747, A320 and a host of other a/c out there AND I fly with 'detect collisions' OFF, I up the sim rate on cruise (I'm not sitting at the pc for 14 hours straight looking at well nothing) plus landing at -145 fpm and -850 fpm feels the same to me :) This is the game part of it.on the other hand...I've 'invested' thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours all up on flight simulator over the years (hardware, software, peripherals, internet, family time - most importantly) and I"m not the only one. BUT, I do like to fly as if I'm flying for an airline ie. online with VATPAC using established routes, charts, voice calls, etc and for my VA (Trans Australian Aviation Group). Hence the hobby part of it.So essentially, its both. Now, PMDG guys...my c/card is ready to go when you say the word (re the NGX and the 777 and the Dash8 and the flying couch you'll probably release which I'll probably buy because I know it'll have the best damned FMC and other tidbits on it).:)

For one, wind dynamics in the real world are not accurately simulated in fsx....it's no where near close. AND!! you can not FEEL it with a yoke or whatever hardware installed in fsx.....sorry, there is no comparison......fsx reality index is around 30%Chris Farrell

I think Ryan has the best answer. Personally, I don't really think of it as a hobby. I think of computers as a hobby. Flying is also a hobby. Other hobbies of mine are cooking, golf, hockey, etc. But compare it to golf, for a moment. Golf is a game. Some people play it for fun. Some play it competitively, like I do. Some are somewhere in between. I find FS allows me further my flying on planes I could never afford to actually fly and gives me an objective in performance for screwing around with my computers, another hobby. So, it is what you make it. But think of all the other hobbies (electronics, home improvement, etc.) that kind of project entails. By way of analogy, I play competitive golf tournaments. Sometimes I'll play casual rounds with people drinking beers, playing loose with rules, etc. To them, its less of a hobby and more of game. For me, its almost beyond hobby and into life calling. If you build your own flight deck (I'm still completely in awe of that, BTW), then its a hobby.So, I was, BTW, one of the four people who voted game, because that's what it is for me. A game that furthers my hobbies.

Like you, I have been doing Flight Simulator since the mid 1980's. Game? Poker is a game; baseball is a game; Starcraft is a game; Wing Commander was a game once upon a time. Flight Simulator is part of my life. It's an alternate reality where I spend quite a bit of time.I logged four hours with my VA tonight in the Alaskan Panhandle. For those four hours, I was there, not here. I flew highly realistic aircraft in scenery that is almost photographic with the real weather that was happening at the time. Flight Simulator is a lot more than a "game."

ITs not a game! Its a simulation :D

Gents-Oh- this one is easy:To someone who's appreciation of aviation is fleeting: It is a game.To those of us who love aviation, airplanes and the world of travel: It is a hobby.We obviously have a massive amount of data on customer behaviors after 13+ years in this business- and one of the things that I find fascinating is trying to determine why sales of FS products in the USA are so much weaker than sales in Europe.The answer it turns out- is actually quite simple: In Europe- hobbies are still an investment in personal growth and education. Hobbies are encouraged and admired. In the USA, hobbies have largely been replaced by the Entertainment-Media-Industrial-Complex. Here in America we just don't foster the development of life long hobbies.This of course shows itself in our buying habits. During my travels in Europe, I always make a point to seek out aviation and nautical hobby related stores. I envy our European friends the depth and variation of stores and products available. Here in the USA, retail space has been largely homogenized to the point where the stores in all towns and cities are largely the same, driven by only a handful of mega-corporations who determine what products will be available- and they have NO patience for any product that does not earn the pre-calculated return on investment per square foot of space consumed...It is funny- sitting here in my office- I have a bookshelf-wall that is decorated with various momentos from a career in the airlines: my first name tag from UAL, the thank you gift given to us by Boeing when we brought the 777 into service, the Mickey Mouse airplane that my employees stuck on top of a cake when they learned that I was leaving management to go fly airplanes, my F/O shoulder boards, my first wings, first Captain shoulder boards.... Then there are the ocean liner models, miniature airplanes, books, postcards, random WWII era airplane parts, engineering whiz-wheels and other knick knacks... nearly ALL of which I collected during trips to Europe...So all of you in Europe- SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL STORES... If you don't they will go the way of US retailers- and you'll lose something that simply can't be replaced.

Gents-Oh- this one is easy:To someone who's appreciation of aviation is fleeting: It is a game.To those of us who love aviation, airplanes and the world of travel: It is a hobby.We obviously have a massive amount of data on customer behaviors after 13+ years in this business- and one of the things that I find fascinating is trying to determine why sales of FS products in the USA are so much weaker than sales in Europe.The answer it turns out- is actually quite simple: In Europe- hobbies are still an investment in personal growth and education. Hobbies are encouraged and admired. In the USA, hobbies have largely been replaced by the Entertainment-Media-Industrial-Complex. Here in America we just don't foster the development of life long hobbies.This of course shows itself in our buying habits. During my travels in Europe, I always make a point to seek out aviation and nautical hobby related stores. I envy our European friends the depth and variation of stores and products available. Here in the USA, retail space has been largely homogenized to the point where the stores in all towns and cities are largely the same, driven by only a handful of mega-corporations who determine what products will be available- and they have NO patience for any product that does not earn the pre-calculated return on investment per square foot of space consumed...It is funny- sitting here in my office- I have a bookshelf-wall that is decorated with various momentos from a career in the airlines: my first name tag from UAL, the thank you gift given to us by Boeing when we brought the 777 into service, the Mickey Mouse airplane that my employees stuck on top of a cake when they learned that I was leaving management to go fly airplanes, my F/O shoulder boards, my first wings, first Captain shoulder boards.... Then there are the ocean liner models, miniature airplanes, books, postcards, random WWII era airplane parts, engineering whiz-wheels and other knick knacks... nearly ALL of which I collected during trips to Europe...So all of you in Europe- SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL STORES... If you don't they will go the way of US retailers- and you'll lose something that simply can't be replaced.

Could the sales difference also be that real flying in Europe is so expensive, that many satisfy their flying "bug" in the virtual world? Most rw pilots I know in the US do not fly flight sim....

[/b][/color]So my question to everyone is do you consider Flight Simulation a hobby or just a game?

Deciding what to call computerized flight simulation seems to me just a matter of how you want to define game or hobby. No matter what you decide to call it, I think you/we will always get a sideways look from non-flight simmers as to what the heck it is that fascinates us about flight simulation. I too have been at it since the get go and it absolutely never ceases to amaze me how much enjoyment I get out of it despite how long it's been.Noel

It's a Simulator if you...... only fly high detail simulators like PMDG, Level-D on high realism settings, use weather programs and have almost no ground sceneries.It's a Hobby if you...... Fly any kind of plane and have a maelstrom of addons.I think.