Earlier I read a topic on this forum about how many copies the NGX will sale? what a great question! - but better yet.... the question we need to ask "What are we doing to grow the hobby so developers like PMDG will stay in Business?" Actually, it would be great to see a 1000 copies sell the first day,I am new to the PMDG forum but not to the world of computer generated flight, I have had a copy of FS on my computer since the 80's. If anyone remembers when FS95,FS98, FS2004 came out their was alot more interest in the US market. Microsoft was advertizing heavy on Print ads and TV, Microsoft had booths at all major air shows in the late 90's and early 2000's...Wow, I remember being at the Reno Air races and Microsoft had over 25 computers setup to promote FSX in 2005, however, I am sure you all know that interest has fallen in the US for Flight Simming... I am sorry to say that economic times have caught up with the flight sim community, I am sure this is why PMDG will release this bird for under $100. I would like everyone to remember that all of us have a responsibility to make sure this plane does not hit the torrents, I know that many of you are saying but I can't afford to buy!...BUT THE TRUTH IS ...Piracy has killed this hobby, I am sure all of us that are above 45 years old can remember the developers names of those who have left this wonderful hobby because of this. Think about it PMDG is the only developer still pushing to create top notch aircraft, the LevelD developers have not created another plane in years and Airsimmer has run into problems and didn't get off the ground...(Oh yes... I known a few Captain Sim Products as well) Not to long ago the developers ORBX was thinking of quitting and closing shop because their scenery was on the torrent sites within 24 hours of them releasing.their scenery Add-ons..... Microsoft realized this several years ago and put the halt to future development of FSX, but people like Robert and all the other developers still have a dream, and its up to us to put our money on the line to support them. So when this bird does hit the market tell, friends, family and other simmers to go out and buy this bird. If this plane is a success, it will only encourage such developers to stay in this business, and provide top quality products. I know for a fact that there are people at Microsoft that are watching to see if this release will generate sales and interest for the hobby in the US. We all have alot at stake, remember we flight simmers are the force that keep developers in the business. Microsoft will release Flight in due time...But for now all we have is each other and developers like PMDG, so my point of all this GROW THE BUSINESS or Hobby, everyone take the time and get another person involved take the time and show them the love that we all have for this hobby. This hobby has not seen an opportunity like this in a long time, lets don't waste it...Just my thoughts.... John NelsonRetired UPS Operations Manager.Montana

Piracy kills entire PC gaming except some very "specialized" genres like MMO. However that is not no-win situation. Microsoft should release MS Flight on X360 consoles and voila! No piracy, huge market... ;)

Very well said and welcome to the community

All was good till you say Airsimmer! Piracy has not affected them a single bit i can ashure you as an ET member! I'm definately in favor of supporting good developers and everyone here should respond to the effort that PMDG has made, even if the product was free!Usually i say that the price of entertainment is proporcional to the hours of fun they provide... a DVD it's too expensive... I'd say NGX reallllyyy cheap! Cheers Márcio Nóbrega

Very well said and welcome to the community

Welcome to the community!! sssilvabr

I would agree, but it's a two way street. As piracy increases companies resort to ever more draconian methods, which results in more people turning to pirates. Many copy protections stopped people who purchased using the software, while people who paid nothing got the benefits of working and unrestricted installations (Starforce, Safedisk etc...) In any case as already said, welcome to the forums. On an entirely different note, David from AVSIM is having a busy day...

+1 Without PMDG and some of the scenery companies, I wouldn't touch FS. If companies like this close up because everyone torrents their stuff. Then we all lose. There is absolutely no excuse for people who say it's too expensive. We have been waiting anywhere from months to years for this plane and certainly as soon as six months ago Robert told us what to expect for pricing, and now we've found out that it's even cheaper than any of us expected. If money is that tight, you could have been saving 50 cents a day for just about the last six months and would be able to afford this plane. Most of our internet bills over the last two months cover the cost of the NGX.

All I will say is there wont be a recession for a bunch of blokes when all is done with this release.

Why not? They released "light" version of A320 first. Suppose this plane was quickly found on torrents and Airsimmer was deprived of incomes to develop A320 advanced version. Then they said "Goodbye" to flight-simming business....

All was good till you say Airsimmer! Piracy has not affected them a single bit i can ashure you as an ET member! I'm definately in favor of supporting good developers and everyone here should respond to the effort that PMDG has made, even if the product was free!Usually i say that the price of entertainment is proporcional to the hours of fun they provide... a DVD it's too expensive... I'd say NGX reallllyyy cheap! Cheers Márcio Nóbrega

Quality post - made me laugh, Im one too hahahahaha

On the other hand I heard music industry seems not to be much affected by piracy.

I know for a fact that there are people at Microsoft that are watching to see if this release will generate sales and interest for the hobby in the US. We all have alot at stake, remember we flight simmers are the force that keep developers in the business.

I share your entire post except the quoted sentence. I would have to say zillions of arguments against MS but these are glory days for simmers so this is not the appropriate moment to raise a flame thread, this is a moment to be happy and enjoy a product that is gonna teach other billionary companies how a simulation has to be done in order to have success, and PMDG will have it for sure. cheers BTW : looking at the picture you don't seem an old simmer, you are still a baby

Hi John, right on the mark! BTW: I love Montana where dou you live?

Considering one of the major flight simulation nation is China. And it is surprising that finding a legit copy of anything (e.g. FSX) in China is near impossible. I have a friend from China, asking me to make a purchase of FSX for him over in Australia, and have it posted to him. This just goes to show what attitude the Chinese are running with. Furthermore, piracy is bad enough, people in Chinese FS community even go as far as commercially redistribute! Although now the situation is slightly better. By that I mean, it use to be pirated copies of anything (SW, DVD, etc.) were easily available at computer markets, on the streets, even under someone's coat! But the government to some effort has tried to crack down on this. Piracy aside, I think specifically for non-English spoken nations, PMDG no doubt we all agree is one of if not the BEST addon developers for MSFS. The whole world (Eng or not) knows to some extent. But since they are there to enjoy simulation, the genre, and not to take it as far as what many people on this forum do; they just want to say, YES I've got the best addon here! But not actually really putting it to use. They can't, or not easily anyway... Because first, they can not purchase the addon since they have no idea what the developer website is saying, 2nd, no google translate, it's been blocked (to some extent) in China, 3rd, Chinese creditcard and banks have very limited access (from what my friend told me) so can not purchase. The only way to obtain the product is through piracy. When people wants something bad enough, they'd do anything. I am a Chinese by birth, half of my life I spent in China and came over to Australia. Learning all these things about piracy and seeing how the different cultures treat these kind of stuff is truly amazing. But this 'friend' I mentioned few times before above, I truly take my hat off for him, he is going through all these trouble (asking around his friends for international transaction to pay me back), just to get legit copies of FSX and NGX. While everyone else I've asked is waiting for the pirated copy (truly disgraceful). That aside, although not commenting on the quality of ariane or their business strategies, they seemed to be quite successful in keeping their addon from being pirated... Please if any Chinese or mods think this post is inappropriate, I first apologise, and second I invite you to remove or report it. I mean no disrespect to anyone at all. This is just my comments and thoughts.

The Bozeman, Livingston Area...I call KBZN my home base