42% of the gaming audience is female, with women 18 and older now make up a larger portion of gamers than boys 17 and younger.

My sister is a 50 year old avid gamer. The only reason she won't be trying Flight is because it is a PC title and she is an XBox / Ipad fanatic. My mother, aged 73 has seen both Flight and FSX and much prefers Flight (mind you, when I visited her last week she was sitting in the loungeroom playing Fruit Ninja). But it's great that people of any age can enjoy gaming and I think the demographic attracted to Flight might even take Microsoft by pleasant surprise.

Definition of Franchise: "A form of business organization in which a firm which already has a successful product or service (the franchisor) enters into a continuing contractual relationship with other businesses (franchisees) operating under the franchisor's trade name and usually with the franchisor's guidance, in exchange for a fee."This sounds a LOT like 3PD to me. Perhaps that is what he is alluding to.

Well, not really. Though I myself refer to Flight Simulator as a franchise, it's not in the legal sense of the term. People just use the word generically to refer to a product that has a history behind it. The definition you quoted is accurate and refers to a legal franchise. McDonalds is perhaps the most familiar example. Though there are thousands of McDonalds, they are NOT all owned by McDonalds Corp. Rather McDonalds acts as a franchisor and allows people to buy ( for a hefty franchise fee) the right to use the McDonalds business model. This includes the use of things like recipes, and any McDonalds trademarks (the "M", etc.) and patents (think of the packaging). The Franchisee also has the very useful privilege of using McDonalds' corporate systems such as HR systems and the other capital intensive business functions.So, no, neither Flight nor Flight Simulator is a franchise. What you see amongst 3PD is actually licensing, which is a component of franchising, but NOT the same thing.

Unscientific is an understatement.#4 could have been stated a little differently....the way it is stated is called "leading the witness".Next time, video tape it. :(

Jonathan, I wasn't going to reply to anything in this thread, but I will address your post. Yes, the survey is unscientific. I just happened to hear two students talking about online gaming during a transition in class and the idea of asking them about Flight! popped into my head. I whipped up the survey in about 5 minutes, including finding a video clip that would engage my 8th graders (the "game play" clip). Could I have written Question 4 differently? Yes, I could have used the phrase "sustain your interest" instead of "bored", but we're dealing with 8th graders here. And, I felt it was important to ask them about ongoing interest, or getting bored by it, since it has been mentioned on this forum as a concern to the longer-term success of the title. I was also insulted by your suggestion to video tape it next time. I took care to present the information in a neutral fashion to my students. Besides, you'd be surprised by how keen their sense is of recognizing when an adult is leading, pandering, patronizing, or in other way BS'ing them. I considered not posting the results, but I have seen no other data like this related on this age group, or any other, and their reaction to Flight (save for the "leaked" beta reactions on this site and all of the speculation of those on the sidelines). So, I hoped that the information, as unscientific as it is, would at least be interesting to those on this forum, and may even provoke thoughtful dialogue (not likely considering the tone around here). So, Jonathan, if you are dissatisfied with the methods, I suggest that you take the time to respond in kind by preparing a similar survey (changing the wording if it suits you, but keeping the identical video clip), administering it to a group of 40-50 youth aged 13-15, compiling and organizing the data, and presenting it on this forum. And, don't forget to upload the video tape of you giving the survey so we can be sure you didn't "lead the witnesses".I look forward to seeing your data (and your video).

Oxford Dictionaries define a further meaning of franchise as:

a general title or concept used for creating or marketing a series of products, typically films or television shows:the Harry Potter franchise

MSFS is a franchise is my view. MSF is a totally different product, with a totally different marketing method and it has years ahead of it before it becomes a franchise by any definition.

MSFS is a franchise is my view. MSF is a totally different product, with a totally different marketing method and it has years ahead of it before it becomes a franchise by any definition.

For once I totally agree with you, based on Oxford Dictionary's definition.

Further, in 2010 the total sales of computer (as opposed to video) games was 24.6 million (page 10). Of those, 1.5% were categorised as Flight games (page . That means that the total sales of all computer Flight games was about 370,000 a year. Page 9 lists the top 20 best selling computer game by units sold. Needless to say Flight Simulator doesn't appear in it.Is it any wonder that Microsoft changed direction with Flight?

You have to take into account how old all the top Flight Sims were in 2010. Most peolpe that wanted them (FSX/XP9) probably already had it by then. So naturally the sales would be down.

Edited February 11, 201214 yr by UtahJazzfan8

MW3 sucks, it's MW2 with new maps. Of course, these kids were prolly like 9 when MW2 came out, so i'm sure they love it.

Not to mention modern warfare and zombies have been done to death. Can't we get back to killing #####?

Edited February 11, 201214 yr by UtahJazzfan8

@N738NMI re-read what I said, and I guess it could be taken a little harshly or douchey. I can own up to that. I didn't mean to ruffle feathers, and I apologize if you were offended.