The Man Who Helped Kill FSX - His New Role

[anthony31 63]

Dear Joshua Howard.

 

Repeat after me

 

"Do you want fries with that?"

 

Practice this whenever you can as you will probably need it in a year or two.

[fppilot 4,350]

On the other hand, if it's the rest of the thread that disgusts you - reviling effective business practices and successful capitalism - I'm with you all the way. The purpose of any business is to make money; the product is nothing more than a means to that end.

 

No argument there, but to make conscious business decisions such as were made with FSX (performance, required hardware) that severely limited the base of consumers that could make acceptable use of the product is NOT an effective business practice.  Just the opposite.  Then to kill the product line out of spite over such failed business decisions is more the object of this discussion among those knowledgeable of both the product line and the potential customer base.

 

Case in point, the FSX sweet spot is just now being realized after years of advancements in hardware development at performance.

[Lowflyer 97]

Love for the product you made ? forget it. After sales ? haha.

 

Shareholders don't develop software so why should they have any love for the product? Do you really think it's reasonable to expect them to throw money at a project that doesn't mean anything to them and that gives hardly anything in return? Would you give money to a cause you didn't believe in just to keep an insignificant number of people in the world happy? I wouldn't...

[RamonB 449]

Shareholders don't develop software so why should they have any love for the product?

Simple, because in order for those shareholders to get their beloved money, they need a product to sell, usually made by developers who love their work.

 

If In doubt, go ask ex-Kodak’s Shareholders?

[Lowflyer 97]

No argument there, but to make conscious business decisions such as were made with FSX (performance, required hardware) that severely limited the base of consumers that could make acceptable use of the product is NOT an effective business practice.

 

FSX didn't sell poorly because of the hardware requirements. It sold poorly because no-one gives a toss about aviation anymore. Especially not the virtual kind. I'd like to see proof that it was a concious business decision to make FSX run badly on anything but the latest hardware before I believe it. No version of MSFS has ever run very well on contemporary hardware, except for Flight.

Simple, because in order for those shareholders to get their beloved money, they need a product to sell, usually made developers who love their work.

 

And what if no-one buys the product they're selling no matter how much love the devs have put into it?

[RamonB 449]

And what if no-one buys the product they're selling no matter how much love the devs have put into it?

Then the shareholders lose too. But now you took it to the extreme.

Which was not the case with MS Flight Simulator Series.

 

I don’t know their FS2-FSX sales numbers. But it must have been profitable, as they kept doing it for around 28 years.

 

Then for MS Flight they (shareholders, BOD, management, pencil pushers or whoever) decided they wanted the whole cake; and now we all know the outcome.

[fppilot 4,350]

It sold poorly because no-one gives a toss about aviation anymore.

 

Brave statement to be making here.  Ever see the stats in the top right corner of the main page here?

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There have been 459 of your fellow community members and guests in the forums and elsewhere on AVSIM within the last 15 minutes!

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And that is from 0320Z 10/19.  That stat is much higher most of the 24 hour period.  

Countless 3rd party developers have been successful staying in business.  So "no-one gives a toss" is light years from the truth.   

[PoanickyBoad 3]

 

Brave statement to be making here.  Ever see the stats in the top right corner of the main page here?

-----

There have been 459 of your fellow community members and guests in the forums and elsewhere on AVSIM within the last 15 minutes!

------

 

And that is from 0320Z 10/19.  That stat is much higher most of the 24 hour period.  

Countless 3rd party developers have been successful staying in business.  So "no-one gives a toss" is light years from the truth.   

 

 

Drop in the bucket in the great scheme of things. It does seem like FS was a lot bigger in terms of user-base 10 years ago than it is now. The disgusting thing is the costs involved in learning to fly are discouraging for people too and even getting into to FS properly now generally involves a pretty hefty investment. Not so good if you are a young guy at uni with little pocket money.

[Lowflyer 97]

Then the shareholders lose too.

And they did so they lost interest in dumping more money into the project.

 

I don’t know their FS2-FSX sales numbers. But it must have been profitable, as they kept doing it for around 28 years.

From what I've heard it was allowed to go on for as long as it did because there were people at the top with genuine interest in the franchise. Those people are no longer there. And yes it probably was profitable. For a while...

[BilboBaggins 82]

Drop in the bucket in the great scheme of things. It does seem like FS was a lot bigger in terms of user-base 10 years ago than it is now. The disgusting thing is the costs involved in learning to fly are discouraging for people too and even getting into to FS properly now generally involves a pretty hefty investment. Not so good if you are a young guy at uni with little pocket money.

And therein lies the problem, the "it's not profitable _enough_ to care." This is why Jobs never listened to shareholders. And why corporate business is so volatile and prone to implosion. The mentality of the money men is driven by the same logic as a crack addict's. Bigger hits needed, forever. To the point where you find you've just sold the whole estate for a night on the town. Or a whole country down the river.

[Dave Morgan 68]

It seems to me that the target of this thread has shifted somewhat since the original post.

 

Then to kill the product line out of spite over such failed business decisions is more the object of this discussion among those knowledgeable of both the product line and the potential customer base.

 

Case in point, the FSX sweet spot is just now being realized after years of advancements in hardware development at performance.

 

Please don't quote me out of context- that's impolite.

 

I don't think the OP could be described as unknowledgeable.

 

... and do try not to be so patronising.

[ChaoticBeauty 6,692]

FSX has sold 1 million copies in the USA only. If you take into account FSX's worldwide sales, I wouldn't say that FSX sold poorly.

[BleedAir 28]

I played the battlefield series aswell as GTA since I was about 11 or 12 but I have yet murder anyone nor have I ever been in trouble with the law besides speeding tickets. It really makes me angry when people blame games for all of the shootings ect. Games aren't to blame I mean back when I was little before games were real big my friends and I would play soliders and pretend to be in a war and I suspect most other guys on here did the same. As for the sexual stuff most kids back in the day were peeping at their dads playboy mag. Nothing has changed besides the package that our violence and sex come in.

it's a mix of mental illness and violent video games:

 

-Sandy Hook Massacre:  Adam Lanza played "Call of Duty" on Xbox before killing his mother and the 20+ kids.

 

-This past summer, an 8yr old boy was playing GTA 4 and his grandmother told him to shut off game so he grabbed his father's gun and killed his grandmother.

 

-Years ago a mother in the USA took away the Xbox game "Halo4" from her son until he finished his schoolwork, so the son decided to kill his mother by shooting her in the head.

 

-Years ago another mother took away "Call of Duty 4" from her child and the boy killed her.

 

GOOGLE ALL THESE, THEY'RE TRUE NEWS REPORTS.

[fppilot 4,350]

 

 

Please don't quote me out of context- that's impolite.

 

Dave,

There are two quotes from two different members.  Doubt you were referring to me as in response to the quote of yours I quoted my first comment was clearly "No argument there".  I followed that with my own opinion about effective business practices, and that opinion did not further reference your quote or your quote's context.  If fact I agreed with your statement as it stood.

[z06z33 763]

it's a mix of mental illness and violent video games:

 

-Sandy Hook Massacre:  Adam Lanza played "Call of Duty" on Xbox before killing his mother and the 20+ kids.

 

-This past summer, an 8yr old boy was playing GTA 4 and his grandmother told him to shut off game so he grabbed his father's gun and killed his grandmother.

 

-Years ago a mother in the USA took away the Xbox game "Halo4" from her son until he finished his schoolwork, so the son decided to kill his mother by shooting her in the head.

 

-Years ago another mother took away "Call of Duty 4" from her child and the boy killed her.

 

GOOGLE ALL THESE, THEY'RE TRUE NEWS REPORTS.

I know they are true but it wasn't the games fault. people commited some of the worst crimes before video games were even thought of. Jack the ripper, The holocaust, ect video games aren't to blame our evolution or adaptation is we were designed to be preditors and to kill. Though the abilty to kill is somthing we no longer need its a left over from eariler times like wisdom teeth. If you dont belive humans are killing machines look at our world sinces mans rise it hasn't been free of a major confict for a period of more than 20 years. Most of us no longer have the urge to kill but some do its a leftover survival instinct that is not able to cope with modern socity.