Iwill rephrase it, what interest does DTG have in Xplane, a flight simulator made by the totally unconnected Laminar Research ?

 

Or even DCS by the equally unconnected Eagle Dynamics?

 

 

Or even DCS by the equally unconnected Eagle Dynamics?

 

Exactly Gerry,

Hopefully Wobbie will put us right in the unlikely event that we are actually wrong.

The same interest they have by re-distributing FSX. Their comment/statement that they will be distributing their own sim at some stage is another story.

 

All I'm saying is that they are not new at distributing a flying sim.

They market X-Plane, as you say, from the unconnected Laminar Research, as Microsoft is equally unconnected to the FSX they now market. Both these unconnected companies gave DTG license to distribute their products. So, the only interest DTG has in both sims, is to use them as a money making vehicle. As they do with the interests they have in the other games they have on their books.

Both these unconnected companies gave DTG license to distribute their products.

 

They didn't. give DTG any such licence.

 

DTG distributes FSX-SE on Steam: Laminar Research distributes X-Plane on Steam: Eagle dynamics distributes DCS on Steam. They are all separate independent developers and products

 

 

All I'm saying is that they are not new at distributing a flying sim.
They market X-Plane

 

Wobbie, DTG does not market Xplane, never has and never will.

How on earth did you reach that conclusion.

 

Laminar Research sells its product through Steam, DTG sells its product through Steam.

This is as far as the connection goes

Steam is an online distribution platform owned by Valve, it is NOT Dovetail Games.

 

I will make it easy for you as you are obviously struggling to keep up.

Laminar Research = Tin of beans

DTG = Tin of beans

Steam = supermarket shelf

People put too much faith in the marketing power of Steam.  Don't forget that MS Flight and its DLC was marketed on Steam and it still failed even though a fully functional (though lacking in content) MS Flight was free to try.

Oh dear I read incorrectly on the Dovetail site that they say they have a global licencing deal to distribute FSX via Valve's retail channel, Steam. OK, for market, read distribute..

Re X-Plane, my apologies.. I stand corrected. Me Bad!

See http://forum.avsim.net/topic/461032-fsx-se-and-sdk/#entry3166495

It depends what you mean by "we". Almost all established developers were perfectly aware of this stretching back several years. It has also been a steadily shrinking number overall, not because of the age of FSX but because of other distractions like iplayer apps, phone apps, Google apps and other non-computer activities, though the combination of X Plane, FSX and P3d might possibly be reviving the total slightly. What is also clear is that the majority of those interested in FSX or P3d tend increasingly to buy current and quality addons, because they would rather experience a year or more getting to grips with an absorbing product than something cheaper that they will install once and use a couple of times.

 

But between a third and a half of our customers in addition still re-install and operate older products which they purchased up to ten years ago!

 

The mistake the the makers of "Flight" made was to under-estimate the intelligence of potential customers of not only their derived simulator but also the proposed addons they made for it. Almost all developers I know who were in touch with them told them that they were making a mistake. They were ignored.

 

I'm not suggesting by showing the paragraphs below that the same might happen again, but for entertainment value alone I think it is wonderful to rake up some of the amusing corporate PR gobbledegook coming from a "Flight" executive in the quotes below. They still keep me chuckling:

 

"Our feedback from customers, even when you consider the various different types of customers, was very positive. All of that wrapped together made it an easy decision to say this thing is ready. The world wants this product."

 

And:

 

"We believe that for the first year or two at least, this is something we’ve got to manage and understand and own ourselves. We need a more managed ecosystem to reach the kind of customer that we’re targeting now" [PR-speak for "we're going to market all addons ourselves!!"]

 

And:

 

"Instead of opening Flight up to everything, anywhere, by anybody, which frankly creates sort of a confusing mess for a new customer, we get to manage it more, we get to tell a story, we get to help it grow and get up on its feet. I completely believe that this ecosystem will come to be even larger than the existing product’s ecosystem. And that will be a point where I can’t possibly meet the appetite of a customer base, and I will invest to bring more people in. That’s the future, that’s what success looks like." [You poor addon buyers. Apparently you live in a confused mess, so we're going to tell you...a story...bless]

 

"Until then I’m excited at the work they [developers] continue to do and they continue to innovate on in the Flight Sim tent. [i've never lived in a tent while developing but I still roll on the floor laughing when I read this!]

 

"I Wouldn’t go so far as to say retail is dead, I think there are products that make sense at retail and there are products that don’t make sense at retail. I think it’d be exciting to see more folks bring simulation experiences to retail. It didn’t make sense for our product and our business, but it still might makes sense for somebody else’s." [Run for the hills, you can't buy "retail" any longer...where do I get my vegetables?"]

 

"But to me it’s not just about this version of  Flight, it’s about how this version of Flight allows us to engage with users in whole new ways. And how that will inevitably lead to the next version or the next outgrowth of the franchise." [Outgrowth? Of what, a hairy pimple?]

 

Actually the above represents almost a corporate first:  the use of the phrase "eco-system" as a bizarre, cringeworthy euphemism for "system".

 

 

It depends what you mean by "we".

 

I'm not sure if this refers to my post or another one... If it's the former, perhaps I should've been clearer that "we" refers to the user community (it's obvious that add-on developers have a better understanding of the size of the market based on sales figures, etc.). The only argument I'm trying to make is that this community is unlikely to be the target audience for DTG's new sim "game". Plus, considering your insights into their dealings with 3PDs, it's rather unrealistic to expect that the upcoming platform will be the continuation of FSX many simmers want it to be.

 

Tym

I'm not sure if this refers to my post or another one... If it's the former, perhaps I should've been clearer that "we" refers to the user community (it's obvious that add-on developers have a better understanding of the size of the market based on sales figures, etc.). The only argument I'm trying to make is that this community is unlikely to be the target audience for DTG's new sim "game". Plus, considering your insights into their dealings with 3PDs, it's rather unrealistic to expect that the upcoming platform will be the continuation of FSX many simmers want it to be.

 

Tym

 

Dear Tym,

 

Rest assured it wasn't about your post specifically. 

Well, that's probably it for the "kudos"... Unless there's an unexpected change in DTG's strategy, I know I'll stay away and stick with the platforms for which I can get quality products in a manner that keeps their developers in business for as long as possible. BTW, while I do my best to keep my backups in order, I can see myself nibbling at certain vendors' bandwidth many years down the line...

 

 

 

Actually the above represents almost a corporate first: the use of the phrase "eco-system" as a bizarre, cringeworthy euphemism for "system".

 

Don't even get me started on the "ecosystem" thing... If you cringe just reading this rubbish, imagine having to translate stuff like that into another language... :rolleyes: I've simply started rejecting "corporate communications" jobs, this can drain every last drop of life from you.

 

Tym

Don't even get me started on the "ecosystem" thing... If you cringe just reading this rubbish, imagine having to translate stuff like that into another language... :rolleyes: I've simply started rejecting "corporate communications" jobs, this can drain every last drop of life from you.

 

Tym

 

Indeed. If you are a translator you have my sympathy. I know a few translators. They are highly intelligent and good company. They dream of translating a decent novel but they end up having to convert a load of pseudo-corporate baloney from one language to the next. Apparently they can be made to translate with hilarious amusement even greater than the original!

If DTG was to improve FSX i would like to get it I have one issue steam. I dont need steam to run FSX i dont want Steam on my computer. Everyone wants to put "stuff" on your computer that they deam "you need". Besides in the end its still FSX and it needs replacing, and I dont like the options.

Flight swimming would be NEW to everybody lol. :rolleyes: