Hi,Sounds a little elitist to me. Could it be that it's just showing how accessible they've made it, that they feel that 'gamers' might show an interest? You don't *have* to use an XBox controller or fly missions just because they've added the ability.There's been nothing said about removing any of the 'hardcore simmer' elements, and it'd surprise me if they do. Expanding the market by making it more accessible can't hurt, as long as the more serious side isn't neglected.It works both ways... you may well find that the gamer audience that MS is targetting 'down' to feel a little uncomfortable being associated with the planespotter brigade (that's us). Each to their own. I really enjoyed Far Cry (Gamer! Heretic!) but if I wasn't fairly keen on FS I wouldn't have spent the last three years writing design tools for it :)Cheers,Jim

As far as "next version lord only knows what?", I cannot wait for a fully-functional, fully-mod-able console version of FS (however many more generations of consoles it takes us to get there). For on that day I will be able to buy my first console, and I'll never have to think about spending thousands on a new PC and hundreds every year on upgrades.

You know, if that happened, I'd probably stop PC gaming as well. With the power of the next gen consoles and most games coming out through them, the PC is a lot more expensive to maintain than a console that has a longevity of at least 5 years, while any PC you buy is outdated almost a day after you start using it. Don't get me wrong, I love the PC because it's so versatile, but if it weren't for high end gaming, I'd probably own an entry level computer just for word processing and internet use.

Yea, times are changing, but on the other hand I can't remember MS ever releasing a beta or demo of any previous FS version. I am not sure, if releasing a beta/demo will be a good thing, especially to a communmity like this, who tends to pick apart every feature in detail (not that it's a bad thing, but it can get a tad out of hand at some point).The second any version will hit the bitstream, we'll see the board in here flooded with all sorts of negativity and I am not looking forward to it.Pat

>The second any version will hit the bitstream, we'll see the>board in here flooded with all sorts of negativity and I am>not looking forward to it.>>PatProbably true, but we can "fight back" by flooding with plenty of positive posts about what good and right in the sim too. No need to give all the voice to those that feel the need to complain.