I think you are right, they would very much like to get flight simulator on to the Xbox platform but have not quite figured out how this will work yet.

I bet it will come to project scarllet, at least focused on it and some dumbed down version to the old gen consoles (I don't believe they would do it). It's about to be released and the MSFS 2020 isn't releasing before Scarllet (maybe we will be testing the first betas when scarllet comes out).

Edited August 18, 20196 yr by ca_metal

It will not run on the present XBOX without windows 10 .

On 8/17/2019 at 11:41 AM, Paraffin said:

The original xbox.com announcement page says "Coming to XBox One and Windows 10." So it looks like it will have legacy support for the current system.

You'll want the new Xbox Scarlett coming in late 2020 to get closer to what they're showing in the trailer. I can't imagine that running on the current console.

I have my suspicions that was just a misprint. Or maybe XBox Scarlett will still branded under the "One" line? I don't know.

The developers said it's a PC game and that they'll figure out how to get it on XBox down the road. By then, Scarlett will be coming out and I can't imagine them wasting time to force the game onto 7 year old technology. I'm skeptical that would even be possible.

Edited August 18, 20196 yr by bonchie

22 minutes ago, bonchie said:

I have my suspicions that was just a misprint.

Agreed.

I see no reason why, in late 2020 and beyond, they'll be worried about bringing something brand new and cutting edge like MSFS to a REALLY old platform (XB1) at that point.

I’m not expecting it for Xbox until at least the Scarlett launch.

 

And I would guess the translation of the software from PC console should be smooth from a technical standpoint, as it’s something Microsoft is now fluent in. The real challenge will be mapping everything to the Xbox controller in a comprehensive yet accessible way.

On 8/17/2019 at 6:41 PM, roarkr said:

... and the death of the PC as a game machine?

Looks like a quote from a thread in the weeks before  the FSX release 😁. 

 

Edited August 22, 20196 yr by domkle

I personally think that the statement "coming to XBox One and Windows 10" was simply because the Project Scarlett XBox had not yet been revealed at that time. I seriously doubt that the new Microsoft Flight Simulator will be "shoe horned" into XBox One.

On 8/18/2019 at 10:58 AM, bonchie said:

....By then, Scarlett will be coming out and I can't imagine them wasting time to force the game onto 7 year old technology. I'm skeptical that would even be possible.

If you're referring to the original XB1 or the XB1 S, yes that is indeed 7 year old tech. The XB1 X however is a significant hardware upgrade over the original and hasn't even been out for 2 years. I could see MS possibly producing an edition of MSFS 2020 that runs on the XB1 X  and Scarlett.

The console game market and the PC flight Simulation market are very different - in fact I can't think of 2 gaming audiences that are more dissimilar. For that reason I can't see MS counting on MSFS 2020 being a console system seller. There's a lot of challenges to a flightsim  gaining traction on a console system, the lack of appropriate peripherals like quality HOTAS being one. The safer bet for MS IMO would be to develop a game that can leverage at least part of the current install base. Besides, there's a glut of XB1 X's sitting idle in the distribution channel and a brand spanking new flightsim might be a purchasing incentive to at least get some of them moving. 

Edited August 23, 20196 yr by Kronovan

Finally information from people that have X-Box consoles and or know about these systems as I have no clue but want the X-Box owners to help with Microsoft Flight Simulator sales and so forth, so we can all benefit. Since it sounds like you are familiar with consoles how would the console controllers work to at least get the " I think I'll try this flight sim game", so that it does not suck and turn them off? A good multiplayer? Missions? What would a console player want from a flight simulator to keep their interest? I want at least part of those 60 million console owners to at least use Microsoft Flight Simulator enough to peak Microsoft's interest 🙂 As a matter of fact I want to be able to fly multiplayer with PC and X-Box players at the same time. That would be nice! I think! The wider market interest the better I say.

17 hours ago, Learjet777 said:

..I want at least part of those 60 million console owners to at least use Microsoft Flight Simulator enough to peak Microsoft's interest...

Well if FS2020 is only made available for Scarlett, it's going to be quite some time before there's 60 million console owners. The XB1 across all variants is still short of that mark and it's been on the market for close to 6 years! As I stated above though, I doubt FS2020 will be exclusive to Scarlett.

I admittedly sold my XB1 within 2 years of getting it, so I'm not so up on the current state of games for that system. That said, I have 2 buddies who've worked in the videogame marketing biz for 2 decades and I get to frequently pick their brains over a brew or 2 - both were MSFS fans & flyers from version 3.1 up to the early Milennium.  😉  If you do a search on a videogame reviews meta site for XB1 flight simulation games, you come up with games like Ace Combat 7, Iron Wings, Flying Tigers over China and Air Missions Hind - not going to mention PS4 which fairs a bit better, because we're talking Microsoft here. So generally flight themed games that are lite on simulation and heavy on the arcade-action side. The Xbox 360 seemed to have fared a bit better because it got IL-2 Birds of Prey and Apache Air Assault, which definitely were attempts at simulation - albeit still lite. There was also the surprisingly good indie air racing/time challenge game Flight Adventure 2, which was a one-person effort and more than a decent attempt at lite simulation.

IMO the best attempt to date on any Xbox console was Gaijin Entertainments IL-2 Birds of Prey for 360 (same company that currently makes War Thunder), which featured 3 play modes of arcade, realistic and simulation. In sim mode their control scheme had roll & pitch on stick 1 and yaw on the x-axis of stick 2 with throttle on its y-axis. While it seemed awkward at 1st, once mastered it was a surprisingly effective scheme for a flight sim game where gravity & atmosphere are factors. Apache Air Assault was innovative in different ways, because it allowed same screen co-op play with a pilot and Weapons officer, each with their own X360 controllers. That said, it also used the X360 control axis in a sophisticated way. It should be noted though, that other than Flight Adventure 2, General Aviation games that attempt lite simulation have been absent on the consoles. 

It's a challenge to come up with a control scheme that works on a console like the XB1 for even a lite flight sim game. The default hand controllers are limited because they have their 4 control axis on 2 sticks, whereas even lite flight simulation works best with those 4 axis being on 3 sticks. Or in the case of lower cost joysticks; 1 stick for roll & pitch with a 3rd axis twist feature for yaw (rudder) and a 2nd separate stick/lever for throttle. IMO IL-2 BoP did about the best scheme you can to support a lite flight sim on a console.  That said, even though I completed its campaign on sim mode with a X360 controller, when it came time for my 2nd play through I found myself visiting my local PC store to spend $40 on one of those cheap Saitek AV8R X360-compatible joysticks. A low quality stick by PC standards, but it did give a more immersive and better play experience. 

In terms of a style of game, IMO missions/adventure would be important for any GA flight game to be successful on a console platform. The military flight sims have that by virtue of mission-based play that's native to their genre. It seems to me that console players would probably be looking to get the fun factor more from adventure and risk as opposed to how well they just communicated with ATC and navigated their way through a cross continent flight. I also think any GA flight game needs to take a similar scaleable control approach to what IL-2 BoP had, with an arcade mode that controls more like action-adventure game and an advanced scheme similar to what Gaijin Ent. did.

Meanwhile, MS has extensive network-gaming infrastructure for the XBox, but it's a pay-to-mplay model. Not a problem when trying to attract players to play online for blockbuster shooters like Halo, PUBG and CoD, but a player interested in a GA flight game might not be subscriber or worse, not interested in forking over the $ for a sub. The sub cost is reasonable though, so MS has at least that going for them and in my experience the quality of the service is top rate. How it meshes with PC players that are more accustomed to free-to-mplay models; I'm not so sure? IIRC though, there's been some cross-platforum mplay games on Xbox consoles; not 100% about that though.

On the marketing side of things, both of my buddies will argue all night long that you're foolish to consider an Xbox game that isn't Sports, Shooter, Racing or Action-Adventure themed; & maybe, just maybe...an Action-RPG. According to them, sales numbers just don't support investing in other genres. I've argued that a GA sim with all the right pieces could do well, but they easily argue me down with sales figures of XB military flight sims; 1 of which (IL-2 BoP) had an excellent meta critic rating. I've also argued that Space Sims have done well enough, but again they dig out the figures and I find myself surprised by the actual numbers. There's no arguing that MS has good historical brand recognition with Flight Simulator, but my gut feeling is that most gamers that recognize it are primarily playing on PCs running Win7 or Win10. I'm still remaining optimistic, but TBH I've been disappointed so many times over the decades with anticipated simulation games, that I find myself even a bit skeptical that MS can pull it off for Win10.

Edited August 26, 20196 yr by Kronovan

On 8/17/2019 at 6:34 PM, rjetster1 said:

Scarlett will be a gamebreaker... four times the horsepower of Xbox One X. This will change the narrative of console gaming for sure.

In theory, in reality its probably more like 30%.

From a pure processing perspective Microsoft has made this claim. Obviously trying to bring PC gaming to the living room. I guess we will find out next year.