Will MSF2020 be the first Sim to open up to casual Gamers?

[MarcG 2,962]

Hi all,
I first started flying Sims with F-19 Stealth Fighter on the Amiga, well I say Sims it was more of a game I guess but crikey what a brilliant game it was!
Anyway, throughout the years that followed I flicked between various gaming genres and eventually Car Racing Simulations became my main focus, they still do to this very day.

Besides them I did dabble with Flight Sims, I tried to get into DCS, I gave IL-2 a fair crack but they both seemingly focused more on the Simulation aspect than Gaming. I then discovered and enjoyed War Thunder for its relatively quick Pick Up And Shoot Stuff approach, although I never "turned off" the flying aids to treat it more of a Simulation so to speak even if it was a poor man's simulation by the other Sims regards.

But then through watching so many videos of MSF this past week it dawned on me, with all the Flying Aids/Options it has to make a Pick Up And Fly Game, the fact it's on Steam (which for Microsoft seems quite a bold step), it just seems - to me at least - that there's been a very deliberate approach to attract both the Hardcore Flying Sim fan and regular Gamers who just want to have a bit of fun in the air. Much more so than previous flying Sims that I've tried to get into at least, I may of missed options in those of course as i never hung around them long enough really, whereas with MSF I can already see myself learning to properly fly a Cessna for the first time ever in a Sim...that and the Pick Up And Fly both appeal to me very much (along with everything else I've seen this past week!) - I think I this Sim is going to be awesome, aside the cost of DLC/3rd party content...coming from a racing sim background this part scares the pants off me 😄

 

[Der Zeitgeist 1,575]

Yep, and all that in a time where people really are longing to go out, travel,  and see the world, but are mostly prevented from it by this damned pandemic.

This thing will sell like crazy.

[Ricardo41 5,949]

Every MS flight sim release has been mostly aimed at the casual gamer. Flight simming IS casual gaming. You're sitting in a chair, pushing around a pixel plane on a screen, probably using some cheap plastic yoke or joystick.

Edited August 6, 2020 by Ricardo41

[Tuskin38 6,468]

FSX could be casual. You can fly using an Xbox controller. Heck they showed people using one in the trailers.

Edited August 6, 2020 by Tuskin38

[Chock 17,769]

28 minutes ago, Tuskin38 said:

FSX could be casual. You can fly using an Xbox controller. Heck they showed people using one in the trailers.

Yup, the FSX trailers were actually pretty funny and really didn't take it too seriously. Here is that trailer with the kid using an XBox controller:

 

[jaytee73 132]

Not very well known but there is a Thrustmaster HOTAS made only for the X Box one X

I know this because I have one for Aces 7 and it will be there for the new X Box Series and

and MSFS in November at full 4K HDR10 at 120fps and 8K/ 60 fps - unless Thrustmaster 

will produce a decent yoke - which shouldn't be to difficult with all their Racing wheels.

[regis9 4,013]

I think this has a better chance than any flightsim created in a long time, probably ever.

It seems clear the approach has been to cater to casual gamers while providing the base for serious simmers through 3PDs.

This can only be good for us serious simmers, particularly if it massively increases the addon market potential.  I noticed flightbeam has said Denver for MSFS will be priced lower than for P3D.  Maybe it’s just because Denver is already an enhanced airport in MSFS, or maybe it’s because they know they have the potential to sell far more copies in MSFS than in them relatively niche market of P3D addons and they know that casual gamers will generally be willing to spend less on an airport than serious simmers.

All speculation but it will be interesting to see where the marketplace addons are priced compared to P3D.

[HighBypass 2,339]

Of course it'll open up to casual gamers - it's available for XBOX... Consoles are the home of casual gamers IMO. For me, it's just so easy to retire to bed with a cup of tea and fire up World of Tanks (other games are available..). Having said that, I'll not be entertaining a flight sim on my console as I've spent years with them on PC's

[OzWhitey 3,353]

I am pretty sure that FSX-SE is used extensively by casual gamers. Have you never seen one of Airforceproud95's videos of FSX multiplayer?? 🙂

 

[Dominique_K 10,138]

 The FS family of sims has always been accessible to casual gamers. From the Control-E startup to the use of mouse and keyboard to the auto-rudder option and other blasphemous crutches etc. A lot of more dedicated simmers have started that way. 

P3D has indeed complicated everything by its constant PITAesque updates but still you don’t have to have a PH. D . from MIT to enjoy it.

Edited August 6, 2020 by Dominique_K

[HighBypass 2,339]

40 minutes ago, Dominique_K said:

 ..and other blasphemous crutches ...

LOL! I like that phrase  Yet I also admire Aeroplane Heaven's Ctrl-Ezy ethos.

Oh yeah - Airforceproud's vids are full of whiskey tango foxtrot 

[shawty1984 106]

Yes and no, but mainly no. 

The game, being on Xbox will peak some gamers to download it. The vast majority of those will fly over their house, go to the place they go on holiday, crash a few times and probably never go back on it. 

What people need to realise, flying a plane properly is boring to the vast majority of people. And to those gamers that want to fly over their house and land on their street, might be left disappointed when they find out the graphics aren't brilliant that close up at street level. 

[Chock 17,769]

Actually you know what was funny with AirForceProud95? He got a preview copy of the sim and so he had to 'take it seriously' because of all the 'no @rsing around' rules MS had made that availability contingent upon. First landing he made was a crash onto a beach in an airliner because he couldn't get the throttles going. 🤣

Butter.

Edited August 6, 2020 by Chock

[Emerson67 248]

5 hours ago, Chock said:

Yup, the FSX trailers were actually pretty funny and really didn't take it too seriously. Here is that trailer with the kid using an XBox controller:

 

I remember that funny video made by Microsoft! It precisely shows Microsoft's actual thinking about FS, and responds well to OP.

[hangar 661]

1 word: "Control + E", nuff said 😛

...proof that it's always been for casuals, afterall all of us were casuals/beginners at some point.

I still dont think its going to attract casual "gamers" who have no interest in learning to fly. They'd need a gaming physics mode switch (EZ to fly) and a meta game that involved earning money, personalizing their planes and then shooting down other pilots in MP with an online leaderboard  that gets hacked daily.

Edited August 6, 2020 by hangar