FlyingFabio says devs are making a killing on MSFS sales

[leprechaunlive 1,852]

13 hours ago, bean_sprout said:

That would be me. 😉

bs

same bus

[abrams_tank 7,393]

5 hours ago, Dominique_K said:

To believe that buying an addon at the Market Place instead of Steam or at the developer's shop is helping to guaranty a longer MFS market life is literally unfounded as nobody knows the metrics of the business plan behind MFS and the long term goals of MS with the underlying platform

 

Randazzo from PMDG is literally telling the MSFS community that buying from the MSFS marketplace is a good thing for the future of MSFS: 

Quote

Overall, PMDG very much wants to see Marketplace be profitable as this promotes continued growth and investment in the platform. To the extent that Microsoft is working to keep costs in line, I think the future looks quite promising.

 

Edited June 26, 2021 by abrams_tank

[arsenal82 120]

1 hour ago, abrams_tank said:

Randazzo from PMDG is literally telling the MSFS community that buying from the MSFS marketplace is a good thing for the future of MSFS: 

 

anything that generate income is good for msfs

either marketplace or hardware you buy from china; the income will keep going round

dictate a monopolization is not in anybody interest; lots of addons are not on market place anyway

[Matchstick 1,886]

41 minutes ago, arsenal82 said:

anything that generate income is good for msfs

either marketplace or hardware you buy from china; the income will keep going round

dictate a monopolization is not in anybody interest; lots of addons are not on market place anyway

This also seem to suggest that without MSFS there will be nothing so we have a duty to support MSFS.

I can't see that being the case at all MSFS may have brought Flight Sims back into the mainstream again, but that vastly increased marke just provides a strong incentive for other players to match and surpass Asobo.

Genuine competition bringing improvements for players is for me the best possible result.

[Mace 1,902]

2 hours ago, Matchstick said:

This also seem to suggest that without MSFS there will be nothing so we have a duty to support MSFS.

I can't see that being the case at all MSFS may have brought Flight Sims back into the mainstream again, but that vastly increased marke just provides a strong incentive for other players to match and surpass Asobo.

Genuine competition bringing improvements for players is for me the best possible result.

Right, and it is funny that people in this subforum were for months on end running down PMDG for being silent on MSFS and all anachronistic for not embracing MSFS.  Then once PMDG announces, and then releases a product for MSFS, the same people are all happy happy joy joy PMDG are the bestest RSR is the man.  Same goes for FSLabs.  FSL could announce tomorrow a product for MSFS and it'd be all happy again, no criticism of them anymore!  No sir!  😝  It's so entertaining to watch though. 😁

[bean_sprout 1,201]

Microsoft needs more revenue like a fatman needs to eat more burritos.  Just the same their MSFS effort needs to be rewarded.

Regards

bs

[cepact 517]

didn't know George Clooney was into flight sims

[TomCYYZ 210]

On 6/25/2021 at 1:55 PM, TomCYYZ said:

I'm hoping he does a review of George Clooney's next project.😉

😄

Edited June 27, 2021 by TomCYYZ

[Funky D 269]

I stumbled on one of Flying Fabio's DC6 videos on YouTube. It was over 5hrs long. He went through every checklist item and I learned a ton from the video. He acted as a professor as he quizzed the chat about different aspects of aviation. A few PMDG members were in the chat helping when he couldn't find certain switches, and Fabio was also pointing out minor documentation bugs. So I wouldn't doubt if members of PMDG shared how successful the plane has been with him.

Why does he get this special treatment? Because he's creating value for the community instead of hot air filled with complaints.

From his YouTube bio:

Fabio was born in Brazil and began his career in aviation flying business jets (the Falcon 900EX EASy). He later worked at FlightSafety International for 15 years, training crews from all over the world. Fabio is now a full-time streamer exclusively on MSFS.

 

[abrams_tank 7,393]

4 hours ago, bean_sprout said:

Microsoft needs more revenue like a fatman needs to eat more burritos.  Just the same their MSFS effort needs to be rewarded.

Regards

bs

I absolutely agree with you.  It's amazing how some people think Microsoft has an endless amount of money to spend on MSFS and they think that Microsoft is more than happy to splurge money on MSFS even if they make a loss on it.  These same people are so pigeon headed that they can't figure out that Microsoft is so rich because they are smart enough to keep the profitable products ongoing, while cutting unprofitable products.

And of course, Microsoft will continue to earn more revenue and become more profitable if they keep pushing their profitable products, while cutting their unprofitable products.  This ties back to MSFS because if MSFS in unprofitable, Microsoft will cut it.  And that is how Microsoft becomes more profitable like a fat cat.  It's actually comical how so many people don't understand this.

In fact, Randazzo from PMDG had to point out that Jorg approached the higher level execs at Microsoft to make MSFS, because Jorg convinced the higher level Microsoft execs that the MSFS marketplace could generate a nice profit for Microsoft in the long run.  This is why Jorg & Asobo say MSFS is a 10 year project.  In other words, if the MSFS marketplace does not make a profit for Microsoft in the years ahead, MSFS won't be a 10 year project.

[Cognita 1,054]

I think on the balance of probabilities they have done their research and MSFS will generate a profit over time while helping to promote Microsoft. Beyond the immediate monetary gain MSFS is a valuable showcase for their products and capabilities. I have to say, I am impressed by the integration of technology they have achieved in order to represent the world. That kind of impression goes a long way in helping a company like Microsoft secure business. 

I agree that it is helpful to support the base platform by making some purchases through the in-game store. I want to support developers, but part of this support is ensuring there is a platform on which they can develop. My general approach has been to purchase scenery in the store but go directly to developers for aircraft. This said, I also concur that the store needs to be managed much better.

And, really, there is no going back to the land class of P3D/ORBX. So if MSFS ends I will, reluctantly, find another hobby to enjoy.

[bean_sprout 1,201]

It's not too hard to follow.  I call it technology validating technology.  Then it was Flight Simulaton validating a shiny new OS (Windows 1.0) and now it is  Flight Simulation validating a shiny new console (XBOX Series X/S).

Probably a marketing term for it but I'm liking the results.

Regards

bs

[Dominique_K 10,133]

2 hours ago, Cognita said:

I think on the balance of probabilities they have done their research

MSFS is a valuable showcase 

So if MSFS ends I will, reluctantly, find another hobby to enjoy. 

1/ You do expect Microsoft to have a thorough  business plan for any new project, this is the least they owe to the ultimate judges, their shareholders ! Short term, medium term, long term. 

We can surmise the short term goals which include Mkt P, the medium and long term ones are more obscure even if we already have hints. So any scenario linking the market place to the perennity of the sim is speculation. You can draw up other scenarios where the sim future is insured otherwise (cf. pro market) and my speculation is that it is. And I hope it is as I think the progression of MktP sales will inevitably slow down after a few short years.

2/ Showcase ? Hmmmm 😏  

- The overall feeling as read through the forums is that  Bing imagery is inferior to Google's. Right or wrong, this is the perception. 

-  there often seems there is no coordination between the Asobo design team, the Azure people, the Bing people, the production and release team. Unkind people would say the project management is a mess. 

- the servers are not entirely reliable,

- the user access in so convoluted that many users get lost  

- MS considers  the product installed on the users machine as its own and then stream to it mandatory barely explained content, which can bring havoc. 

So they'd better clean up their act if they want MSFS to be a showcase of anything but a game for kids of any age !  I would say MSFS is a work-in-progress demonstrator of what can be done not a showcase yet.  And anyway, we are not in the 80s anymore, MS does not need the sim to enhance its business. Simmers should stop gazing their navel. 

3/ Knowing what was before landclass scenery  I have tremendously enjoyed Orbx regions the last ten years but I cannot but agree with you: If MSFS was to end today, I would quit flight simulation.  

 

[abrams_tank 7,393]

36 minutes ago, Dominique_K said:

So any scenario linking the market place to the perennity of the sim is speculation.

 

Again, it's not speculation.  Stop spreading information that can be deemed false, now that we got Randazzo from PMDG on the record.  Randazzo works with Asobo directly, and likely talks to Jorg.  Again, here is the quote from Randazzo from PMDG:

Quote

MSFS wasn't developed on a shoe-string budget, and it exists because Jorg Neuman was able to convince the corporate hive that it would make money. It is in all of our best interest if it makes money- and Jorg's team, in combination with Asobo have created an environment in which the potential market for products is so significantly larger than the old market that developers like PMDG can be quite healthy if we deliver quality products.

 

[abrams_tank 7,393]

BTW, people that claim Microsoft will keep dumping money into MSFS because they want to showcase it, I can tell you that if you think this way, you have a very bad sense in business.  Since MSFS has already been released, anything they want to showcase with Azure and Bing Maps is already in the game right now.  Spending extra money making the flight model better, making the flight systems better (ie. hiring Working Title), fixing taxiways, etc, is of no benefit for Microsoft showcasing Azure and Bing Map technology.  The type of of people they want to showcase Azure and Bing Map technology to do not care about the flight model, do not care about the flight systems, etc.

From a financial standpoint, what they have now in MSFS to showcase Azure and Bing Maps is good enough.  Any extra money Microsoft pumps into MSFS to fix the flight model, fix the flight systems, etc, is purely for the users of MSFS (ie. it's for us!).  Hence, if MSFS does not make Microsoft a profit down the road, they will likely cut development on MSFS and reduce the budget on MSFS. 

This is a no brainer for Microsoft.  You go with the products that make you money. You stop putting money on products that lose your money.  If MSFS becomes unprofitable for Microsoft, even after Microsoft cuts all development for it, I can see Microsoft still keeping the servers up for MSFS because they still have to service the customers that bought it.  And they will probably have people that they can call if the servers go down and MSFS isn't functioning properly.  As for whether they will still keep the free satellite/photogrammetry streaming if MSFS is unprofitable, I'm less certain of this (ie. they may opt to charge for satelittle/photogrammetry streaming at that point if MSFS is unprofitable).  In other words, if MSFS isn't profitable for Microsoft anymore, they will try to cut costs where they can, to minimally support the game for those who are still playing it.

The exception is if Microsoft sees another market they can enter with MSFS, such as the commercial market. In this case, even if MSFS is unprofitable for the consumer home simulator market, a new market would justify further expenditure on MSFS, but expenditure would be directed at that new market.  So for example, if Microsoft thinks it can make money with MSFS in the commercial market, it may spend money on making MSFS more palatable for commercial customers, even if MSFS is unprofitable for the consumer market.

 

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by abrams_tank