54 minutes ago, Ricardo41 said:

You don't need to spend a penny to enjoy an immersive experience in MSFS.

1. Download the FBW A320 Neo

2. Find yourself a few outstanding airports on flightsim.to

3. Done 

 

Yawn at another airbus or Boeing. Roll on the BAe 146 😁

17 hours ago, Rstblt958 said:

I've been lurking on AVSIM for a while and reading with interest. This thread seems to give the impression that there are only two varieties of simmers. Either you are a member of a small niche of people with 30 years flight sim experience or you must be some sort of GTA buzz the tower convert. These are the extreme ends of a spectrum, the former being quite conditioned to paying premium prices and likely purchasers anyway. The other, the true GTA gamer, is unlikely to be interested in higher fidelity models. The potential for market growth lays somewhere in the middle, new people willing and able to learn more complex aircraft.

The market has expanded. Why argue to maintain paying higher prices when it is no longer necessary. Why not expand the niche of serious simmers instead of restrict growth. Exclusivity might feel nice, but if the GTA crowd increases and the hardcore group becomes relatively smaller, does it not run the risk of developers just following the easy money.

 

Brilliantly put, and welcome aboard! 🙂

I've been a member of a forum on FaceAche for Xbox owners of MSFS for a year now. 25,000 members. Nicest bunch of people out there, far less toxicity and conflict than the many sim forums, and frankly their knowledge of aviation is every bit as good as that of PC players, and in many cases much higher ( many airline pilots use MSFS on console to relax and fly without rules, and I correspond with another console user who is a lecturer in aerodynamics ). They fly amazingly well too, considering so many only have normal console controllers to hand.

Before too long there will be enough aircraft at all levels of complexity that everybody can choose one that is the right level for them. And the cost will as always be proportionate to the level of work put into the product. Things can be a bit cheaper now as the market is so much bigger, thus the return on investment for a developer is easier to attain, but as already mentioned, the market itself will find its own level as developers find their way to the "sweet spot" for their particular brand and products.