Interesting to see the commitment to FS2002, what was it about that version? There are now more people using it than FSX! And, even more surprising -- it seems to have increased since last year. Not sure if that is accurate or a weakness in the survey design but still what is it about FS2002 that has given it such staying power?

So this chart near the end of the survey was very interesting.  XP (including XP 10, XP 11, XP 11.5, and XP 12) and P3D  (v1-v5), had decreasing usage from 2021 to 2022, while MSFS had increasing usage from 2021 to 2022:

And here is the accompanying text on page 83 from Navigraph to summarize this chart:

Quote

In the diagram below we see that the FS2020 popularity is on par with last year while both X-Plane and Prepar3D have dropped in popularity. In fact, more survey respondents fly DCS compared to any version of Prepar3D.

 

Edited December 22, 20223 yr by abrams_tank

Darn forgot to do this one grrrr.  Add one to MSFS for almost all the time.  DCS and Xp12 once in a blue moon.

8 minutes ago, Noel said:

Xplane 11.5 had a substantial share last year and XP12 just released and will surely increase so next year's will be interesting.  This, from Steam just yesterday:

Xplane 12 

MSFS

I wouldn't bet money on it. Old technology rarely comes out ahead. 

4 minutes ago, Cognita said:

Interesting to see the commitment to FS2002, what was it about that version? There are now more people using it than FSX! And, even more surprising -- it seems to have increased since last year. Not sure if that is accurate or a weakness in the survey design but still what is it about FS2002 that has given it such staying power?

My guess is: the similarity in name between FS 2002 and FS 2020 😉

5 minutes ago, abrams_tank said:

So this chart near the end of the survey was very interesting.  XP (including XP 10, XP 11, XP 11.5, and XP 12) and P3D  (v1-v5), had decreasing usage from 2021 to 2022, while MSFS had increasing usage from 2021 to 2022:

Yes, I noticed this in the main chart too. But what is interesting to me is how little MSFS actually increased. Is it that the number using X-Plane and P3D are now so small that a 10 percent decrease in each of them results only in a 1.5 percent increase in MSFS users? Or are people just leaving flight simulator?

6 minutes ago, Cognita said:

Yes, I noticed this in the main chart too. But what is interesting to me is how little MSFS actually increased. Is it that the number using X-Plane and P3D are now so small that a 10 percent decrease in each of them results only in a 1.5 percent increase in MSFS users? Or are people just leaving flight simulator?

This is my guess too, perhaps a lot of users leaving XP and P3D only results in a slight increase for MSFS, because MSFS has that many users. But to be certain of this, we would have to analyze the raw data.

Edited December 22, 20223 yr by abrams_tank

4 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

I wouldn't bet money on it. Old technology rarely comes out ahead. 

XP12 just released officially a few days ago.  I'll be happy to bet money with you right now that XP12 use will indeed....surely increase.  How much did you not want to bet?😂

"Age ranges from 15-85 years, with a notable peak around 20."

Ok, that is a surprise.

3 minutes ago, Noel said:

XP12 just released officially a few days ago.  I'll be happy to bet money with you right now that XP12 use will indeed....surely increase.  How much did you not want to bet?😂

Just like people are not going back to cassette tape players, people will not abandoned MSFS for XP 12..

10 minutes ago, Cognita said:

Interesting to see the commitment to FS2002, what was it about that version? There are now more people using it than FSX! And, even more surprising -- it seems to have increased since last year. Not sure if that is accurate or a weakness in the survey design but still what is it about FS2002 that has given it such staying power?

Just a guess about 2002. Ground texture and airport/city resolution really started to kick in with computer improvements. You could actually fly by VFR and recognize enough scenery detail.

14 minutes ago, Cognita said:

Yes, I noticed this in the main chart too. But what is interesting to me is how little MSFS actually increased. Is it that the number using X-Plane and P3D are now so small that a 10 percent decrease in each of them results only in a 1.5 percent increase in MSFS users? Or are people just leaving flight simulator?

If you look at the chart with how often you use a sim, MSFS increased a lot from last year, closer to 60% use it most of the time, this is a substantial increase.

10 minutes ago, Cognita said:

Yes, I noticed this in the main chart too. But what is interesting to me is how little MSFS actually increased. Is it that the number using X-Plane and P3D are now so small that a 10 percent decrease in each of them results only in a 1.5 percent increase in MSFS users? Or are people just leaving flight simulator?

These are percentages so yes, even 50% of P3D users switching to MSFS would account for only a small increase.

Aerobask was not listed as a Navigraph partner. Have they been a partner in the past? Just visited their website. Totally revamped with a reduced list of aircraft. No mention of the Falcon 8X that has been a WIP for more than 3 years. 

1 hour ago, rka said:

My guess is: the similarity in name between FS 2002 and FS 2020 😉

Yes, I agree. FS2002 was garbage when it was released, so it is hardly going to be anything special twenty years later.