Last week's MSFS Development Update from Asobo brought a very subtle change to their logo. The previously-used logo appears on top. The new, slightly revised logo appears below that. The updated logo adds the letters MSFS. I'd like to hear some wild speculation about why this change was made. This change was not some random accident. What was the thinking behind it?

 

 

This was done because the app is commonly referred to as MSFS, not Microsoft Flight Simulator. 

Also maybe so that they can use that smaller MSFS logo in various places (website, store etc) where the bigger one wouldn’t be that legible shrunk down. 

I'm wondering too whether the slight change to the logo might have something to do with the future release of MSFS 2024. I remember that it took a long time for the community to standardize its reference to the sim as "MSFS." Jorg said they deliberately resisted that acronym for a while (for reasons I can't recall). Currently, we have no standardized way to refer to the forthcoming sim: FS24, MSFS24, MSFS2024, MSFS 2024, etc. Maybe they're preparing a standardized, shorthand way for us to differentiate what will soon be two versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Again, I'm just wildly speculating.

I am really over-excited, nay thrilled, by such a glamorous and, let us not be afraid by the word, revolutionary, yes revolutionary initiative which shows the utterly profound dedication to the inclusion of all the illiterates willing to fly but who cannot read full words, just recognize capital letters. A milestone in inclusiveness. 👏👏

5 minutes ago, Dominique_K said:

I am really over-excited, nay thrilled, by such a glamorous and, let us not be afraid by the word, revolutionary, yes revolutionary initiative which shows the utterly profound dedication to the inclusion of all the illiterates willing to fly but who cannot read full words, just recognize capital letters. A milestone in inclusiveness. 👏👏

There are many brilliant flight simmers on this board who are not native English speakers. In fact, some of the most beautifully written posts I've ever read here were posted by users whose native language was something other than English. I greatly admire people who can communicate in more than one language, since that is a skill I unfortunately don't possess. If placing "MSFS" in the logo was indeed to provide a shorthand visual cue to non-English speakers, then that's a good thing, not a bad thing.

Yes, a visual cue to non-English speakers is a good thing.

But another possibility for the change: de-emphasizing the 'flight simulator' aspect in preparation for expanding the code base to more than just being about 'flight simulation'.

Yeah, this change is site wide

https://www.flightsimulator.com/

 

Well, I wanted to see a spinning circle in the logo, as I do miss the thing!   

Anyway, my take on it is that it might have 2024 added to the new shiny MSFS tile after the launch of the new version.  It will be a quick mod, plus they are good with swapping tiles as we know.

Sorry, I just realised I hadn't set my sarcasm filter for this post. 

EDIT: As an afterthought, I suppose the 40th Anniversary bit will have to come off at some stage.

Edited February 18, 20242 yr by bobcat999

OMG, i just realized it can only mean that FS2024 will be released in one hour and 37 minutes, there is no other way to explain the appearance of MSFS in their logo! 😀

 

 

I think it's cool, because they adopted a logo based on what the consumers call their software.

they're going to give a lot more info about 2024 soon so they're taking the steps needed to make a clear distinction between the two sims.

I fully appreciate that the new addition will help people who didn't know they were using a flight sim by adding MSFS to the four year old logo. But it still looks like an amateur stick on. Surely any self respecting graphics person ( I'm getting the hang of woke 😁) would look at that and say 'Nah, start again'

2 hours ago, Matt Sdeel said:

Yes, a visual cue to non-English speakers is a good thing.

They failed to do it in Urdu, Sanskrit, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese and Arabic.

Oh, and Russian.

Edited February 19, 20242 yr by Ron Attwood
Forgot Russian

7 hours ago, David Mills said:

I'm wondering too whether the slight change to the logo might have something to do with the future release of MSFS 2024. I remember that it took a long time for the community to standardize its reference to the sim as "MSFS." Jorg said they deliberately resisted that acronym for a while (for reasons I can't recall). Currently, we have no standardized way to refer to the forthcoming sim: FS24, MSFS24, MSFS2024, MSFS 2024, etc. Maybe they're preparing a standardized, shorthand way for us to differentiate what will soon be two versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Again, I'm just wildly speculating.

I think it is /because/ they want to NOT differentiate between 2020 and 2024.   They don't mind it being known as "MSFS", or they've acquiesed to the acroynm now.  2024 will simply be the latest version of the same line of software.