CSS 737-500 Classic will be releasing "Soon".

• monthly subscription (30 days) $5
• annual subscription (365 days) $50
• purchase without a subscription $120

Screenshots at Discord look amazing actually.

I read "subscription" and almost spit all my food out.

 

EDIT: On the other hand, $120 for all variants and freighter sounds good.

Edited March 26, 20251 yr by Nuno Pinto

1 hour ago, Nuno Pinto said:

$120 for all variants and freighter sounds good.

Slowly, slowly, prices rise again to P3D level.

Why do we customers support this?

(think about a 60$ Fenix back then)

Subscribing to a plane and then getting hit with a full $120 price tag to own it is just dumb for everyone involved.

Not only is it a bad deal for the user, it also means the devs are shooting themselves in the foot.

A major USP for the subscription is that you get to try the product without committing. It's actually a great model for developers - you get users who otherwise wouldn't buy it to try your product. It's great for consumers as you get to check it out without putting down the full amount. I think more addon makers should do this.

Right now it's a lose-lose for these guys because why would I, as a buyer, effectively throw away money every month in subscription when I'll have to pay full price anyway?

They can easily turn it into a win-win for all if subscribing actually counts towards the full price. $5 per month, and you own it in 24 months. Considering I've had PMDG and Fenix planes for that long, it's not that long of a term. Or buy it at any time with a reduced price based on how long you've subscribed.

It guarantees a purchase for the devs, it creates a reason to subscribe for users and pushes people to eventually buy it if they like it.

Edited March 26, 20251 yr by Georgleboui

4 minutes ago, Georgleboui said:

Subscribing to a plane and then getting hit with a full $120 price tag to own it is just dumb for everyone involved.

Not only is it a bad deal for the user, it also means the devs are shooting themselves in the foot.

A major USP for the subscription is that you get to try the product without committing. It's actually a great model for developers - you get users who otherwise wouldn't buy it to try your product. It's great for consumers as you get to check it out without putting down the full amount. I think more addon makers should do this.

Right now it's a lose-lose for these guys because why would I, as a buyer, effectively throw away money every month in subscription when I'll have to pay full price anyway?

They can easily turn it into a win-win for all if subscribing actually counts towards the full price. $5 per month, and you own it in 24 months. Considering I've had PMDG and Fenix planes for that long, it's not that long of a term. Or buy it at any time with a reduced price based on how long you've subscribed.

It guarantees a purchase for the devs, it creates a reason to subscribe for users and pushes people to eventually buy it if they like it.

I agree totally.

35 minutes ago, guenseli said:

Slowly, slowly, prices rise again to P3D level.

Why do we customers support this?

(think about a 60$ Fenix back then)

^ This. They are slowly creeping up. That is why I don’t buy as many addons as I used to. 

One would think with the size of the current potential customer base existing due to the popularity of MSFS that prices would if anything indeed be coming down, you can sell more copies so you could afford to make it cheaper.  Not to mention the amount of competition as well, sure maybe not for the exact plane but plenty out there to scratch that nostalgic airliner itch!

So that would be a $190.72 AUD for me, no way I could ever justify paying that price regardless of quality and I have negative interest in a subscription model unless indeed as suggested there would be a pro rata model against the subscriptions paid at time of purchase.

52 minutes ago, guenseli said:

Slowly, slowly, prices rise again to P3D level.

Why do we customers support this?

(think about a 60$ Fenix back then)

Well.. a better comparison is the entire fenix bundle which is £90 or $115 equivalent. People bought that in droves no complaints there. To buy all the PMDG 777 variants would be $129. The TDFI MD11 with all variants and failure extension is I believe.. $110. The mad dog lineup is $112 excluding VAT. If I want to be really pedantic the PMDG 737 lineup is $225 (more than in P3D)

I am nitpicking here, I agree, but it’s not like CSS is the first at this there’s a clear precedent. People happily pay for this.
 

I don’t like the big price personally, Atleast just flight is one flat reasonable price for all the variants of airliners that they currently offer. 

I’ll try it out for $5 in any case.

Edited March 26, 20251 yr by Lucky38i

Are they going to give an option to only buy the -400 model? With the Fenix I was able to get only the A320 with both engine option for £60.

1 hour ago, Samaritano said:

Are they going to give an option to only buy the -400 model? With the Fenix I was able to get only the A320 with both engine option for £60.

So the -500 releases first but will be followed not too long later with the -300 and -400. All 3 will make up the base package.

So a $120 full price or $5 monthly price will get you the base package.

Edited March 27, 20251 yr by Greazer

5 hours ago, Georgleboui said:

Subscribing to a plane and then getting hit with a full $120 price tag to own it is just dumb for everyone involved.

Not only is it a bad deal for the user, it also means the devs are shooting themselves in the foot.

A major USP for the subscription is that you get to try the product without committing. It's actually a great model for developers - you get users who otherwise wouldn't buy it to try your product. It's great for consumers as you get to check it out without putting down the full amount. I think more addon makers should do this.

Right now it's a lose-lose for these guys because why would I, as a buyer, effectively throw away money every month in subscription when I'll have to pay full price anyway?

They can easily turn it into a win-win for all if subscribing actually counts towards the full price. $5 per month, and you own it in 24 months. Considering I've had PMDG and Fenix planes for that long, it's not that long of a term. Or buy it at any time with a reduced price based on how long you've subscribed.

It guarantees a purchase for the devs, it creates a reason to subscribe for users and pushes people to eventually buy it if they like it.

I get what you're saying, but aren't these the three choices?  Subscribe monthly/annually or buy it outright?

Or am I reading it wrong?

Jase

1 minute ago, MassiveSim32 said:

I get what you're saying, but aren't these the three choices?  Subscribe monthly/annually or buy it outright?

Or am I reading it wrong?

Jase

They are, but the way they are handling subscribing and buying are at a conflict.

The devs want you to subscribe so they have a steady income at a very low barrier – $5 a month.
They also want you to buy as well, because then they get the full value – $120.

Both are valid options. You basically get two ways for people to use your plane - low barrier for people who will balk at the price, and an option for more hardcore people who will want to own it. It would be a fantastic model if only they didn't shoot themselves in the foot.

Because you see, from a consumer point of view, either of these options on their own aren't great.
– Why would I pay a monthly subscription for any length of time if I'll still have to pay the full $120 to own it?
– But also, why would I pay $120 when it's a brand new dev and I don't quite know if the quality is there?
– If I'm not really massively interested in the plane, then $120 is a lot. And that's a big chunk of the market out there. 

 

The likely scenario is that you'll get people to subscribe for a month then decide either to buy or not. And likely in the initial stages people will just bounce-off especially when the other variants are still WIP.

And look, nothing wrong with that. But if your objective is to get as many people to actually use your plane - subs or purchases - then there's friction. 

All they have to do is make subscriptions count towards the full $120. That's it.
This means the devs will get a guaranteed sale no matter which path people take - either sub or full retail.
Consumers win because suddenly subscription becomes a valid alternative for more casual / middle of the market people. 
 

 

6 hours ago, guenseli said:

Slowly, slowly, prices rise again to P3D level.

Why do we customers support this?

(think about a 60$ Fenix back then)

Not sure if I'm recalling this correctly so don't quote me on it, but I thought I read something about Fenix saying it might've been too cheap and they took the hit.