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Microsoft Flight Simulator Has Been Played By Over 15 Million players

StueyDuck

Member
But it's true. Claiming "number of people who played our game" is quite literally meaningless in the age of subscriptions and "free" games. If they really want to boast, they need to make it more specific. "15 million people have crossed the pacific", "15 million perfect landings", or something of that nature. Counting all users who saw it on gamepass and clicked "play" is just marketing horseshit.

No one is suggesting the game is not good or not worth playing. It's the constant stream of marketing trash posts that Microsoft seems to make, along with their professed use of "engagement" metrics.
the problem is that MS use the engagement numbers more than other companies so inherently, calling it out seems like an attack on Xbox..

Even though other companies have used "engagement" numbers too and i have mocked each one, even Sony.

Because as you say it's essentially marketing made up BS. It's like disney praising any latest flop because the first episode has a huge number of viewers, but yet hardly anyone actually finishes the whole season.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
With all due respect, half of those people launched and then deleted the game when they saw installation speeds and sizes in a separate downloader. A lot of who's left saw their AI-generated house/crashed into boss' house/landed on Epstein Island and hit the same 'delete' button.

MSFS is a healthy sim game with an active community (I've clocked 1100+ hours already) but this numbers boasting is simply useless, especially since there's literally nothing to do here if you're not into the whole simulation shenanigans like talking with radio tower and maintaining the air discipline.

But it's true. Claiming "number of people who played our game" is quite literally meaningless in the age of subscriptions and "free" games. If they really want to boast, they need to make it more specific. "15 million people have crossed the pacific", "15 million perfect landings", or something of that nature. Counting all users who saw it on gamepass and clicked "play" is just marketing horseshit.

No one is suggesting the game is not good or not worth playing. It's the constant stream of marketing trash posts that Microsoft seems to make, along with their professed use of "engagement" metrics.

Why is it so hard to resist the urge to lecture about the ‘number of players’ metric?

It’s been years since MS and some others started using it.

- no, it doesn’t mean sales.
- no, nobody thinks it means sales
- no, the world will not come to an end if someone believes it means sales.


along with their professed use of "engagement" metrics.

If only they had a subscription service that is long confirmed to have a significant impact on retail sales, Making engagement a very viable metric for how well their first party games do.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
the problem is that MS use the engagement numbers more than other companies so inherently, calling it out seems like an attack on Xbox..

Even though other companies have used "engagement" numbers too and i have mocked each one, even Sony.

Because as you say it's essentially marketing made up BS. It's like disney praising any latest flop because the first episode has a huge number of viewers, but yet hardly anyone actually finishes the whole season.

Which other company puts their games day one on a relatively popular subscription service?

We know for sure that shit games get poor engagement on Gamepass. Even good games that don’t resonate with the market don’t get great engagement numbers.

There’s a very strong correlation between player count and popular reception. Pretty sure the vast majority of games that land on GP day one don’t get anywhere near 10 million players.
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
Ah....ok. I don't know either. Found the page for it and doesn't look like it does.

It has trials where you have to approach a target as fast and as low as you can. It was never going to have combat, but I do wish they could have had a simulated lock on to a ground target. They also have the initial mission from the movie in the experimental mach 10 plane.
 

Mr Moose

Member
Nobody is that stupid. Got any examples?

Actually people probably are........
Recent-ish one, I remember seeing a few others.
 

Topher

Identifies as young
Recent-ish one, I remember seeing a few others.
Taye Diggs Wow GIF by Bounce
 

pasterpl

Member
But it's true. Claiming "number of people who played our game" is quite literally meaningless in the age of subscriptions and "free" games. If they really want to boast, they need to make it more specific. "15 million people have crossed the pacific", "15 million perfect landings", or something of that nature. Counting all users who saw it on gamepass and clicked "play" is just marketing horseshit.

No one is suggesting the game is not good or not worth playing. It's the constant stream of marketing trash posts that Microsoft seems to make, along with their professed use of "engagement" metrics.
It is still some stat that can be consider like this eg. I have played spiderman for 2h, death stranding 3h, horizon 2h, elden ring is still unsealed, diablo4 still unsealed, drive club 15 minutes, death stranding 0 hours etc. I spent way more time in flight sim. so which stat is more important, engagement or sales (even if buyer doesn’t play game after purchases).
 

Ozriel

M$FT
Time to revive MS Space Simulator.
I was watching a YouTube of flight sim the other day and saw that they have live ATC with other players. Something like this where people play together as ground control (or whatever it’s called) for space missions would be amazing
 
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RCU005

Member
I’ve never considered Flight Simulator a game, but a tool for student pilots.

It’s so realistic, that is better used as a tool. Also, I’ve never known anyone who use it to play that it’s not an aviation enthusiast and is actively learning how to fly an airplane.
 
Number of players for a game on a service is useless metric to me as it doesn’t really say who’s investing time in the game. I love MSFS and have spent hundreds of hours playing it both in VR and in 2D mode, and it’s one of my favorite games ever but it appeals to a niche audience (people like me who naturally love airplanes). I’m betting most of the people that “played” it deleted it an hour later never to return once they found out it wasn’t like Ace Combat :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
Number of players for a game on a service is useless metric to me as it doesn’t really say who’s investing time in the game. I love MSFS and have spent hundreds of hours playing it both in VR and in 2D mode, and it’s one of my favorite games ever but it appeals to a niche audience (people like me who naturally love airplanes). I’m betting most of the people that “played” it deleted it an hour later never to return once they found out it wasn’t like Ace Combat :messenger_tears_of_joy:
Last stats I looked at on steam had player average hours at 120+ and median hours at 40+.

This narrative MS flight is niche can crash and burn finally.
 
I was watching a YouTube of flight sim the other day and saw that they have live ATC with other players. Something like this where people play together as ground control (or whatever it’s called) for space missions would be amazing
Well you literally have people going to sleep and waking up later to check the flight. Plus some of the guys are literally wearing pilot clothes with suitcases during the session.
 

Roberts

Member
With all due respect, half of those people launched and then deleted the game when they saw installation speeds and sizes in a separate downloader. A lot of who's left saw their AI-generated house/crashed into boss' house/landed on Epstein Island and hit the same 'delete' button.

MSFS is a healthy sim game with an active community (I've clocked 1100+ hours already) but this numbers boasting is simply useless, especially since there's literally nothing to do here if you're not into the whole simulation shenanigans like talking with radio tower and maintaining the air discipline.

I’m one of them, in a way. The first thing I did was crash into my apartment building, giggle at all the AI generated buildings in my city, then flew over some of my favourite cities and then crashed into Mt. Fiji and called it quits, but something interesting happened - it helped me with my irrational fear of flying so I install it a few days before I need to fly somewhere and for a few years now I have overcome this fear to a point where I can actually focus on reading more than a sentence in a book or a magazine I take with me on the flight.
 
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mrmeh

Member
With all due respect, half of those people launched and then deleted the game when they saw installation speeds and sizes in a separate downloader. A lot of who's left saw their AI-generated house/crashed into boss' house/landed on Epstein Island and hit the same 'delete' button.

MSFS is a healthy sim game with an active community (I've clocked 1100+ hours already) but this numbers boasting is simply useless, especially since there's literally nothing to do here if you're not into the whole simulation shenanigans like talking with radio tower and maintaining the air discipline.

I play casually now and again, its pretty chill and I like exploring. Can't be the only one.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
Flight Sim dudes ar wild. Literally waking up several times in the middle of the night to check how their 12 hour real-time flight is going. Probably use comms to communicate with virtual passengers and all.
Back in the day there was a guy who was playing one of the WW2 sub sim games ALL IN REAL TIME. If he was sleeping he might slide past a convoy, when he was awake he was literally scanning the horizon looking for smoke. For a THREE WEEK CRUISE. Gotta respect that level of dedication!
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
I play casually now and again, its pretty chill and I like exploring. Can't be the only one.
Same here, it's fun to load up a scenic flight when you have a spare 30 minutes to just sight see.

Only real downside is it's hard to find a really easy to fly plane low and slow and the game is really big if everything is downloaded.
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
Same here, it's fun to load up a scenic flight when you have a spare 30 minutes to just sight see.

Only real downside is it's hard to find a really easy to fly plane low and slow and the game is really big if everything is downloaded.
Well since helicopters were added, you can fly as low and slow as you want. Have to go into the menus and turn off the assist that covers your entire screen in air vectors though.
 
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