First things first I dont ask this question in the hope of creating any animosity or argument . It’s a genuine question. I ask as someone who has been using flight sims for over 40 years. From zx spectrum days i watched the sim evolve onto PCs from game to simulation .driven to a large extent by the community who create mod and inovate and freely share to such an extent that at times they lead the development of what’s possible . Hence when I heard that Microsoft was bringing back its flight sim I counted down the days till it launched . I prepurchased the deluxe version as soon as was possible and I even expected problems given the complexity of what was goin to be delivered . What I however dont recall at any point thinking that this relaunch of flight sim was going to be a game for xbox .
Hence my question .given that as a title it isn’t even figuring in the most recent top ten games for the xbox …and please if I am wrong …since I am not and never have been a x boxer or gamer…then I am happy to be corrected. Hence the question does this title have longevity as a PC flight sim or a xbox game or both.?
Asobo is trying to share as much code as possible between PC and Xbox. Honestly, they can barely manage that, so I doubt they’ll be able to successfully manage two separate codebases.
Also, I would say that just because someone is on Xbox doesn’t mean they want it to be a game and not a sim. Probably more common sure, but not 100%
Why do you assume it has to be a ‘game’ on Xbox? There are plenty of simmers running it on that platform.
Yes, It is a Flight Simulator Game on both platforms.
My assumption and I will happily share the fact that while I’ve used PCs for well over 30 years …when it comes to game platforms I am lacking in knowledge .I have over the years made the odd mod or two for the various versions of flight sim that have come along. I have to a lesser degree tried to create my own home cockpit setup in an attempt to enjoy my interaction with what I considered to be a sim. All this was achievable for myself and for many others on a PC platform. Correct me if I am wrong but is all this so readily achievable on an xbox .if it is then perhaps the two platforms can coexist .
I am really getting tired of this gamers vs simmer conversation. What does qualify someone as a serious Simmer and is someone using the Xbox automatically disqualified? My first Flighsim was MSFS II on the Atari 1040ST in the late 80s. I have had every version since then and I have spend thousands of hours in them. In real world I hold a Commercial Pilots license and I am instrument rated. I also used to work as a flight instructor for some time. After FSX I slowed down with Simulators, because I didn’t want to spend big money on a PC. When I heard that MSFS will be released on Xbox, I bought my first console ever exclusively for that purpose. I am aware of the limitations, but I still keep it as close to real life as possible. I am flying both, IFR and VFR mostly in the Turboprops. I am not that interested in the big Tubeliners. MSFS 2020 is the best Sim Experience that I ever had. Yes, there are bugs, but they will get less over time.
Game, Sim, it’s whatever you make it. Nothing to do with the platform. You can go from doing barrel rolls in a 747 to doing a full flight with live ATC and real world navigation techniques in less than 5 minutes, so I really don’t get why a distinction even has to be made.
Your intentions might be good… but that’s like asking Lions not to eat a large slab of beef in front of them! 
Any hoot, it’s going to be a game on both platforms (and the base of a sim, once 3rd party devs can their teeth sunk into it… no pun intended)
I agree , It is now and shall forever be a SIMULATOR GAME on both platforms, although I had rather it be developed as a true flight simulator. That will never happen because it is a corporate product developed for the purpose of creating a revenue $$$ stream. PERIOD
I use it as a simulator flying from one airport to another following flight routes using Foreflight and planning departures and arrivals. I start from a cold start and have almost everything working from the hardware I have. So as MSFS 2020 gets better I will use it more, now I am about 10% on MSFS 2020 and 90% P3D. That could change as sim updates continue.
It is truly perplexing that ‘Xbox Game Studios’ would publish the sim on Xbox. 
Seriously though, from my perspective its arrival on Xbox is excellent (I don’t own, nor have any interest in owning a PC) and I’m pretty sure there will both be people who play MSFS more as a sim and more as a game - on both platforms.
MS/A’s challenge is to deliver a detailed sim that is also fun and pretty to fly around in. 
And, they have done that and are now receiving the “spoils” of offering the sim to Xbox and PC’s, exactly as planned.
I don’t think it’s fair to make assumptions about how serious someone is about flight sims, or how much they enjoy flight sims, purely because of the platform they’re using. But in any case I believe it can be something someone takes seriously, or casually, on both platforms. There’s room for both. That’s the beauty of the game, I think.
One platform is locked and limited
This is what happens when you try and run a flight sim on something that was meant for spreadsheets and email.
Should have never come out for PC. (Sarcasm)
Seriously platforms should not be the debate. A quality piece of software should be.
Regardless of what some of these forum members might say, under the hood, MSFS is a SIM through and through 
Microsoft might put some “gamey” stuff on the superficial level to appeal to more casual players, but the core of the sim is a physics simulation that can accurately reproduce aircraft behavior based on the fundamental principles of flight… As long as the plane makers know what they are doing lol (supplying the physic engine with good data is still very important.)
I’m about to be shot down here for sure . My real concern and why I genuinely asked the question is that compromises have been made and prob will continue to ensure that the title runs on both platforms . However i dont see this being a top ten xbox title 10 years from now , does anyone …the fact that a top gun enhancement pack was announced so soon after launch and while promoting the xbox launch … i dont believe was geared to appeal to those using a PC platform. Since Combat games and simulators are readily available to PC users for years .if this title …notice I refrain from calling it game or sim is to stay current and fresh it will depend on the modding community to create and innovate but unfortunately alas my understanding is that most of that won’t be
fully available go those who utilise xbox or will it ?
Not sure about your comment?
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Not sure if gamers will take the time to study real aircraft systems?
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Could be possible for VFR but not IFR or airline flying.
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There are pilots using flight sims to help in their flight training and there is no question that it helps those people.
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Games in general are a high for most people till the next game that will give them the next high. In most cases gamers are not the studying kind.
So as to this flight simulator there is a need for both one will be short term the other will be long term.
This is all up to Microsoft depending what they will do?
It might be the case it only boils down to: “As long as the plane makers know what they are doing lol (supplying the physic engine with good data is still very important.)”
Would this mean experienced pilots commenting in the following topic (Summary of missing items in MSFS) might have been using aircraft not made to fly well enough because their makers didn’t know what they were doing, or are the makers not capable according to you to build any good aircraft for FS2020, like reminded here:
“Subjective” is the keyword. Got myself a VKB gladiator and the sim flies beautifully. So peripheral matters a great deal as well.
IRCC, it usually takes PMDG 2-3 years to make ONE PLANE. Asobo made 20 of them, along with REST OF THE SIM in 6 years. Big difference.