You don’t own any game. You own a license allowing you to use it.
Just a very bad move!! At least keep the Contrail option to purchase open, or another vendor for those of your customers who will not buy through the Marketplace -that would show real concern for them and do you credit as a company and would be a better on a business level. I have seen so many companies go to the wall because they put all their sales through one channel.
Simply because they decided to go marketplace exclusive? I disagree. Again I’m not even a fan of marketplace exclusive addons but that won’t prevent me from getting the Taylorcraft or their future addons (really excited for their Super Cub). A number of third-party devs are marketplace exclusive (FSReborn and FlightFX for example) and I really enjoy them. There is zero indication that these developers are in trouble. If anything they’re thriving.
I get it. Vast majority of sales are through Marketplace, MS incentivizes Marketplace-exclusive releases with better promotion and possibly other benefits, and products are harder to pirate. I empathize with everyone who’s annoyed, but it’s easy to understand this as a business decision.
That said, a lot of the complaints could be alleviated if Got Friends would consider releasing two optional downloads on their website for Marketplace exclusive releases:
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A paintkit, so people don’t have to dive into VFS voodoo to try to get livery files to build from.
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This would be an amazing precedent: A set of config files in a “Community folder add-on” folder structure that people who want to tweak the plane to do different engine configs, tweak responses, etc, could use to mod the planes.
The actual core plane will still be encrypted and Marketplace-exclusive. But if these releases had these optional files available, your planes would also get lots of promotion and added value among the freeware add-on community that y’all got your start in.
Consumer-hostile decisions are consumer-hostile no matter the rationale behind them. Eliminating choice only benefits the business. I’m sure Microsoft loves the idea of getting a cut of every single sale Got Friends makes from now on.
Guys, possibly in order for Got friends to be invited to the PS5 market, they need to do this. Their hands may be tied behind their backs.
You are disappointed but if it were your company with a view to making quite a substantial income bump you would do it. The MP is not as bad as you are making out.
Got Friends seem to be quite amenable to making changes or additions that folk want. I suppose it is a question of asking them in the future to add certain things.
I very much doubt this is the case. PMDG is on PS as well, and have their own store.
Reiterating for emphasis.
Yes, you are right, I do not know the reason but if we all recall this dev was recently very unwell (sorry to bring this to the fore again) and perhaps this is just the lighter touch he needs to cope with the demands of this business and provide us with many more wonderful products.
I think the reasons are fairly obvious, especially since they told us what they are. Committing fewer resources towards managing aircraft on multiple storefronts means putting those resources into making even better product.
Yes, they seem to be a very honest bunch and always explain things well.
I think small teams will benefit from this arrangement.
Funny how things change in 4 days or less … Now I wonder what that smell is?
**Official Launch Details:
Yes, let’s get the important stuff out of the way first!**
Proposed Release Date: July 31st, 2026
We are aiming for a Friday launch so everyone can spend the weekend exploring the skies together and sharing their favorite moments.
Platforms: PC and Xbox Series X|S
We also plan to release the Taylorcraft on PlayStation 5 once our team has been invited to publish on that Marketplace.
Storefronts: Our Official Website, Contrail and the In-Game Marketplace
We distribute exclusively through Contrail and Microsoft, so the Taylorcraft will not be released on any additional storefronts.
Price: $24.99 USD
The price will remain the same across our Official Website, Contrail, and the In-Game Marketplace. If you purchase the MSFS 2020 Version for use in MSFS 2024, you will receive the Native MSFS 2024 Upgrade for Free.
Day-One Availability: Synchronous Launch Across All Storefronts
The Taylorcraft will launch simultaneously on our Official Website, Contrail, and the In-Game Marketplace, with both the Legacy 2020 and Native 2024 packages available on day one. We are intentionally avoiding a staggered release between storefronts or simulator versions to reduce first-day support issues, purchasing confusion, and uncertainty between the different package options. Because this is a synchronized launch, our proposed release date may shift slightly depending on Microsoft’s ingestion and Marketplace approval timelines.
Got Friends Website & Contrail: Legacy 2020 and Native 2024 Packages Included
Your purchase will include both packages, allowing you to download and use the Taylorcraft in either simulator.
In-Game Marketplace: Legacy 2020 with a Free Native 2024 Upgrade, or Native 2024 Only
If you purchase the Legacy 2020 Version, you will be able to upgrade to the Native 2024 Version for Free. If you exclusively fly in MSFS 2024, you can instead choose to purchase only the Native 2024 Version.
Just speculation but potentially them seeing just how quickly their latest release happened to make it to piracy websites may have been the final straw.
I trust that the businesses have more data than you do when it comes to what does or does not deter piracy. Developers like iniBuilds actually make less per sale on the Marketplace, yet they insist on initial sales happening there for the explicit purpose of avoiding the immediate post-release piracy of their product. And it clearly has benefited them so much they continue to do it even though, again, they make less money per sale that way.
I don’t believe in a lot of things, but I do believe in business’ ability to prioritize making profit above most other things.
Those iniBuilds airliners are no longer Marketplace-exclusive. Curious if their arrival on those sites was prior to or after they were also made available outside of the Marketplace. For example, just quickly searched (via google without actually giving the site any of my clicks) for a few popular 100% true Marketplace-exclusive products, none of them were to be found on sites-that-shall-not-be-named.
Huh? I thought that because the way the marketplace is set up this is impossible.
Based on my cursory searches for 100% Marketplace-exclusive content on those sites I personally believe it is impossible.
As I said, since I cannot find any popular 2024 Marketplace-exclusive aircraft on those sites, I’ll maintain the belief that it’s impossible until I see examples that prove otherwise. As such, I will continue to support developers that make this choice as an anti-piracy measure, among other benefits.