For some reason, the value of the Real has fallen sharply against the US dollar which is likely Microsoft’s reporting currency. Maybe they have suffered some exchange losses recently and are looking to protect themselves from further losses.
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I didn’t understand why the colleague’s comment was blocked for “supposed community signaling” It was a true comment and one that can harm the developers.
I talked to some content creations for the Marketplace, Brazilian developers and they are appalled and afraid of having their sales limited even more with the arrival of the end of the year holidays where the community is on vacation and wants to take the opportunity to buy more products.
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No way i will buy something from now on. Boycott!
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Prices out of line with our country’s reality…I won’t buy anything else.
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This price policy it is one of the worst which I ever seen, I don’t think that they mensure how bad it will be for MSFS in brazilian community, with this price policy will increase the piracy and no one is gain with it, I can understand that prices need be adjusted but this actual exchange rate it is ridiculous and unfair!
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How difficult is it for Microsoft to price the store according to the country?
Steam prices its store according to the local currency of each country. This way the price is proportional to the reality of each country. A plane costing almost half the minimum wage is absurd.
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Not always.
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The problem is that people who are new to simulation still don’t understand that all addons have always been in dollars. This has always been the main currency for buying addons, but not the only one, there is the Euro and the Pound too. Those who have been using PMDG for a while know very well that the aircraft have always cost more than the simulator, since forever. Who remembers the Classic 737s back in FS2002/2004 and how much the simulator cost at Aerosoft?
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Everyone knows that they are sold in dollars. The thing is, since the launch of 2020 and the arrival of the marketplace, Microsoft has always worked with a price lower than the dollar exchange rate here in Brazil.
It was Microsoft who got the community used to dealing with a value lower than the price of the product in dollars. If the community is bothered by the absurd increase today, it is for this reason.
So don’t blame the community for this.
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An accessible simulator should have more accessible prices. In the mid-2000s I barely had a PlayStation, let alone a PC to run the FS of the time. The pricing policy is wrong mainly because of a currently buggy SIM, especially on the XBOX, where they make the most money. Until FS 2024 proves otherwise, I will continue to think this pricing policy is a real shot in the foot.
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First of all, I’m not here to defend Asobo. On the contrary, I have a lot of criticisms of it. However, the mistake started when MS decided to bring the simulator to a video game and make it a pay-to-play game with an internal product market. However, they did what they did to serve as bait to attract people. Flight simulators have been around for a long time. I’ve been playing them since FS2002. However, things have improved for the past 10 years and more people have joined. This is great, because the same people have always been in this niche. However, when they decided to resurrect the Flight Simulator brand (which they themselves buried), they needed something attractive. So they created this version for a video game. It may have a PC configuration, but it will never be like one. What’s more attractive than beautiful graphics and a low price? We all fell for the bait. However, it was NEVER these prices. It was always wrong. Just look at the ORG STORE on XPLANE or the ADDONs on P3D and compare the prices of these simulators with the aircraft and scenarios. Want an example? The base P3D costs $69 and the A320FSLABS, which is simply the best A320 ADDON, costs $149.95. Can you see that this is not the reality? The problem was part of the community that agreed to pay almost 1000k for the game. See how much an XPLANE12 and a P3D cost. They are yours and stay on your hard drive. Microsoft is giving you permission to use the FS, it is a rental. When they shut down the servers, what do you think will happen? Well, don’t you think that paying this much for a simulator is the problem right there? And the worst of all is criticizing those who were badmouthing the prices. The reality has always been there for anyone to see. However, they also had to have a bait to attract the “gamers”, a very important slice for their pockets, because Flight Simulator has never been a big seller, but it sells more if those who play the video game finance it, right? Well, flight simulation has always been expensive and unfortunately it has never been for everyone, which has always been a shame, but that’s what a very niche game is. Well, now reality has arrived, simulators have always been like that! There’s nothing strange about it!
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Microsoft is the one responsible for Marketplace pricing. Asobo has nothing to do with this.
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Please explain how a full-online simulated game without any form of subscription, open community folder and 26 free updates is pay-to-play.
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Im not from Brazil, but there is several countries affected by this ridiculous price hikes that I’ve seen people posting about. How we going to preach accessibility and price out most of the developing world? I don’t understand the mentality on this. Inflation on the dollar does not equate the percentage increases we’re seen on the market place, and unfortunately this will push more people to buy externally instead of on the market place.
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I’m sure MS doesn’t control exchange rates.
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Using purely the actual exchange rate would be the minimum, but doesn"t comprise the differences in average purchase power of US/Euro user vs. Brazilian users. This was really an ugly move.
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The problem is that Microsoft is charging ABOVE the exchange rate.
If they charged purely for the conversion using the current exchange rate like all addon stores do, there would be less complaints. The absurd thing is to charge above that.
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Each bank has a different exchange rate so Microsoft can also set its own conversion rate.
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The dollar exchange rate today is 1 USD = 5.46 BRL
Microsoft is using the exchange rate of 1 USD = 6.6 BRL. Not even the greediest bank is using an exchange rate remotely close to this value.
There is no logical explanation for this. For PC users, it will now be better to buy add-ons on external stores instead on the marketplace, since these stores charge for add-ons in dollars or another foreign currency, but payment is made in reais using the current exchange rate of 5.46 BRL.
The PMDG 777-300ER, for example, costs $75 on the PMDG Store. If a Brazilian buys it there, it will pay 409.72 BRL (not including taxes). On the marketplace, the same PMDG 777-300ER costs 494.95 BRL. Even including taxes, it’s still cheaper to buy it on the PMDG Store.
Will Microsoft wait for marketplace sales in Brazil to drop by 90% to realize how stupid and idiotic their decision to use an exchange rate of 6.6 BRL is? If they don’t want to apply regional pricing anymore, that’s ok, but use the current exchange rate like all the other stores do.
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You will also get:
- a valid receipt which will prove purchase
- files which are not locked which will open up the possibility of better mods
- much quicker product updates
- potentially cheaper products when buying direct from the dev
- a warm feeling that the dev can get 100% of the revenue rather than 30% or so being siphoned off to non devs
- the possibility of having weapons on military aircraft
- addons which are tied to neither Steam nor the MS store should you decide a some future date to switch from a Steam based sim to the Store or Vice- Versa
- very likely new addons earlier rather than having to wait for them to be put on the MP
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