I had seen this article, but it appears, that it can also be purchased on DVDs in the USA. Walmart is advertising it too. Also on eBay. But I suspect that updates will always be over the internet.
It states 90GB, but my install I think was a lot more than 90GB. I think more like 130GB, but that is for the Premium Deluxe and a few airports that I have purchased.
Buying MSFS on DVD is going to achieve little, if you have a problem with slow download speed, since the DVD wonāt be up to date.
If you have a problem with your ISP, MS arenāt the ones to be complaining to.
I am not unsympathetic to people on the other side of the Tasman, most of them that I know personally have the best internet they can, and itās pretty bad. I guess Iām lucky that our government invested heavily and well over 10 years ago in our fibre network. Now in Christchurch, the standard minimum fibre speed is 200/30.
However, that is not Microsoftās fault. The system requirements indicated that a quality internet connection was needed for most services and that the minimum was 5Mbps, with the recommended speed of 50Mbps.
Unfortunately, your request is not practical from a financial or logistical standpoint, and hereās whyā¦
The cost of producing flash drives with MSFS on it would get very expensive, especially if you needed a new drive for every update (one per month). I suppose they could burn DVDs, but they are going out of fashion and most new computers donāt have drives on them
The update cycle is one core release per month. That release is usually bundled with a World Update, Sim Update or other. Because of how the development pipeline works, they wouldnāt be able to start producing media until about the time of or after the digital versions update. This means you wouldnāt be able to use the simulator until you installed the update, which could take hours or days to ship depending on supply vs demand
Delivery times to the Pacific would make it pointless as you wouldnāt get your device for 5 to 10 days if you paid for priority shipping, or one to three weeks if you didnāt pay for better shipping. Add to that current shipping restriction, the recent port strikes and the general delays at our respective borders and your media not arrive until after the next update.
MSFS is an MMO and relies heavily on online cloud services (weather, traffic, scenery, content downloads, multiplayer etc). It is standard for an MMO to force core updates on users, and that is exactly what happens here.
You can choose to download optional content (aircraft, bespoke airports, world updates) and their updates, but you cannot and I canāt imagine you will ever get the choice to opt-out of core updates.
Those DVDs are an old build, most likely release or a pre-release version. Anyone who installs from the DVD version should expect to download massive updates. They are not a viable option for skipping the digital download.
I donāt want to seem mean, but why do people use the car metaphor so willingly here? Iāve seen it a lot, but no one has managed to pull it off well, people should really choose an appropriate metaphor.
āif a component for your car is delivered broken, wouldnāt you expect a replacement?ā - Yes, but only if:
a) The car was still in warranty
b) The fault was their fault, not mine, or not someone elseās
If my first car a 1998 Hyundai Accent (assuming it still exists) had a mechanical defect, I wouldnāt expect the manufactures to replace a part. Now if my grandparents new 2019 cars tiers suddenly burst, I might expect the dealer to replace them but not if the reason they were damaged is because the roads are rough from all the earthquakes.
If your simulator was a car, itās tires are broken because your government hasnāt made a modern internet connection available to the masses (assuming you live in a major town/city), or because you brought a city car for driving in the country where no roads exist. Neither of these is the car manufactures fault.
I just re-read your topic again and saw this:
Out of curiosity had you clicked:
Both of these (can) delete all of your files. Alternatively during the update installation window, did you get prompted to choose your install location?
There is a bug that seems to cause the sim to lose track of where the sim is. When this happens it will want to re-acquire the entire thing, potentially causing you to have to download 120GB when the update was only 10GB. If this happens to you for the next update, try reselecting your install path and ensuring it is set to the correct location. This should cause it to only download the update.
If your issue was neither of these, and it reoccurs, I highly recommend you file a bug report, or create a topic in #bugs-and-issues:performance detailing your experience.
Before buying on disk, check itās legitimate - I have seen some dodgy offerings around.
there are no data limits that I know off, BT, Virgin, et al all unlimited data.
Bitte meine Frage nicht als einen Scherz zu verstehen!
Ist es denn schon jemanden in diesem Forum gelungen, das von Asobo fĆ¼r heute, den 11. Feb. 2012 avisierte Update World 3 zu downloaden???
Good oneā¦
The total amount of data is up to 2000 Terrabyte.
Donāt worry @DayYapper5637 when itās released somebody is certain to post and we will have a post in the news and anouncements section as well.
Check this thread World update 3: UK
Tech Alpha Insider and still not getting the forum rulesā¦ Why you post this in this thread thatās absolutely not about your topi?
But no, there was no update and usually thereās an official post once the update is available.
Please use this topic to discuss World Update III, or follow #community:news-and-announcements as official information pertaining to any update is posted there by the Community Managers.
Thanks for the tip, how do you do that ?
I have no words.
How many floppy disks would that take?
Yes I have thanksā¦AV software is aware and compliant. This program now has 100 hours of play recorded, yet i am still to see the initial selection screen. All I have seen is incessant updating caused by a single file.
Not activated.
On mine, it was using a metric f-ton of data.
So the latest updates have added at least another 48 hours of download. I have yet to see any return on the money I outlaid. Other software I have purchased comes on a flash drive if I pay extra for that , I am wiling to do. The download never finishes. My neighbour has had no issues at all with the same ISP and (compared to some) low download speed of 75 Mbps despite having FTTP NBN. Hope you are all enjoying what I can not get. It is more frustrating than some of the repliesā¦
Nyx1819, you are a wise and prudent person. I will however add that I believe Andrew made reference to using Flash Drives and not DVDs for installation. I can and do purchase required software online, and this would be the only software I cannot purchase on flash drive. I do appreciate that game content needs an internet connection that is reliable and you are right, the Australian NBN is absolutely farcical at best especially in the West. As for the car metaphor, do not go thereā¦that industry is shallow and false, speaking as an ex Service Manager. I do have a conscience. Thank you for your insight, but it does not help me get FS2020 to work, of noteā¦it was 100% fine on my slightly older Aorus system though was slow to download. But my new system, I have overcome the RX5700XT OC problems to get it to work fineā¦then further installation drama with FS2020 - that is all that is on this machine.
I wouldnāt go that far 
Regarding purchase format, most Microsoft products I can think of that come on a flash drive (Windows, Office etc), are fairly static programs. They do receive major updates and improvements but it is not super frequent.
They also have stock all around the world, and the demand for that stock is probably fairly high. I know for a fact that I can buy a copy of Windows 10 from my computer retailer in Auckland. Iām not sure the demand would be there for a cache of MSFS flash drives.
I do wish I could provide a better response for the slow downloads, other than to say that I sympathise. I had just moved houses when I got into the Alpha and I was on DSL so it took me three days for my initial install. I was lucky that my fibre connection was due the following week.
I havenāt checked in Wishlist, but if you believe there could be enough of a market for MSFS updates via flash drives/DVDs in Aus, consider making a #self-service:wishlist topic so others can vote. Perhaps if the demand is there, Microsoft might be willing to enter into a partnership with a local firm.