The CRJ isn’t cheap and it also isn’t for everyone but neither of those are bad things.
Whether you definite it as study level or not, it absolutely is a highly detailed and complex simulation that required a significant amount of effort to develop which needs to be covered in the price.
And with that comes the requirement for purchasers to similarly invest significant resources in time in learning how to operate such a rich and deep simulation.
Like others in the thread it’s not really my thing personally but I admire the work that has gone into it and I’m pleased it’s been made and that so many people seem happy in it - maybe I’ll see some of you while I’m pottering around in my Arrow
Isn’t that the cost of dinner for 2 in New Zealand? A dinner for 2 is more valuable than an addon you’ll use for at least a few years? I don’t go a lot, but I could easily justify it by skipping a dinner at a restaurant. Technically, I could easily drop $100 or more for dinner for two if you add in a couple of drinks for each. And I do not go to high end restaurants. That’s just a place like Olive Garden or 100 Grille, a chain.
Granted, I’m not suggesting anyone should buy 50 planes at this price. But, if it’s going to be one of your main rides, that is not expensive in the grand scheme. $100 or $140 is pushing it. That would be a rare purchase. $50 ($64 NZD), I’ll pay for a few of those if they are the right plane with the right level of detail. Sure, it’s not a casual purchase with pocket change like buying candy. But, there’s a lot of detail here.
That’s good to put into perspective against Flight Simulator’s development. Instead of the add-ons being expensive, I think some people don’t realize how incredibly cheap Flight Simulator itself is. It’s just economies of scale.
Not sure on the pricing of a meal out, I rarely go, and when I do I don’t typically pay
But I do agree with your points, as well as the cost of the developers another user mentioned (though their analysis didn’t mention any of the other costs so that figure is low). I would also note that previous add-ons I once considered for FSX were usually more expensive.
So all of this is said not to criticize the cost of the add-on, I simply wanted to make the observation that it is expensive for some people especially considering their financial circumstances.
A thing is worth what people are willing to pay for it. I’m still working on learning GA flying VFR, so I’m not ready for a plane like that yet. But from watching the reviews, I’m surprised it’s only $50. When I’m ready to learn, I’ll want something with at least those standards and I’ll be willing to pay for it. I just spent almost $50 on the Piper Arrow and it’s more than worth it.
OTOH, I live in Germany and 42 Euros is either 4 or 5 packs of cigarettes (8Euros or 10 Euros/pack), depending on their size. For me that’s not really expensive for a plane like the CRJ.
I spent that picking up two rib eyes at the butcher on the way home. Same meal at the restaurant would give me deposit on their next 4 releases! Almost makes a trip to NZ sound affordable if that’s a meal price.
Can spot those new to REAL sim flying with these threads. Wait til they get hooked and their retirement savings goes, poof!
Somebody in this thread guessed that there will be 5,000 copies of the CRJ sold in its lifetime. I’m guessing that they’re going to approach that number in the first days after release. Would be kind of cool to find out for sure.
Is 42 Euros ($50 USD) expensive? Depends on what it gets you and how much money you have.
What it does NOT depend on is how much MSFS 2020 cost. DCS World Steam Edition is FREE. Does that mean that all the addons should be free too? The three most popular add-on planes for DSC World Steam Edition are 66 Euros ($80 USD) each. The add-on cost is not set by the cost of the base sim. It is set by the development costs of the add-on, the size of the market for the add-on, and the intended users of the add-on.
That last, pricing the add-on to appeal to the right users (the right demographic), is key. I don’t want the CRJ because I don’t really enjoy this type of flying. If it had been $25-$30, I probably would have bought it anyway. And then I probably would have joined a bunch of other casual sim users complaining that this plane is too complex and take too much time to learn and doesn’t allow the AI to fly it while I sit in the passenger cabin for the entire flight.
This add-on is meant to appeal to the serious jetliner simmers. For them, if they have any experience with the same level of aircraft in other sims, this price is lower than expected. Some people say that MSFS 2020 has so many users that the add-on makers can still make a profit while asking for less money for their add-ons. I think we see that in practice here. I expected the Aerosoft CRJ for MSFS to be $60 or more. It is $50. I’m surprised. It’s almost enough of a surprise that I’m tempted to buy it anyway. But hopefully I won’t because I’m not the intended user and I won’t get the benefit that makes it more than worth the price to me.
Indeed, talking about what is expensive vs not expensive can bring out very strong, and often very non-empathetic opinions. On this forum we have many different nationalities represented all of which are in different economic situations. Then within in each of those nationalities are different socio-economic backgrounds.
As a financially secure upper class white dude from suburban America, I’m not in any position to tell a middle class factory worker from Russia, grocery employee from Morocco, or financial analyst from Hong Kong what is and is not expensive. When I see people do that, it’s cringeworthy.
Add on top of that humans are very strange sometimes in how we value things. I can’t tell you how many times I agonized on whether it was ok to buy a $60 game but was totally cool with going out to dinner to some unremarkable middle of the road restaurant and spending the same amount on food and drinks for me and my wife. Or felt guilty buying a $10 DLC for a game that I’d get tens of hours of enjoyment from but didn’t bat an eyelash at hitting up the Starbucks drivethrough for two $5 coffees for me and the Mrs. People are just weird about money.
I purchased yesterday and have now completed three flights.
It’s detailed, great fun to fly and well worth the money for me.
See some comments about casual simmers and it not being for them. I think this may not be the case.
The manuals and tutorials are very thorough, laid out clearly and once you learn this everything will slowly fall into place. It’s a great feeling to accomplish a complete flight in something more complex. There’s also The Dude (YouTube series) to guide you every step of the way.
The JF guys let it slip over on the Avsim forum they had sold a few thousand of the JF Arrow III in the first few days and the CRJ is likely to be even more popular than the Arrow because there are no other regional jets in game at all
Yeah, except you are willing to read the manuals and learn something. There are some who aren’t. They just post questions about how come the VNAV doesn’t work and there is no autothrottle and the AI pilot can’t fly it so they can take pictures. THOSE are the people that are better off not buying this.
Haha true! Last 24 hours I’ve read or watched nothing else, 100% CRJ
Part of the fun for me is learning then executing the knowledge into a flight. I’ve the PDF saved on iPad and when you follow the flows and checklists it’s surprisingly straight forward.
I was quivering at the 86page ‘Quick reference guide’
Flights have gone as planned. Like the cockpit tablet for transferring weights/fuels etc.
Think they are modelled really nicely.
The alpha/bravo switches work but just don’t seemed modelled in cockpit so I’d like that to be in a future update.
Absolutely! Fully agree with ya! Aerosoft has done a really nice job on this and I am so happy to have a proper 3rd party jet! I am looking forward to them bringing the Airbus 330 over. I have it on P3D and it’s great too.
You can tell the long time simmers who did not fly alot of study level aircraft. I am a 20 year simmer who has flown almost all the payware study level aircraft in FS9 and some in FSX. I spent more than $2k on both sims. Most planes were $79 to $149 and worth every penny for those who wanted to be real pilots but could not for one reason or another. Told a coworker about being a simmer and he was a real pilot. He put me on the spot and started quizzing me in front of everyone about the start up procedures of the Boeing 767. He was shocked I knew the whole procedure and some of the emergency task as well.
Level D 767 comes with a manual that is watermarked and stamped on almost every page that it is a simulator manual and not the real thing. Real 767 pilots say the book was identical to the real thing.
You name it and I have it or has flown it. Also bought all the tech addons like Hifi weather engine and Rex cloud texture. Genesis gound mesh, Ground Pro, Ultimate terrian etc…
Created my own AI traffic and Object placer airports.
The costly planes are for the Flight Enthusiast and not causal simmer. That is me. Been flying seriously since MSFS 2000.
$50 for this level of a plane is cheap compared today to prices in 2004.
$52 it shows on the Aerosoft site. HAve not looked at Marketplace. Don’t even know if it’s offered there.
Cheap considering what you get for it, and compared to what PMDG will be charging for their 737.
Look at other “study level” airplanes, on any platform, and you will by paying $80-$140.
There are some who aren’t. They just post questions about how come the VNAV doesn’t work and there is no autothrottle and the AI pilot can’t fly it so they can take pictures. THOSE are the people that are better off not buying this. 
