Will many Simmers switch to Xbox in the long term?

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62

For me? No.

Why?

  1. Lack of flight controllers
  2. No third party aircraft
  3. Closed system architecture

As much as I enjoy flying, I also get satisfaction building the best PC I can afford to fly. :slight_smile:

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63

Definitely not on my case. I love to fly in my home ā€œcockpitā€ (nothing spectacular but some pieces of hardware that Iā€™ve got through some years). None of them are console compatible. Plus I love to fly in DCS and IL-2 too. And have the freedom to do whatever I want in my PC.

While everything we can do on an Xbox is possible to do on PC, few things that we do on PC are possible on Xbox.

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64

If they build in a way to use Foreflight with the XB version of MSFS, maybe

But not if they donā€™t do that.

I use FF in the real plane and I need to use that in MSFS also

65

Well answers seem pretty solid. But I guess itā€™s how you think about the word ā€œswitchā€. As topic author and few other guys have already demonstrated, there are and will be simmers changing from PC to Xbox. But I guess the devil is in the details. From what kind of PC you are making the switch from.

I was hoping to see FSX on Xbox One, that didnā€™t happen, but I understand and know there are gamers and simmers who are very happy to see proper flight sim on consoles. Just the reason why someone has a console instead of PC can have so many different reasons. It doesnā€™t tell the whole story about the simmer or gamer behind the console.

I can share my decision, as it seems to fit the subject. So I started MSFS with a laptop.

  • I wanted to get more out of the game, and because MSFS gave me the spark for simming again, I wanted to get more out of every game I had (basically DCS and IL2).

  • Iā€™ve been long term Xbox One user, and one problem was the locked frame rates. I can often live with lesser graphics, if i can get above 30fps when itā€™s needed or wanted the most.

  • My over decade old joystick started to feel little out of date and shape, so with PC Iā€™d have more options.

So I ended up buying a PC, now spending roughly 1000$ in a PC, I think Iā€™m not having the same fidelity as Xbox X users have. But I have all the possibilities available. And even though 30fps is seen as a perfectly good for flying, and it is mostly. Possibility to go 60fps with settings makes a difference when I want to use TrackIR. And Iā€™ve also got the joystick and stuff to fit all the needs I have. So there has been compromises, but also gains.

But it wasnā€™t really about whether I would ā€œswitchā€, more about which direction to take.

66

As the console does not work with Vatsim (at least not for the foreseeable future, see their statement) the answer is a solid No.

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67

Iā€™m flying on XBOX. Despite having a powerful PC, I simply preferred to make the switch and have the comfort of sitting on the couch, in front of an OLED TV. I donā€™t regret it. FS2020 is just wonderful on XSX. I hope that soon they will release better aircraft on XBOX, like A32NX and CRJ.

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68

This whole post contains lots of excellent points and basically answers the OPā€™s question.

I will add that for me, I have invested considerable sums in quality peripherals which arenā€™t compatible with Xbox.
I enjoy various elements which Xbox does not support (no VR, no multi-monitor support) and I use companion software which is not Xbox compatible.

and that is before we even get to being able to purchase direct from 3rd party Devs or external vendors or enjoy community (free) mod projects.

While I also enjoy gaming on my consoles and my TV from the comfort of my sofa or a beanbag they are too limited in what you can connect, what you can install and how you can use them for me to ever consider them as a platform for the more serious end of my gaming spectrum.

In short. Thatā€™s a big ā€œnoā€ from me.

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69

Nope - Flight Simming will stay PC-only forever, and I build this PC exclusively for flight simming and ultra-graphics 3DVR experience.

Of course I have had various consoles and will buy more in the future, but flight simming is a professional PC-domain for me :slight_smile:

And I also always be on the couch or bed when gaming of flying - endless meters of USB cable extensions and wireless controllers make that easily possible.

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70

I use Vatsim and Pilot2ATC when Vatsim is offline.

Could not do either if I were on console.

Honestly, if like me and many others you are into serious IFR simming, a console is a non-starter. If I were a casual gamer or sightseer however, I would seriously consider a series S.

71

Id say that if you really like the sim, then PC will have more room to expand on it with addons outside of the marketplace, plus you will get extra in the graphics department and multi-screen. VR maybe? xbox not so much (at least for now). I would sell both and get a pc as close as possible to the recommended specs or above.

72

I can see this sim was built for Xbox, the freedom to roam the earth from your lounge on a huge 4K TV in perfect weather without needing any knowledge of how to fly. I think it will be very successful.
I may be wrong, but looking at the specs and pics of the Xbox X, I canā€™t see where or how I would connect my VR headset, motion platform, buttkickers, MFDs, etc, so I guess Iā€™m stuck with PC.
I also fly other sims, particularly DCS, which isnā€™t on Xbox.

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73

If I could do everything on pc I could on xbox Iā€™d never bother with a pc ever again.

Since I canā€™t and probably never will then Iā€™m stuck on pc. Iā€™d prefer not to be.

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74

This requires SimConnect, which uses TCP to communicate. TCP is implicitly blocked by Xbox at a hardware level. Thatā€™s why thereā€™s no SimConnect. No SimConnect, no 3rd party toolsā€¦

75

It would be easier to switch to XBox if the sidesticks and such were compatible, but most donā€™t seem to be compatible at the moment.

76

I am not switching to xbox, PC will be ahead already next year and after in continuous, MSFS will use the latest tech possible and have more option. Already on PC , there will be option to control LOD Pop\ culling.ā€œRegarding Your Feedback + Upcoming Hotfixā€

77

About the only thing I use Xbox for is to play GTA5 and streaming on my tv. I know GTA5 is on pc too but there are too many hackers on pc that can mess with you. I donā€™t have the new Xbox x series because of two reasons. They arenā€™t readily available where I live in the stores. I refuse to pay more than retail online. So I wonā€™t be getting one anytime soon it looks like anyway.

78

For me:
No VR? No XBox.

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79

Not on your nelly.
I have been a pc enthusiast since 1998.
I update every 12 months.
Intel i9 10900 kf, palit 3090 gamingpro, 32 gb corsair vengeance.
Do you think that I would give this powerhouse up for an xbox x?
I thought not :wink::+1:

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80

I have a PS4, iā€™l almost never touched it, it sits in my bedroom now for streaming movies
like Netflix and Prime etc. No for me its always PC

81

Yes Iā€™m likely to use the Xbox version much more.

Iā€™ve been playing flight games since the 80s, starting on the ZX Spectrum. Had Flight Sim 2 on my Atari ST back when 10fps was a dream.

My PC upgrades were usually timed around new MSFS releases. Iā€™ve flown every version since 2. I even used to write about the franchise as part of my job.

But Iā€™m happy to sit in the lounge and create flight plans and fly them in my lounge on the big TV.

Iā€™m too old for the childish hardware wars, the SU5 is literally unplayable nonsense, trying to measure manhood by hardware rig.

Itā€™s a videogame. A really good videogame. Enjoy have fun. Let go. Chill.

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