Rumour - Gamasutra - Report: Microsoft Makes Big Cuts At

rpjkw11 · Post by **rpjkw11** » 23 Jan 2009, 16:05

I'd hate to see an end to further FS development, but if that's way it's gonna be, ok. I'm very happy with FS9 so I won't feel great deal of sadness if it happens. I have FSX, too, but I really prefer FS9. Whatever happens, I'm not really losing anything.

Bob

SkippyBing · Post by **SkippyBing** » 23 Jan 2009, 16:07

To be honest I think this is something of an over reaction from the Flight Sim community. Sure it's bad news for the guys at ACES, but long term I don't see MS ditching the FS franchise, more realistically we're not going to see FSXI until sometime next decade with the development pushed right until we start seeing a recovery.

Chris Sykes · Post by **Chris Sykes** » 23 Jan 2009, 16:56

This is sadly not a rumour... Simouthouse has an extensive post with some Ex ACES guys in there posting that they have lost their jobs...

tonymadge · Post by **tonymadge** » 23 Jan 2009, 18:47

I hate to see anyone lose their jobs with the impact it will have on their family and lifestyle :-(
On a personal note I think that the way Microsoft has treated us the supporters of FS has been disgraceful over the past couple of years, maybe not the devlopers fault more like a typical management sales ploy in changing everything every time making you pay out for new PC hardware and software when they rolled out FSX, which in my opinion is like Vista ..cack... Never has asim and a operating system come for so much critical comments, in fact we all know XP will stay a lot longer than Vista likewise FS9 will outlive FSX, why well they were never replaced by a better user friendly product, the new windows beta is out and from what I read it runs like XP should have done under a vista guise, rather than abloated fat overweight slouch OS they called Vista ....
Likewise FSX makes demands and fails to deliver, buy more software by more hardware and still folk will struggle to get it to FS9 standards. I bought it I patched it I flew it, but it woefully fails to compare with FS9 and all my add-ons.
So if they do resurrect FS in the future I hope the team behind it Listens... yes Listens to the end user.....
I still laugh at the "emperors clothes" comments from FSX users...

spatialpro · Post by **spatialpro** » 23 Jan 2009, 18:54

SkippyBing wrote: I don't see MS ditching the FS franchise, more realistically we're not going to see FSXI until sometime next decade with the development pushed right until we start seeing a recovery.

I totally agree with this. There will be another FS from the franchise, just not for a while.

The silver lining for the user is we get breathing space for FSX development to mature and blosom and mainstream, affordable PC components to catch up so it runs like FS2004. In the meantime if new users keep buying FSX then MS will see the benefit in keeping FS alive in future years.

It also leaves a gap in the market for X-Plane, and I'd really like to see them X-Ploit it! Punn intentional ;-)

The real cloud is the loss of all those jobs and impact on families...

tonymadge · Post by **tonymadge** » 23 Jan 2009, 19:53

affordable PC components to catch up so it runs like FS2004

I think that many will stay with FS9 as it seems pointless to move up to FSX and pay more to achieve similar if possible results, especially when the credit crunch is biting deeper and deeper, thats why Microsoft are cutting development I guess..

Techy111 · Post by **Techy111** » 23 Jan 2009, 19:56

Sadly i cannot stay with FS9...FSX has so many improvements and Multi-player just makes it for me....very smooth and it makes FS9 in multi look like FS2.... :000:

Plus i love the light bloom and DX10 preview....

Would be nice if Microsoft opened up the full code to the Gurus in the free world wouldn't it...?

Tony

basys · Post by **basys** » 23 Jan 2009, 20:51

Hi Folks

Phil Taylor blogged - End of an Era - Aces Studio and Flight Sim shuttered

Also IGN - Microsoft Confirms Aces Closure

Does this mean the end of the Flight Simulator franchise?
According to Rericha,
"We are committed to the Flight Simulator franchise
which has proven to be a successful PC based game for the last 27 years.
You should expect us to continue to invest in enabling great LIVE experiences on Windows,
including flying games, but we have nothing specific to announce at this time."

It's not the end of the world.

We just have a long-term highly-capable
and as yet minimally/unpopulated platform
to continue development for.

ATB
Paul

Tomliner · Post by **Tomliner** » 23 Jan 2009, 21:20

I feel for those losing their jobs in this situation.Unfortunately the marketing men got ahead of the game and released a product which,as I have said before,drove a wedge into its customer base.You only have to read the comments in forums such as this.Yes, eventually they may have got the product(FSX) right,but by then the damage was done.As I have mentioned previously, why would one want to throw away or upgrade a perfectly functioning PC and FS9 for what at the time were dubious benefits? As I see it,the 'suits' tried to force the market.Maybe a breathing space is not such a bad idea,perhaps giving a chance for a new visionary to learn from past mistakes.MS Flight Sims have given, and continue to give great enjoyment to people worldwide,and long may they continue to do so.Best Wishes EricT :-(

Post by **TSR2** » 23 Jan 2009, 21:44

The closing of ACE's has nothing to do with FSX which was their most successful FS product to date, infintely more commercially successful than FS9, so we can forget that track.

The reality is MS wants to move its games onto the xBox platform, and flightsim would never go there in its current state. Whats more MS has slowly but surely been moving away from game development over the past 24 months.

Flightsimulator will return, but in a console style xBox product in a few years time. What does that mean... well, no more "Freeware" addons, in al honesty, probably no more addons period, unless they are game addons from whoever will be given license to use the name.

So lets be clear... this is the death nail in our hobby.

Xplane is the only thing thats left, which means starting again for most of our model developers (freeware and payware) and we've already seen how difficult the transition was from FS9 to FSX for modelers and scenery designers alike. So the efforts of the guys on here to preserve a time when British Aviation ruled the waves will now petter out over the years. I really hope that some of the guys pesist with xplane and can do something with it, but for those who use FSDS, thats a hell of a big step.

With the closure of Aces, ultimately we are looking at the wind down of a multi million pound industry in addons etc, so over the coming years many more will be out of work.

So raise a glass to those developers at Aces who gave us so much enjoyment over the years and lament the passing of one of the best products ever to grace the PC. CHEERS

The link below includes extracts from the Microsoft press release...
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/947/947737p1.html

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1839

Classic British Flight Sim

Rumour - Gamasutra - Report: Microsoft Makes Big Cuts At

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