Phil Spencer had a hard time believing Flight Simulator was working in real time | XboxOne

The return of Microsoft Flight Simulator in 2020 was a real slap in the face for the public, but not only. The mythical aviation simulator which celebrated its 40th anniversary last week offers a formula more accomplished than ever, thanks in particular to the work of Asobo on the project, and Microsoft Flight Simulator is today an incredible feat of the video game industry, so much so that Phil Spencer found it hard to believe in certain features present in the game.

Xbox Boss Stunned By Flight Simulator’s Real-Time And Realism

It was the manager of Microsoft Flight Simulator, Jorg Neumann, who recently spoke to our colleagues at VGC, who returned to the presentation of the project to Phil Spencer.

“When I pitched the project, the very first demo I showed Phil was Seattle in 3D. I flew over the Microsoft campus – literally the building we were sitting in talking – and he m said, ‘why are you showing me a video of Seattle?’ I knew then that I had it.

Then I said ‘it’s in real time’ and he said ‘no way’ [rires], and we knew we had something. None of the guys in that room were simmers, and they all felt something.”

It is not difficult to imagine the reaction of Spencer and his cronies present for the presentation since many people, attracted or not by video games, were blown away by the realism, the real time management and the scale. 1:1 present in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

For Jorg Neumann, it is this realistic representation of the Earth that has attracted many players, and not the “flight simulator” side of the title, when it is its very essence.

“When we launched the game, we found people who liked or had some respect for planes, but they really liked the planet. It’s the app that kills. That’s what brought in new people .

If this had been an exceptionally well-executed physics simulator, with atmosphere and airlines, I don’t think it would have gone this far.”

The Microsoft Flight Simulator adventure has been one of the Xbox ecosystem’s biggest hits over the past two years and it’s far from over. Indeed, the 40th anniversary update of Microsoft Flight Simulator released on Friday finally integrates helicopters, gliders and historical aircraft such as the Wright Flyer, the Spirit of St Lewis or the Hughes H-4 Hercules ‘Spruce Goose’ . A number of classic missions, airports and aircraft from Microsoft Flight Simulator X 2006 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight are also added to the game.