Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the games that can push people to spend even more money on upgrading their PC rigs. Market intelligence firm Jon Peddie Research claims that the types of people who are into simulation-style games are also among the most active and rising players on PC. And that’s why researchers at Jon Peddie predict that Microsoft Flight Simulator fans will spend $ 2.6 billion over the next three years to improve their gaming experience with hardware.
Peddie bases that view on the assumption that the excellent Flight Simulator will surpass 2.27 million copies sold. And the hardware includes components such as video cards and CPU, but it also includes flight sticks, rudder pedals, VR headset, authentic style seats, and monitors. The idea here is that the Flight Simulator audience has money to spend, and they love the process of improving their setup. So while not everyone who buys the game will spend $ 1000 to get the best experience, some will still spend significantly more.
And it is noteworthy that Microsoft and developer Asobo Studio built Flight Simulator with long-term support. That fans can feel good about investing in expensive hardware.
Microsoft Flight Simulator needs high-end hardware to look its best
Many people will need Upgrades because of how demanding Flight Simulator is for its highest visual settings.
“Flight simulators are incredibly demanding on processing capabilities and reward high resolution, large screens, and VR usage,” said Jon Peddie gaming analyst Ted Pollak. “When new flash simulators are released, the hardware to run them at maximum settings and performance does not yet exist. This creates a situation of constant demand for hardware over the life of the title as fans chase the best experience. A significant number of flight sim fans only play Flight Sim. We have taken this into account when calculating whether the money will be spent specifically or in part because of this game. “
Pollak’s point about the right hardware that does not even exist is what I noticed during my time with Flight Simulator. Even with a high-end video card and 12-core CPU, the game struggles around 4K. Peddie believes this will encourage a faster adoption of the next generation of CPUs and GPUs.
“Recipients of the Microsoft Flight Sim 2020 release will be Intel and AMD because of the in-flight flight simulators that are on CPUs,” Peddie said. “The frame rate can only be plotted when all physical calculations are solved, and simulations require more physical and environmental resolution by the CPU than normal games. Simulation gamers know that the CPU is not easily upgraded, so they pay for the best. Nvidia, AMD, and Intel’s GPU offerings will also benefit, as this processing is required for high resolutions. ”