Microsoft ACES Closing Down?

[Matt Olieman]

I don't get the impression anyone is saying goodbye to MSFS. MSFS is a cash cow to MS. They maybe taking a financial break by closing down ACE, but I have faith MSFS will be continued for a long time.

Matt Olieman

[ak49er]

How will this effect the Microsoft ESP program I have heard about? I believe that ESP was going to standardize virtual environments to allow multiple uses of features and cross purpose simulation.

[N242AM]

Most are surely correct in saying we have no difinitive information other than the X number of job cuts.

However, if you were working for ACES and lost your job today, how would feel? Naturally you would need to start looking for another. Correct?

You are quickly picked up by company which pays well and you will be developing interesting software. Six months later Microsoft calls and asks if you would come back to ACES to work on FSNext. Would you?

On another point, anyone ever get dropped into a software project without any prior knowledge or experience in the project. My point is, who will be able to pick up where the previous ACES programmers left off.

I do believe this is worse than we presently know. Interesting how in this is normally the case. Always worse than we are initally led to believe.

[N242AM]

Phil Taylor blog:

http://www.futuregpu.org/2009/01/end...light-sim.html

[Lewis Simmons]

Yeah this news is spreading.

Take a look at this:

From Jon Ostrower at Flight Global:

With the economy spiraling further and further into a hole, Microsoft announced yesterday it was laying of 5000 employees. We learned today, though still officially unconfirmed by Microsoft, that the cuts include the disbanding of the ACES Studio team which is responsible for Flight Simulator. It appears as though the venerable flight simulator, which has been around since 1982, is no more.

When mega businesses like Boeing or Microsoft eliminate jobs, the impact reverberates throughout the economy. The loss of 5000 Microsoft jobs is a huge blow in its own right, but the Flight Simulator community, which is truly global, will feel the loss as well. Many developers make their living creating addons for the program. The impact is far from localized.

As many of you know, I am an avid user of Flight Sim as well, having flown one version or another since 1995. In no uncertain terms, Flight Sim cultivated my love of aviation and helped me get to where I am today. I joke with my mother that all those times she was yelling at me during High School to do my homework and stop shooting ILS approaches to Kai Tai, I was really just getting job training for the future.

Microsoft Flight Simulator was an institution both personally and for the aviation community and its loss will be strongly felt.

[Kennair]

Well all I can say is thank goodness FSX was initially a dog to run on 2006 hardware. It's got loooong legs, and already the average hardware can run it well. Yes FS2004 is still going strong and so will FSX. I don't think we'll need to complain about a new version for a good 10 years.

As for addon's there are still strong developers who haven't even started on FSX addons! Look at the PMDG 737 and RealityXP's Jetline series. Yes these companies have launched "some" FSX versions but we're still waiting on the biggies. The longer FSX is around as the latest version, the better and more addons that will be developed.

Shame about the job losses but the world will turn back the other way eventually.

Just my 2c,

Ken.

[AndyT]

Microsoft Confirms Aces Closure
Studio responsible for Flight Simulator shut down amidst layoffs.

by Jason Ocampo

January 23, 2009 - Microsoft has confirmed the closure of Aces Game Studio, the internal development studio responsible for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Flight Simulator is one of the company's oldest product lines, stretching back more than 20 years. The closure came amidst the company's first major layoffs in its history, announced on Thursday. Approximately 5,000 Microsoft employees will be laid off; around 1,400 were cut immediately, with the remainder to but cut over the next 18 months.

In a statement, Kelda Rericha of Edelman, Microsoft's public relations firm, said that the decision was made within Microsoft's Internal Entertainment Business "to align our people against our highest priorities."

The closure of Aces marks the shuttering of another major developer within Microsoft Game Studios. Since September of 2007, the company has shut down FASA Studio (Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries, and Shadowrun), announced the closure of Ensemble Studios (Age of Empires), and Carbonated Games (Hexic HD, Uno). In addition, Bungie, the studio responsible for Halo, left Microsoft Games Studios and became an independent studio, though Microsoft does maintain an ownership stake in it.

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." (Emphasis added)

[tasmanet]

.

I have a long time mate who works at the highest level in
Finance in Honkers (HKG).

He made a comment recently over a few sherbets that he had
heard a rumour that M$ was shifting FS to China or India.

Tas

[No Longer Active]

Is that why FSX is called fs.......X!

X = The End !

Doesnt take an enigma to work that one out!

[mattford1]

Indeed bad news. I firmly believe that the product is completely dead. Think about it this way: they let the entire development team go. That's a huge brain drain. Then consider that even if they were to resurrect the product, it wouldn't happen until the economy improves, that will take probably 2 years. Then if you hire on programmers, you're talking one to two years to get them ramped back up onto a project that most if not all had no history with. I think best case scenario they are at least 5 years from another release.

X-Plane is the only supported viable alternative now.