Microsoft Flight Sim being removed from British shelves. (1 Viewer)

[Derrik Draven]

Just read about it on page 31 of the The Sun, Saturday edition. It's a British news magazine.
Okay folks, we're officially going a bit overboard.

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"...better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it". - Slater, True Romance
[Edited last by Derrik Draven on September 15, 2001 at 06:35 PM]

 

[MikeAlletto]

was any reason given in the article? I can't think of any...
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Michael Alletto
Mike's DVD List
Link Removed

 

[Dan B]

Yes, there was a story that people may have used the game to practice flying into the World Trade Center. I don't recall if there was evidence that the hijackers themselves used the game though.
-Dan

 

[Graeme Clark]

This is insane. It's like banning kitchen knives because they could (and have) been used as weapons.
MS Flight Simulator is probably the most non violent game you can find next to Tetris. And it's not like they could play this game and then hop into a real plane. These guys took pilot lessons.
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[Dan Brecher]

I have not heard this story, nor seen it reported anywhere else. I HAVE seen stories that they did indeed use MS Flight Sim to learn some flight aspects, though how this has been found out I dont know so am dubious over the story as being fact.
As for the current version being removed from shelves I know nothing. I know the future version of the game is having the WTC removed, but to remove the current one just because you can fly a plane into the WTC graphic is a bit pointless since in the future release with the WTC removed, one will still be able to crash it into anything.
Dan (UK)

 

[Derrik Draven]

Dan, I get to read quite a bit of international papers at work. I can assure you, I read this article in The Sun. Check it out. It's a short read but, it clearly stated that the program is being removed from the shelves in England.
Sat. edition, page 31.
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"...better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it". - Slater, True Romance

 

[Dan Brecher]

Oh don't get me wrong, I believe you read it...my believing The Sun of all British tabloids however, is another matter.
Dan (UK)

 

[Iain Lambert]

Good point Dan. The Sun is only about two steps above the Enquirer when it comes to responsible journalism. As for the story that they trained on Microsoft Flight Sim, when we have already heard from the Florida flight school that they trained at using real professional training equipment then this is standard 'how can we say its all caused by computer games' mudcasting. This week's Penny Arcade says pretty much all I feel about that one.
[Edited last by Iain Lambert on September 17, 2001 at 04:05 AM]

 

[Steven_V]

Here is the story from CNN.com:
Microsoft to alter 'Flight Simulator' game
From BBC News:
Towers removed from simulator

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[Iain Lambert]

Steven, thats the entirely reasonable story that Microsoft are amending their maps so that next year's Flight Sim release doesn't include New York with the towers in place. The Sun, in their infinite wisdom, are reporting that the current version is being pulled from the shelves, though its entirely probable that they don't understand the difference.

 

[Dan Brecher]

By George, The Sun had it right actually. I just read pretty much the same thing on Digitser (page 480 on channel4 teletext)... Whens the 2002 edition due? October? I suppose it wont hurt them to withdraw the old one now..
Dan (UK)

 

[Iain Lambert]

The Sun in genuine news scoop shocker! I'm impressed. This does strike me as a strange move, but then last Friday's Telegraph did have an opinion column saying that we should bomb back to the stone age any ISP that allows encrypted traffic through its servers. Guess the moron had never ordered anything online. The Register has a story on it, but the Telegraph site has mysteriously deleted the article from their site in the last hour or so.
Yes, they may advocate the killing of anyone connected to the internet, but that doesn't mean they don't have a website.

 

[Owen S]

The store in town did pull Red Alert II. They said it had the WTC towers blowing up on the cover of the box.
[Edited last by Owen S on September 18, 2001 at 09:08 PM]