Microsoft launches heavy duty version of Flight Simulator

According to a recent Business Week article, Microsoft will release a $799 version of Flight Simulator called Microsoft ESP. Well, to call it Flight Simulator is a bit misleading since the new software is based upon technology used for the 25-year-old Flight Simulator series. ESP’s target audience is aviation and military companies who want to create training simulations for their upcoming products.
The article says that Microsoft, even after companies including Northrop Grumman sought to license the game engine for use in their simulations, said no. Recently, seeing an opportunity to make money, the game development team took nine months to work on the ESP platform. It’s biggest beta tester, Northrop Grumman recently used the software to create a simulation program in three days — a significant alteration considering the normal six to 18 month simulation project schedule.
31/12/07 Micheal Mullen/Game Daily, USA