Hello Captains, and welcome back.
If you’ve spent any time on the various social media channels dedicated to our flight simulation hobby, you’ve probably heard about a video that made the rounds in late January. A YouTube creator released a 30‑plus‑minute piece titled “PMDG 737 Review: It’s Worse Than I Thought,” in which he essentially accuses PMDG of being dishonest or misleading in how they released their Boeing 737‑800 NG for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. At the time I’m writing this, the video has racked up more than 27,000 views.
I watched that video shortly after it appeared in my recommendations. The title and thumbnail did their job—they grabbed my attention. But after watching it, I didn’t feel compelled to spend any more time thinking about it, much less writing about it.
That changed today.
Another video popped up in my feed titled “Rebuilt vs New – The PMDG Claim Falls Apart By Definition.” The creator of this second video breaks down several points from the first one, and some of his observations were genuinely interesting—things I hadn’t considered when I watched the original video back in January.
Now, the purpose of this article isn’t to promote either of these videos, which is why I’m not linking them. If you want to watch them, you can easily find them yourself. What did motivate me to write this post was a single line from that second video:
“For one thing to be good, something else needs to be bad.”
That sentiment perfectly captures a recurring pattern in our community. We have a habit of framing everything as a comparison—often an unnecessary one. A perfect example is the constant reference to Fenix releasing their Airbus A320 family for MSFS 2024 at no additional cost for existing MSFS 2020 owners, while PMDG chose to charge $30 for the 737‑800 and $20 for the 737‑900ER.
The fact that Fenix chose one path and PMDG chose another doesn’t inherently make one “good” and the other “bad.” Yet that’s exactly how many people are interpreting it.
Without diving too far into politics, I’ve said many times on this blog that I’m a supporter of free‑market capitalism—and yes, that includes within the flight simulation ecosystem. Fenix is free to offer their upgrade at no cost. PMDG is free to charge for theirs. And we, as consumers, are free to decide how to spend our money.
Was I happy to receive the Fenix update for free? Absolutely.
Did I pay to upgrade the PMDG 737‑800 to MSFS 2024? Yes.
Did I also pay to upgrade the 737‑900ER? Yes again.
Will I pay to upgrade the 737‑600 and 737‑700? Probably not—they just don’t interest me, and I rarely flew them in MSFS 2020.
Will I buy the PMDG 747 when it releases? Oh, without a doubt.
In closing, I’m not writing this to defend PMDG, nor am I trying to elevate Fenix. My point is simple: we always have a choice. PMDG isn’t the villain, and Fenix isn’t the hero. Whether PMDG “built” or “rebuilt” their 737 doesn’t matter to me. They determined the effort justified the upgrade price. I evaluated how much I enjoy flying the 737 and decided it was worth it. I’m grateful to have such a high‑quality 737‑800—and now the 900ER—in my virtual hangar. For me, that small investment will last far longer than any overpriced cup of coffee.
Maybe it’s time we all get back to loving this hobby and appreciating the incredible aircraft and experiences we have at our fingertips.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!
Jerry