U.S. Navy using Microsoft Flight Simulator

U.S. Navy using Microsoft Flight Simulator is the story today, and it is the kind of late-April 1999 news blast that makes the pre-E3 season feel like someone kicked the hornet nest. The U.S. Navy is using Microsoft Flight Simulator to test the product’s benefits in training future Navy pilots. Heeding the success of ensign Herb Lacy, who is now “top gun” at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station after clocking 50 hours of flight time on Flight Simulator, the Navy will start testing students on six customized simulators running Microsoft Flight Simulator software. The Navy’s T-34C Turbo Mentor training plane will be imported into the product so students can train for their first flights.

It may not be the same thrill as a fresh demo, but this stuff shapes what actually reaches players. Boring paperwork today can turn into games on shelves tomorrow.