Opinion Pieces

The Boeing 777-200ER is arguably one of the most requested add-ons from PMDG ever since they released their 200LR/F Base Package. Though the 200LR is certainly a very beautiful long-hauler, many fans have always been wondering why PMDG opted to model this variant of the Boeing 777 over the 200ER version of the plane, which is much more widespread in use with different airlines all over the world.

For years, it seemed we would not be getting a decent 200ER in our simulations. That was until Captain Sim came to answer the call and created their Boeing 777 Captain II package. That’s when most people collectively decided they didn’t want a 200ER after all, or at least, a 200ER of a certain quality that Captain Sim perhaps did not provide.

And so fans of the 200ER would have to wait almost two more years after that before PMDG released their 200ER. The release of the 200ER was certainly received rather controversially by many. Amidst a general 777 family update, a 200ER expansion pack with three new engine types and an EFB, many simmers were upset with the pricing, PMDG’s release strategy or more. I will admit that I myself certainly felt some confusion over both, so I decided to go on our website and find old news articles and corresponding PMDG announcements to create a timeline and see how we got to the point we are at today.

For some reason, many developers, publishers and media outlets choose April 1st as the ideal date to announce exciting new products, new features or provide the community with an update to their existing product line. As a media outlet, we are always prepared to tackle this challenging day and as usual, we found a lot of great new announcements.

New Helicopter for DCS World!?

Let’s start with our friends at Helisimmer. They were lucky enough to be provided with EXCLUSIVE news of a Helicopter coming to DCS World. We know Sergio is a huge fan of the spinning tops so he must have been beside himself when he found out this great news. The news is that Heatblur are working on a F-14 Heli-edition for the combat simulator. The team said “Not really but we HAD to do it after we have seen how happy Bel Geode was about our module. We know he’s a huge fan of rotor aircraft as well – and especially tiltrotors. We decided to embark on this project to cater such an amazing Tomcat lover. This one’s for you, Drew”