Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight is video game released in 2003, and is part of the Microsoft Flight Simulator video game series.

Flight Simulator 2004 (9.0): A Century of Flight, also known as FS9 or FS2004, was shipped with several historical aircraft such as the Wright Flyer, Ford Tri-Motor, and the Douglas DC-3 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight. The program included an improved weather engine, that provided true three-dimensional clouds and true localized weather conditions for the first time. The engine also allowed users to download weather information from actual weather stations, allowing the simulator to synchronize the weather with the real world. Other enhancements from the previous version included better ATC communications, GPS equipment, interactive virtual cockpits, and more variety in autogen such as barns, street lights, silos, etc.

A service update (9.1) was released on 10 June 2004, that included over 160 bridges missing or wrongly displayed in the original version, with several other corrections and performance improvements. As of 2015, FS2004 is probably still the most popular of Microsoft's simulators.

In the United States, Flight Simulator 2004 sold 670,000 copies and earned $26.8 million by August 2006, after its release in July 2003. It was the country's 19th best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006. Combined sales of all Microsoft Flight Simulator games released between January 2000 and August 2006, including Flight Simulator 2004, had reached 3.1 million units in the United States by the latter date.Flight Simulator 2004 received a "Silver" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

The editors of Computer Gaming World presented Flight Simulator 2004 with their 2003 "Flight Simulation of the Year" award. They wrote, "All the details fall together in FS2004: A Century of Flight, the first release in this venerable series that convincingly re-creates the entire flying experience." It was also a nominee for PC Gamer US's 2003 "Best Simulation" award, although it lost to IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles. The editors called Flight Simulator 2004 "the best-looking and highest-flying collection of vintage and modern aircraft in this storied series".

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