Train Simulator isn ' t a game , it is a simulator targeted at train enthusiasts . No one is expected to buy every single track and train , people just buy the trainstracks they like . It is a small niche , and since content packs require licensing and development costs and themselves are niche products for a niche product , costs are a bit higher than the average user might be willing to pay . However , the content isn ' t for the average user , if all you want to do is dick around with trains for a couple hours the base game has you covered . Your comparison is similar to going into a University bookstore and saying Oh if you want to complete University experience it costs $ 200 , 000 to buy all the books . No one buys all the books , they only buy the ones relevant to their classes , and the costs for individual books are high because the books can only be sold to a relatively small group of students .