Well this thread has resurrected hasn't it? I agree with the comments some have made about the arrogance of certain pilots here. I think it's misplaced, these sims can only encourage people to take up flying. I wish I had it when I started flying, I'm sure it would have saved me money.
Having said that I heard a cautionary tale of an Instructor who was caught out by a member of the Microsoft generation. It was a familiarisation flight, a young guy who was obviously keen, he had all the terminology off pat and talked the talk. So much so, that the Instructor was lulled into letting his guard drop a bit, so when the student asked to follow through on the controls during take off, he agreed.
All went well until rotation when the guy panicked and shouted 'No no' and pushed the yoke forward. The Instructor quickly landed back on, but the aircraft swerved off the runway into a large standing pool of water. There was no damage but the Instructor got his socks wet when he stepped out the aeroplane into water up to his ankles.
Quite simply in spite of his extensive 'experience' flying the sim, the sensation of actually leaving the ground was frightening to him and he panicked. You can't simulate that. Of course thats why we fly, to experience that sensation. Not everyone enjoys it.
To cap it all, after recovering his composure the guy wandered back to the office to enquire about booking another flight. The Instructors comments were not recorded!
However, most people are more sensible than that, but there's always someone who thinks it'll be the same in real life as on a PC in the bedroom.