When experienced pilots do a type rating in a simulator, and I'm talking a full motion, multi million dollar simulator here, it is still mandatory in EASA land to do several take offs and landings in a real aeroplane before the type rating is issued. This is because these multi million dollar simulators are not considered an adequate model of a real landing. It's different.
Not so - we now have zero flight time training, the type rating is issued never having flown the real aircraft, the first time it is flown these days is with a training Captain in the other seat and paying passengers in the back!