This might sound silly.
But might not MWO's marketing team be more successful catering to specific demographics?
For example, in targeting demographics, future cockpit items -
1. Gun racks. With guns. Plan B, C & D for those instances a pilot must eject.
2. Boom box. The 3025 equivalent of a CD player / 8 track / cassette deck. Maybe, it could have the functionality to link to a youtube playlist & play your tracks in game.
3. Cockpit themes. The option to paint the interior of a cockpit bright pink if desired or customize with wallpaper tileset. This might sound heretical, and people might hate me for saying this, but I imagine an LGBT theme with a rainbow tileset might raise some eyebrows. The troll in me wouldn't mind seeing the reaction to this.
4. American flag, german flag, mexican flag, canadian flag, confederate flag, etc. A little hometown pride.
5. Rearview mirror. Or rear view camera allowing a pilot to see directly behind them.
6. A small monitor playing the 3025 equivalent of 'Fox News', CNN, et all. It could carry updates and statistics regarding community warfare.
7. A goldfish bowl with fish in it. A cat sleeping on the dash. People like pets.
8. Different textures for the mech user interface. Marble, woodgrain, carbon fiber, stainless steel, gold plated, silver plated, platinum, etc.
9. A marijuana leaf hanging item / bong in the cockpit. Hookah pipe, etc.
10. A small beer cooler or empty beer cans. Maybe a wine bottle for the victory celebration?
11. Slogans & posters. Some like to hang che guevara posters from hot topic in their rooms. I don't know if che guevara exists in battletech continuity. But I bet some would pay real money to have one in their mech cockpit. lol
Eh, nevermind. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore..