me too, but...
E-on only has ONE product really, and that's the Vue line, DAZ gets tons of sales traffic due to poser ~and~ many other folk who use Poser as an ADD ON, ie, Bryce, Vue and "serious" users too.

The price of software is really atrocious, MAX3D is a shining example of this, look at their EULA and sales setup, and why such are regarded badly, I'll say no more to avoid censure but you will find them bad versus competitors prices and from legal stand points in many nations. Just few politicians or legislators have the savy or guts to take such things to task.

Software app companies usually do have a problem: low volume sales. They do not sell millions of copies. Thus they usually charge inflated prices to recoup development etc. Another aspect is snobbery, you get an attitude of "oh it's expensive it must be good and everything else trash!"..which is a load of male-hairy-spheres ;)

Lightwave was looked down on at first by some, for being a trashy app used to make cheap sci-fi...ah huh.. Also look at Adobe Photoshop versus Paint Shop Pro...400 worth of difference there is ~NOT~ between them.

Cheaper, good quality apps, downloadable, with good customer relations are slowly but surely kicking the pants of the "Big Boys".

So end result is, E-on has to make profit, but the current business market in the field is still influenced by hyper inflated prices and lousy business practices..though a trend started by Bryce and others for cheaper more pleasureable tools, slowly erodes this. Couple of years back Lightwave etc dropped in price.

When the market becoems 90+% downloaded, with folk only buying manuals as physical goods, publishers will have even larger prfoit margins which MUST be ploughed into cheaper content. The music industry is dying not because of piracy but because folk are fed up with being ripped off, pathetic current content (because only cheap pap is being backed), new distribution tools and media players, and customers only want what they LIKE...the industry didn't realize this, or care, and got its ass bit.
Go read up about Sony and it's internal copyright problems/sales.

As more folk get broadband, more comfortable with PCs they will DEMAND cheap quality tools for use ont he PC, and to hell with the rip off prices and attitudes.
This means higher volume of sales, smart companies know this, downloadable full working versions of apps are a wonder for hooking new customers.

The majority of new customers will NOT be business users, they CANNOT afford 500+ for software that soon will take you only 5 to 10 minutes to download. A business expects high cost but high quality back up/help, costs also factor into snobbery/appeal/sales/financing.

E-on selling enjoyable to use, semi-professional product are in an expanding market BECAUSE of these factors.
It's something to think on ;)

Message edited on: 03/26/2005 15:35

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