Quote - a big chuck of the merchants here go where the money is,
and no matter how many people say "Luke needs this" or "What about the babies?"or "we need more male clothing"...the most money gets spent on anything and everything for Vicky.
-3dz

But there is also another factor. You use the word "demand", but is this demand being created by the poser user or is the merchant that is carving the road for this "demand"?

I can't speak for everyone, but for me and those whom I've gotten interested in Poser, I've noticed that we tend to use figures that have the most variety of things available to them...and that seems to be Vicky....and Michael to an extent.

There are lots of other great figures out there, but not much in the way of free stuff for most of them, and not a huge selection of character textures, clothing etc for them in the stores either.  Some yes, but certainly no where near what there is available for V3 and M3.

If the merchants stopped and through about it, the fact that there  doesn't seem to be a market for anything other than V3 or M3 is because they themselves are creating the voids.

I know if there were more free items and store items for the old millennium baby (ie: hair, cute clothing, faces etc), I'd be buying them.  Same goes for things for David and SP3 and even Judy and Apollo Maximus.

I saw Anton pumping out all kinds of freebies trying to generate interest in Apollo, I felt so bad for him.  It's a great frigure but merchants weren't making things for him because everyone is buying V3 this and M3 that, and that again is because that's all merchants are making, and that's all customers are seeing, so that's all they can buy because there is nothing else being generated by the majority of merchants in the stores.

If the merchant started to make things for other figures they would get the sales, they just have to stop looking for "instant sales" with everything they make.  The money is in the "niche" market.  Create what others aren't and you will get a loyal following. 

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never
able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.
This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good
heart whatever they might have to say." - Ghandi