Is there in fact a strategy, or is the idea that there must be updates to generate revenue, so updates will be provided?

I don't see a lot of point in trying to compete with Vue or Carrara in terms of rendering and landscaping. If development is needed, it is in two areas:

1. Improving the capabilities of the program for actually setting up and Posing figures. This is what Poser is about. Look at something like PoseMagic - why didn't Curious Labs/e-frontier think of that? Look at PhilC's utilities. Why aren't those fundamental parts of the program (and not something that has to be implemented in sluggish python scripting)? The core functionality of Poser has been neglected, especially in Poser 6.

2. Improving the interface. In fact, radically replacing it. What worked for Poser 3 is more than creaking for Poser 6.