Quote - I don't see it affecting things either way.. sure some lower end consumer sales will suffer, but some prosumer customers will fill some of that void, and that have more disposable income, because they are doing commercial work.

And comparitively, poser pro costs really no more then poser 7 did.. look at how much staples like milk, eggs, or gas have gone up in price since poser 7's release. The us dollar has also devalued about 30% in that time frame, so to make the same amount of money they did before, poser pro has to cost more.

If people can afford $69 for videogames, $800 for video game consoles, $40 for blue ray movies, surely the value is there for poser pro.

Everythings spiralling up in cost... no one likes it, but it's a fact of life. here's another great example: Hulk toys for the first movie came out at $4.99. For the new movie, they are retailing at $14.99! Triple the cost.

Why do I mention that? Hulk came out about the same time as Poser 7.  So if they both increased in cost the same percent, Poser pro should cost 2/3rd MORE then poser 7. (Yet it doesn't at all.)

or look at eggs... $69 cents a dozen back then, $3.20 a dozen now. or milk.. $1.29 a gallon then, $3.50 a gallon now.

We won't even mention how much gas has gone up in the same timeframe.

Sorry, no sale.  Most of the other products you mention require suppliers and what not moving actual physical goods from one location to another.  As there costs in fuel consumption and such go up, so do the cost of their end products.  That just makes sense.

However I seriously doubt Smith Micro recently gave everyone that worked on poser a raise equivalent to 2/3 increase in there salary to compensate them for the gas they use to get to work, in fact I'd be willing to wager they haven't.

So Smith Micro's costs on a purely intellectual product haven't changed on iota.  I also don't see all the other 3d app makers nearly tripling the costs of there products.. and thank goodness - or we'd all be in serious trouble.

Nope, Smith Micro's new pricing scheme is a bad one, plain and simple.  Pros who can afford a $500 outlay probably won't buy Poser - too many other apps in that price range will do what poser can do and more.

Also I don't see a lot of pros using purchased content all that often - honestly most of them avoid it for a variety of reasons.  Sure, a few do here and there, but as to the vast majority of them I'd say that's probably not the case.   They do most of there own modeling and rigging, because, well, they are pros.  That's what they get paid to do.  Shops that can afford animators and graphic artists can also afford to have a modeller or two on staff, heck half the time most of the people in each of those categories have all three in there skill set.

So the "pro" market that might be interested in pre-done content is probably going to be mostly your small "ma and pop" type outfits, places that need to generate quickly and don't have the time, resources or inclination to do all there own modeling.

Personally if I were such a Pro and didn't already own a copy of Poser I wouldn't be buying a new copy of it anytime soon, and neither would anyone else with half a brain.  Just way too many other 3d apps already in that price range that stomp Poser into the dirt in almost every category you can name.  It would be a piss poor investment to say the least.

If I am such a "pro" and already have Poser, well, guess what, odds are good I already have more content for it than I know what to do with already.  Personally I haven't bought much content, I enjoy doing my own modeling and rigging - that's really my area of interest with Poser to begin with so I make most of my own stuff or modify free stuff to suit my needs. 

But even with that I have content coming out of my ears.  And honestly, how many V3 or V4 miniskirts do I really need for goodness sake?  Don't get me wrong, I've seen some really great quality content coming out in the community - wonderful stuff.  But for a true pro you just don't have the kind of market you have with the amatuer who can't do that kind of modelling or rigging themselves.  That's the market that keeps poser content creators working and making money, like it or not.

Sure, a pro will buy a few things now and again - but there purchases will be a lot less frequent and they are going to be a lot pickier about what they buy.  That's all there is too it.  So, you have a lot less market with pro's to begin with, and your not going to get a lot of pros buying the new Poser and needing content for it because the new Poser is ridiculously overpriced and under-featured when compared to programs in the same price range as it currently resides.

Add that to the fact that Poser already has a bad name in the pro community, and your looking at a serious lose lose all the way around. 

Hey, I understand you create content and want to be paid a decent living wage for your work, I really do - in fact I'd really like to see that too.  But as far as Poser jacking it's prices through the roof being the answer to that problem, not by any stretch of the imagination.

Best talk to your wife and see if she can pickup some OT at work, because mark my words, your sales this next year will be a lot worse than they were in previous years, regardless of how good your products are or how many you put out.  The content market is going to suffer for Smith Micro's serious miscalculation in marketing strategy, just a matter of time.

-Never fear, RenderDog is near!  Oh wait, is that a chew toy?  Yup. ok, nevermind.. go back to fearing...