Expensive software might consider moving to a subscription service, so the masses might be more likely to pay for what they're using when it can be paid for on a monthly basis.

Does 3dsmax really need to be thousands of dollars for few people or would it do just as well being 15 dollars a month for thousands of people?

This idea that software needs to be elite, and not in the hands of the poor, is absurd and, well, elitist.