The fact is that they've been doing both for years now. The team itself concentrates on the software and they hire others for the content. The problem with that is they since they broke with Zygote/DAZ they've been hiring obscure artists for their figures.

Some of the figures have been OK, but most of them have been too outspoken in the way they look. There lies the whole problem..... while DAZ has more generic figures over the years, Poser comes with figures that are so stylized that it's very hard to break free from. Due to that, the figures aren't really usable. Above that it's clear that the poser team has an odd taste and quite a good number of their figures are outright ugly or weird.

The general users wants a generic figure they can use over and over again. On top of that the poser owners (not only SM) have failed to gain interest for their figures from vendors. The figures always have been looking like an after thought. With DAZ going their own way now with DS & Genesis, SM should have changed their view on content years ago. Why you would even release a figure you know hardly anybody will use and has no extra content at all year after year is still after all these years a mystery to me.

Knowing that figures for Poser aren't a after thought anymore at all, SM should have changed policy on this. Instead of using obsure figure creators that have a too strong outspoken style, they should have teamed up with a good one instead. After all these years we should have seen a figure that is on at least version 3 or 4 by now. There are some very talented figure developers in the community, but SM again and again seems to hire the unlikely ones. As for extra content for the figures, it doesn't need to be included with Poser, just be available at the time of Poser's release. Well, some should obviously be included with Poser, but most can be released seperately.

But.... the major issue most likely is time. Is a year enough time to develop some good figures, get vendors to create a good selection of items for them? No, most likely not.

If figures continue to be an after thought, then perhaps SM is better of focussing on the software instead and stop annoying us with meiocre figures. But obviously SM feels and knowns there's a need for figures to be included, so why not do it right instead?

We can all have an opinion about this, but in the end it doesn't matter. It's obvious that the majority of Poser users doesn't use the included figures, vendors refuse to support them and that SM after all these years still have no clue what their users want or like when it comes to figures.

Having said all this, the question is does SM still need to develop their own figures? I don't think so and here's my simple suggestion. Since Dawn is free, imo SM should include her with Poser, with some base content for her, beyond a bikini. Next, SM should support Hivewire3D financially in releasing a male figure and working on Dawn V2. This way they at least support and include figures a lot more users do like and that have a lot more support then whatever they release. Why not make use of the stengths that are in the poser world already, instead of continually trying to invent the wheel yourself? This would seriously be my suggestion. If SM can spent money on hiring a developer, they may as well spent the money on working together with Hivewire3D and their further developments.

Artwork and 3DToons items, create the perfect place for you toon and other figures!

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/index.php?vendor=23722

Due to the childish TOS changes, I'm not allowed to link to my other products outside of Rendo anymore :(

Food for thought.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYZw0dfLmLk