On the subject of "content" I think the main issue with end users is the constantly changing array of figure-based technologies, and as artists that's not really something they should have to be concerned about.

From a designers point of view I think the Poser format is the better of the two, and here's why I think so. When you look at what's required of a human figure, or pretty much anything really, it boils down to a few essentials:

• Total control over it's form.
• Total control over it's colour.
• Total control over it's joints.
• Total control over it's movement.

Both the Poser and Geneses figures offer this, but I think the Poser figures do it a lot easier and more efficiently.  I have no intentions of slowing down my Poser viewport with a DSON import, I already have the essentials in the Poser figures.

Today, a Poser figure not only allows the essntials listed above, it goes further still by allowing things to control other things, and for it's form to react dynamically.  The fact is that no matter how hard I try, when I add that lot together I can't think of anything that cannot be done with the figure technology already in Poser.

I also think Genesis is bad news for vendors in the long run.

In order to keep up development, money needs to be made by both the software and content developers.  Making it easy to morph from a toddler to an adult and bring the clothes along with it simply cuts out the requirement for vendored products, and frankly I've never seen such an idiotic move made by DAZ in the entire time I've known them.  IMHO, Genesis is nothing more than a marketing product that entices you with pointless technologies.  There's nothing you can do with Genesis that you cannot do with a much lighter and more responsive,Poser figure.  If only users would learn about joint driven morphs, axis bulges - and to my amazement - even built-in event-driven joint keyframing.

You can even make breasts bounce due to the fact that Poser now allows your figure to have a complete map-based soft-body.

I'm guessing DAZ thought Genesis would get one over on the Poser users, but all they've really done is over-complicate the situation (in typical DAZ fashion) and develop a format that will ultimately cut down the amount of products needing to be sold in their online store.  I've told DAZ directly on many occasions (lovingly of course) how stupid they are, and to me, Genesis is just one example of epic-scale stupidity.

One other thing to consider when you compare what DAZ and SM are doing, is this:

Genesis might sound like a good idea when you consider it starts off as neither male or female, but at the end of the day, that mesh still needs to morph to make it either one or the other.  Me personally, I prefer to see a whole new geometry with "character" on each release of Poser, and I have to say, Smith Micro do that very well.  Not only do you get figures that look very different from one another, that library of figures builds up as the release count increases.  You end up with a good selection of figures.

Try doing that with your DAZ Runtime and you'll find, for example, that even though there are masses of Victoria 4 morphs out there, the majority of them still look like Victoria 4.  It's an inherent side-effect of using the same geometry time and time again.  Now, stand Roxie next to Miki and see if that problem appears with the Poser way of doing it.

Nope (because they're completely different geometry).

You've never had it so good, you have Poser figures that have weight mapped morphs and dynamics for crying out loud - you even have total control over joint driven morphs.  People need to stop whining and start learning the technology that is already at their disposal in Poser.  You can already do anything you will ever need to do with a figure in Poser if you learn how it works.  And as long as Smith Micro keep up the characters and add the right features to Poser - I really don't see a problem.

I can't remember who said it, or even which thread it was in, but I agree the best way forward for vendors is to start supporting the characters that come with each new release of Poser (it makes perfect sense).  Roxie is a perfect example of that, she's a nice mesh with 'character', yet there's like a million outfits for V4 and Genesis and a lot of them still look like V4 or Genesis.

What about Roxie, Rex, Miku?