To go back on topic.

Pauline has launched and she is now, I think everyone can agree, an actual release figure.

Personally I have seen some improvement from the early shots we have seen leaked, mainly with what's possible with morphing Pauline. From facial characteristics to scalability, there does seem to be some real possibilities for the figure in the hands of 3rd party developers.

The negatives are clearly the bending of the figure, it seems she is best posed in the T-pose, anything else tends to look a little awkward to say the least. Again this does seem to be being put out there as something that will be addressed in aftermarket products or left to the er 'Poser?' of Pauline to fix themselves.

The main issue is that Smith Micro, again, seems to be selling a figure based on what a 3rd party will be able to do later with it. Which seems to have a rather high risk factor considering how well this strategy has worked for them in the past.

This really does seem more of an attempt to make a new V4 type figure, rather than an equivalent modern figure such as the figures from Daz, that seem to offer a much more complete package for the end user. I believe this stems from a Poser cultural hang up that believes that most users see themselves as nuts and bolts creative tinkerers, that shun a load and click render scenario. On the other hand Daz3D figures seem to cover the broader market pretty well with diverse price points, If you just want a base to tinker, Genesis 3 figure bases are entirely free with zero investment required. Right through to a Pro version and separate morph packs for those that want a more out of the box solution with shall I say a more complete figure, without facing a learning curve of JCM's, weight mapping issues and crossed fingers waiting for a certain fix. There also is an almost unspoken guarantee from Daz that there figures will receive broad support from a diverse range of developers which is extremely important for buyer security.

So in effect Pauline is, as stated, a merchant resource, that will be dependant on gathering a market share to see any real success as a figure. The danger of this is that buyers may hold off of on any real investment in figure, while waiting to see what the 3rd party developers will bring to the table, and 3rd party developers may lose interest if initial products receive low sales of any initial offerings for Pauline. To be honest while 9 Pauline product offerings seems like a chunk, it really is quite low and I honestly don't expect to see 9 more offered today. And that is what is required to establish the market, follow through. If things go quiet now it could spell real danger for pauline's future. There needs to be a consistent delivery of products to encourage buy in and quell the nerves of customers who worry that Pauline may in fact not receive a full level of product support. Which is entirely to be expected when considering Poser figures history. What is released today may be the first small indicator of Pauline's future.

So in answer to the thread OP is Pauline a V7 killer, definitely not.

But Pauline's future as a potential V4 killer is possible and is in the hands of Poser users and the ability of the required aftermarket developers to fill the holes left by SM. And for that group to create a market segment for Pauline. And only time will decide their success in that.