The high textures don't really matter unless you are looking at pores. Bigger doesn't actually mean better when you take into account the resolution of both your image and your monitor - it just means you need more memory for your scene (a 1Gb swim suit? Yes, it does exist).

If you read the forums, Poser has been dying for over a decade now. I was seeing the exact same type of threads back in 2004 (Poser 5 era) when I started using Poser. For years, people in the forums would also have you believe that no one has purchased any copy of Poser since Poser 4. The reality is that most folks here (90%+) are running Poser 9 or later. What is happening is that the Poser community is spread out among more than 1 storefront, so there isn't the concentration that their used to be.

If you are using Dawn or Dusk, why on earth would you shop here? Your time would be better spent at Hivewire3d. The same can be said for Pauline & Paul. Just about everything sold here for Paul and Pauline is also sold at Content Paradise and the SM forums are picking up. If you are using the genesis figure (any iteration) in Poser, you will have a better selection at DAZ, and the forums are more useful.

There is less and less new V4 (or anything else) content sold here - that isn't a reflection of Poser, it is a reflection of the vendors that sell here. There are a lot of vendors here that came in during the V4 era and are hell-bent that they aren't leaving October 2007. They are going to continue to make products for Poser 7 as opposed to a modern version of Poser - and they are going to whine about shrinking sales rather than leave 2007 and Poser 7 behind.

An additional factor is that too many vendors here are only interested in making content that they are personally interested in. They can't be "creative" and make something they are not personally interested in. It shouldn't be a surprise that most users aren't actually interested in that 382,734,957th version of an early-twenties Caucasian woman. The same can be said for that 829,484,734th version of "clubwear". Vendors here have an issue understanding the concept of diminishing returns. Of course, they could take the novel approach of converting their V4 content to newer figures - that happens over at DAZ - Dx30 for instance has been recycling the same shoes for the past decade, and the folks making "fix" products for genesis are doing the same. And there is nothing wrong with that - it's being responsive to your customer base - which doesn't happen that much with the vendors here.

Another thing to realize is how one's workflow changes when running a modern (Poser 9+) version of Poser. I don't have to go and get a new wardrobe every time a new figure comes out (well, except for shoes - shoes are problematic due to how each figure has their feet rigged.) This changes how (and what) we purchase.

As a Poser Pro 11 user, I have the ability to move almost any asset from 1 figure to another. Hair (200+) is converted from V4 to many other figures via Netherworks Hair Creation System. No need to purchase new hair. Great for me, not so much for vendors.

Skin Textures (400+) can be transferred from figure to figure via Texture Transformer (sold right here at 'Rosity) or with Texture Converter (for legacy figures). I can then use EZ-skin to make those legacy skins look great in Poser 11. Great for me, not so much for vendors.

No need to buy new characters, especially when one considers how generic most of them look. Dynamic clothing for V4 will also fit Dawn or Pauline (or any other figure for that matter). Conforming clothing is converted via the Fitting Room if one is running Poser Pro 10 or 11 (even easier when using Lyrra's Fit Room Magnets - Go get them all!); Wardrobe Wizard or Xdresser if you aren't. Great for me, not so much for vendors.

Still want to use legacy figures? Poser allows you to add features such as Sub-D, Weight-mapping, and even the equivalent of facial bones (control surfaces - pg. 290 or thereabouts in the Poser manual). No need to purchase a new figure. Great for me, not so much for vendors.

So, what am I buying? Clothing Merchant Resources. In a perfect world Renapd would make texture sets for every clothing product I own. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. After years of being told by vendors here that if I didn't like something, I should make it myself. Challenge accepted - I rarely buy texture sets for clothing anymore, because I know how easy they are to make. Great for me, not so much for vendors.

I'm also buying prop sets. Not buying as many as I would like to - I'd really like real homes, with interiors or just home interiors - real ones that people actually live in, not the crap that is being released here. I would love to buy ranches, cape cods, Arts & Craft style homes - homes with 2 & 3 bedrooms, Farm houses, etc, but no one is interested in that (Yeah, I know about Dreamland models - I have almost everything he made - but he didn't make interiors, and was uninterested in making working class homes.). So, I am having to learn how to make them myself, which will mean that there is one less thing I need a vendor for. Great for me, not so much for vendors.

So what does this mean as a Poser user?

If you are a new user? Get a Prime membership and look 'Rosity - there is a lot of great, cheap content available here, and it is easy to move it to the figure of your choice. Go to DAZ & get a PC+ membership and go wild purchasing really cheap products that you can use with the figure of your choice. Got a hankering for genesis? There is a lot of inexpensive (or free in the case of Wilmap Digital) content available and it isn't difficult to get them working in Poser. With just a little bit of work on your part, you too can have a genesis figure running in Poser that looks exactly like the V4 character made by the same vendor.

If you are an old timer, you are only buying content if it is better than something you already own. I.e. Any new "Clubwear" outfit needs to be better than every "Clubwear" outfit out there (Economic value of the 2nd item). Pity that vendors aren't upping their game, but that is on them, not the end-user. The same can be said for characters, hair, etc.

Poser users are going in one direction, DS users in another and vendors in a third. Whether or not 'Rosity comes out of it's death spiral, I'll be getting the next version of Poser.