Anderton
Then hobbyists who are watching budgets super-carefully shouldn't buy more costly software that's designed for hardcore professional users who make a living off of it. They can buy SONAR Artist, or Music Creator, get a bundled version of an LE program with an interface, or whatever rather than complain about paying the price for pro-level equipment. Similarly, this is why Fender makes Squier guitars, Gibson makes Epiphone, and Porsche makes Volkswagens.
Though with regards to hobbies, $150-200/year is peanuts for most of them. I mean think about a simple hobby for most people: watching TV. What's a cable subscription run you these days? Usually $50/month minimum, and it can easy hit $100/month or more with HD+expanded channels. That's $600-1200/year that most people pay without a thought. How about sports? Tickets to football at the university I work at (not pro here) start at $150/season for economy obstructed seating, go to $1200 for A section seats and up to $31,000 for priority premium skybox. Or perhaps you wish to take in a live show, The Royal Philharmonic Symphony is coming to town. Not really something all that popular with most people, so cheaper than some other shows. $45 minimum for the far seats, $100 for many seats for about a 2 hour show.
I'm a pure hobbyist, and yet I get Platinum because I like it, and it really isn't that much money for a hobby. You can easy spend more than a couple hundred dollars on most hobbies. Now that isn't to say everyone needs to get Platinum, of course not, everyone's financial situation and needs are different. But let's not pretend like the asking price is problematic, even just for a hobby.