microapp
No they would sell more because you would use the vintage skin and I would use the techno skin.
It is no skin(!) off their back to provide both since it is not a physical thing. It is only code.

Not sure having Cakewalk messing around skinning 3rd party plug-ins is a good use of time/money. I can think of a few things which may be more useful.

microapp
One reason I like the Sonitus plugs is that they typically have a modern look with linear controls and bar-graph meters.
I love the graph on the Sonitus compressor.

Dude, anything Sonitus looks like Windows 98. That's hardly modern at all but I tend to gravitate towards things like the QuadCurve EQ and Waves H-EQ Hybrid Equalizer
http://www.waves.com/plugins/h-eq-hybrid-equalizer
 
I need eye candy and delicious looking buttons.

 
As long as the plug-in works, I can't really see the problem.
 
Of course, the more intuitive the lay-out the better.
 
But I tend to agree with microapp's OP. Making something look old for the sake of it seems a bit of a waste of someone's time.
 
Having said that, when it comes to the older style, some VST UIs just have to have lots of knobs. I reckon PSP do a great job of making something that looks like it came out of a 1950s school science lab superbly functional:
 

 
And when functionality above form is necessary, this Waves Tru-Verb UI has got all you need:
 

I've posted my thoughts on this before:
I hate knobs - A modest proposal about virtual hardware UIs

soens
No, but it would be reely cool if the plugin reels actually turned while in use...

As well as the one already mentioned, the reels turn on Wave's plugin as well.

For true realism there should be a requirement to vitrually clean and demagnetise the heads before use and regularly while in use, with a "lazy engineering apprentice" preset which emulates dirty heads and partial demagnetising.

Cakewalk Sonar is a together diced pile on purchased 3rd party plugins without any kind of corporate-identity.
 
I would like to see in Sonar some really high quality plugins that gui design fits into the skylight interface. It should look as one system.
 
Please Cakewalk take a look at Cubase , Studio-One or ProTools. They all have their own labeled high quality plugins with all the same look and feel matching the interface of the DAW. This other DAW's do more appear as a complete system, because of their well designed plugin interfaces.
 
_Markus

Personally, I don't care what a plugin looks like, as long as it sounds good.

There's a good argument, I think, for retaining the layout of emulated gear. For example, I've long thought that a big part of the "magic" of a Pultec isn't just what's under the hood (though that's of course very important), but the way the Pultec's UI design makes you think, and the EQ moves it steers you towards.
 
However, I think layout is the only significant thing there. If we're having knobs, fine, but for me, I'd be happy if we could lose the weird photo-realism.
 
This is one of my favourite plug in UI designs. All clarity, all function. Nothing there that doesn't need to be there.
 

 
 
 

Generally I agree. The mouse does not lend itself to rotating controls. And while I appreciate the LOOK of some of the vintage stuff, it is not ergonomically in line with how we use modern computer controls. 
 
Also agreed, the Sonitus suite got this totally correct. Simple, easy to understand, and simple to operate. 

While I'm on the subject, and relevant to citizens of this parish, here is, with honestly no desire to offend, my number one least favourite UI design of all time:
 

The VC-64 was technically and sonically superb. But that UI slows me down so much I hardly ever used it. It successfully looks like a generic piece of ace high-end vintage gear. And renders itself near-unusable in the attempt.