Just out of curiosity, is this the first time Cakewalk has not had a buy-the-last-version-get-the-new-one-when-it-comes-out option ?  It neatly avoided the situation that koikane finds him/herself in.
 
I don't know if the deal applied to upgrades.  I know I benefited when I bought X1 Expanded and got X2 several weeks later.
 

There's no being unwelcome koikane. Bapu was merely doing the math and saying you were actually ahead and trying to be encouraging to not dump Sonar because you feel hard done by.
Send cake an email. I've always done that if I've had troubles and they've always been very gracious about "unique" situations.

I've got Pro Tools as well. Sure prefer to work in Sonar. But I just have to have it for compatability. But I would even prefer to mix down files I can import into Sonar and work there if I can.

Trying to stay positive. Haven't touched audio/music in the last couple/few years. So far x3 is awesome. Just stinks that Platinum came out so quick. My bad attitude comes down to being greedy and wanting the latest and greatest.

Hey koikane, I was born in Kenosha. I'm on your side.

koikane
Trying to stay positive. Haven't touched audio/music in the last couple/few years. So far x3 is awesome. Just stinks that Platinum came out so quick. My bad attitude comes down to being greedy and wanting the latest and greatest.

Hey, nothing wrong with being a little greedy with wanting the latest and greatest.  Isn't that what GAS is all about?      Unfortunately for GAS purpose the reality is that X3 is awesome.  So IMO you'd be all set for a while there anyway, and it would at least give you a better feel for the X series before making the move to Platinum.  Or, you may find that X3 suits you really well (as it does for so many others) and that the features in Platinum are well worth the asking price, not to mention whatever is to come in the next 12 months. 
 

chuckebaby
send them an email.
keep in mind though, I think everyone knew there was a new version coming out.
and you probably paid less than half of what I paid for sonar X3.
meaning when a new version is on its way out, every software company always sells their last version for less money, or gives you bonus content, plug ins, video tutorials, exc. to make up for the difference.
but this company is fair. more than fair. send them a message.

Everyone who has spent enough time recently reading these forums had every reason to believe a new version was imminent. That is not the same everyone that necessarily included the anyone who naively purchased X3 late in the game and who did not spend much of their free time in our company here. It is even conceivable there were some buyers so naive that they did not realize the teaser price represented the imminent end of the version, and the implied end of support for same. It is not always the answer to a unfortunate outcome that the victim was himself to blame.

Uh Actually the price to upgrade from 8.5 to Platinum is set at $199 so the same as what X3 Pro users will pay in March. 
GO here for details
http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR/Versions
 
 
    I own an older version of SONAR Producer   ( this could be Sonar 6 as far as I can tell) 
  Artist = $49     Professional = $99     and Platinum = $199. 
 
Best choice for people coming from 8.5 would be Professional @ $99 that's a heck of an upgrade. You get everything X3 Producer had and then some more. 
 
The sad truth is you should purchase software like Sonar when it first comes out, not when it's pretty obvious that it's reaching it's life cycle end. AT that point it's fine if you get a smoking deal on it.  But with the new system this will no longer happen. 
I saw a box copy of X1 Producer in a music store for $99 last Summer. I had no use for the software, but for a first time customer that would have been worth it as a upgrade pathway. 

johnnyV
 
 
The sad truth is you should purchase software like Sonar when it first comes out, not when it's pretty obvious that it's reaching it's life cycle end. AT that point it's fine if you get a smoking deal on it.  But with the new system this will no longer happen. 

The happy truth is that anyone who purchased X3  last week has a perfectly usable piece of software that will be fully functional so long as he can keep a Windows 8 (and probably beyond) installation running  and activated. X3e is an enormously powerful DAW. Sometimes we deprecate what we have when presented with something that offers something new, different and "better." Someone who could not afford the steep price of the latest version, has probably gotten the opportunity to do more with his music than most of us will ever fully realize. Will music three years from now be dramatically different from what it is now because some new features have been added to Sonar or any other DAW? I have used Cakewalk direct email support only once in my long history with their products and then only to find out which of several versions of a file were the current one. This forum has answered the rest of my questions.
 
I use MS Word 2000 on a daily basis. The fact that Microsoft crippled support by providing only an installer stub, that now no longer connects to the files on their server, to download Service Pack 1 was not an issue for me since I bought the CD version of that SP because it would have taken hours to download over my telephone based modem at the time. Security updates are not an issue, since I do not import other peoples documents into this version of Word.  I have, but often do not use, Word 2010 because the ribbon is a pain in the butt and, MS removed a useful versioning feature that not a lot of users found valuable.
 
Under current policy Cakewalk is planning to offer an upgrade price to a large number of current users for some time to come. They can use what they have, and still have a good chance of getting a bargain on an upgrade if something essential in a new version appears. 

Talked to cake, they said they are working on a solution to current users who recently bought/upgraded to x3. Said there is more to come as the release date nears. He said they are taking names/contact info right now and will be in touch as soon as they have a solution.

Born in Racine bapu. K-town is good for cruising on the lake.