Paul P
brconflict : "We all keep shopping after we buy"
Not me. I bought X1/X2 Producer figuring it would serve for years as is, like buying Office or similar. If it has bugs, and it does, I expect them to be fixed.
I see no need or reason to buy X3 since X2 already does way more than I need, or will need for the foreseable future.
I can't imagine that it could already be time for X3 anyway. X2 has only been out for a few months.
My point is, that, when you sign up for email updates from Sonar, most people open them and check out new offerings. But unless you're running an old version or are looking for plug-ins, most of their emails aren't very useful. I use Waves as an example here, which was super-successful to get my business. If you bought Sonar the was you can shop for a computer on Dell's website, and check-box the options you want, then you see a price. Obviously, the more you buy, the better your discount in this case, which would equal to what you pay for today for Producer. Then, over time, you can watch for deals on modules and options, like Waves offers plug-ins discounts monthly.
But let's say, for example, you buy Sonar with ProChannel, Console Emulation, and a few plug-ins, but not the EQ, BREVERB, or Compressor (whichever one you don't want). You also decide to hold off on the MIDI options. You can get Sonar for cheaper, say $199. Once you get it under control and you feel you're ready for MIDI, you can not only choose to add the MIDI option later at, say $39, but when you receive a Sonar monthly email, you might see it on sale for $29. Waves does this all the time and gets so many hits from that. In fact, you're more likely to buy it simply because of the sale, and you're more likely to jump on the Sonar bandwagon because the starting price was $199.
My point is that, if you could buy Sonar for $199, then buy only the options you want, you're more likely to go that route vs. buy DP at full price which contains features you may never ever use. And if you buy the $199 Sonar vs DP 8, you're less likely to jump ship.
Here's another example of how this could win some hearts: Don't like Take Lanes? Guess what! You can buy either Lanes or Layers at $9 each and you can use either, both, or neither! Many people would buy both at $9. Cakewalk can offer different user-interfaces and sell them each for $5.
The idea is piecemeal, but it REALLY works in the Smart-phone market, among other industries. It's harder to make a choice when the price for full versions start at $399. I just think rather than sell three different versions, change to a frame-work and allow "us" to decide what features it contains.