i am more happy with x2 than with the non appearance of vst3, and have preordered..but luckily i can live without it, as i have had to do so for 2 years... and to all members that say it does not matter, please note that had i not had sonar before i purchased a yamaha synth i would not be a sonar customer today.
In the technical argument of merit, i totally defer to Noel and his comments, however, the industry and the customer base will not care about the realities of technically being able to do things in vst2.4 that are in vst3, the industry will care about the perception that vst3 is superior and therefore that its support is required. I do not believe any magazine review of a daw will say vst3 support is not needed... clearly to have it is a plus..to not have it, a minus.
Folks that purchase $3500 synths that only support vst3 will buy a daw that supports vst3..and their voices will never be heard here.. they wont be doing feature requests.
folks that spend thousands on expensive plugs that support vst3 where the supplier has stated vst3 gives greater performance or that vst2.4 support days are numbered will need a daw that supports vst3.. and you may not hear their voices here... current customers give feature requests, not customers cakewalk never had.
Cake have done a marvellous job with x1, and now x2, and opened up to (i believe) a greater market share... success is in growing that market share with new customers... not simply trying to keep current customers happy, and fwiw at the time when enough users of sonar state they must have vst3 .. it simply will be too late.. those that must have vst3 will have moved on before it is implemented by cakewalk...