Well, as I posted over on CGTalk, I don't think killing Softimage was a real business decision. If M&E account for only 7% of ADSK's revenue, and Softimage is one of the smallest components of that revenue, it's insignificant. But, executives need to pound their chests like gorillas and proclaim to the shareholders & board that they're trimming the fat, etc., etc. If it was truly a business decision, they could have cut a lot more than just Softimage to make an impact on the bottom line. This was all for show IMHO.
Realistically, they could cancel all of their M&E products if they're 7% of the revenue. They own enough patents & intellectual property that they could essentially hold the industry hostage and never develop another product. Again Joe Alter comes to mind. Why develop anything when you can sit back and force people to pay licensing fees year after year? Hopefully enough noise is made to start stirring up some anti-trust claims. Autodesk is clearly behaving as a monopoly at this point. -Paul ᐧ On Wed, Mar 5, 2014 at 4:09 PM, Emilio Hernandez <[email protected]> wrote: > Well we all still think that putting Softimage to rest is a big mistake. > > Motion Builder also has not major improvements. So we know how all will > end. > > "We will continue to support and develop..." > > > > ------------------------------------------------------- > Emilio Hernández VFX & 3D animation. > > > 2014-03-05 15:02 GMT-06:00 Jordi Bares <[email protected]>: > > If they kill any of those the only one I think would be a mistake would be >> Motion Builder… it has great potential if they decide to actually develop >> it… it has been in limbo mode like Softimage for years now and killing the >> Mac version was truly annoying. >> >> 3DSMax… well… the architecture is so old and messy (have you tried >> developing for Max?) I wonder how are they going to sustain it… >> >> With regards with the users… they may offer the same great deal we are >> receiving.. (irony) >> >> arhghh >> >> Jordi Bares >> [email protected] >> >> On 5 Mar 2014, at 19:45, Emilio Hernandez <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> More reasons to stay with softimage >> El mar 5, 2014 1:42 PM, "Gustavo Eggert Boehs" <[email protected]> >> escribió: >> >>> Yes, but what they might do (are doing imho) is just keeping updates as >>> irrelevant as possible for animation, not to encourage new users to pick it >>> up with that in mind. >>> >>> Em quarta-feira, 5 de março de 2014, Steven Caron <[email protected]> >>> escreveu: >>> >>>> i agree with the first two, just 3dsmax has too much installed user >>>> base. i know we are mad and we are making a stink about it... but if they >>>> axed max?! autodesk might have to consider extra security... >>>> >>>> >>>> On Wed, Mar 5, 2014 at 11:06 AM, Jordi Bares <[email protected]>wrote: >>>> >>>>> The writing is on the wall. This is my take. >>>>> >>>>> 1 - Mudbox is next as Zbrush has truly wiped the market. >>>>> >>>>> 2 - Morion Builder next as they implement some tech in maya. >>>>> >>>>> 3 - 3DMax goes next. >>>>> >>>>> Anyone want to bet? >>>>> >>>>> >>> >>> -- >>> Gustavo E Boehs >>> Dpto. de Expressão Gráfica | Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina | >>> http://www.gustavoeb.com.br/ >>> >>> >> >
