OK, how many Blender users know about Daz and this amazing plugin for Blender? Is that like common knowledge in the Blender community? How many Blender users are willing to work with/learn another tool (Daz), even if the plugin makes the import of Daz assets into Blender easy? I’m assuming, you first knew Daz before you came to Blender. What about those, who hardly heard of Daz?
You consider it rational to pick the best tools for the job (especially when they are free or low-cost), even if it means leaving your main application and learning a new tool. However, not everybody thinks like that. As you have mentioned yourself, many users like to stay in their own comfort bubble with respect to the software they use. Apparently that is also what RL is thinking, by not even requiring users to leave the software to purchase assets.
A few days ago, we were discussing Icity. As far as I know, there is no comparable tool for C4D (i.e. a not strictly grid-based city generator) and, for a moment there, I was tempted to get Icity, use in Blender, and export whatever I came up with as an FBX for C4D. Then I reconsidered: I would have to learn basic Blender functionality (a big no-no for me) and there might also be issues with the export of procedural materials (if Icity uses those). So I decided to forget about it. Getting an Icity generated model into C4D is simply not worth the hassle to me, no matter how cool it might look.
I would not be surprised, if quite a number of Blender users also think that way and rather prefer to use a plugin that allows them to stay in Blender, even if it costs some money. That said, time is money. How many hours more would it take a complete Daz-noobie to learn enough to be able to create their own characters in Daz, dress them, and export them to Blender compared to the time they need to spend learning the Humgen3d plugin when they are already familiar with Blender in general?
I don’t think that will work in the market for 3D assets, for the simple reason that the barriers to entry are very low, so any price increase is going to attract competition. For example, if you want to sell 3D models in FBX format, all you need is a computer, some free software, and time to learn and create. You can always sell on places like Gumroad if you want to be independent of platforms that are affiliated with any one software company, or get a shop on your own website. And as long as you have an internet connection and electric power, you are good to go pretty much anywhere on the planet. How is anyone going to keep that competition out?
I haven’t paid for office software in years (even though Microsoft had a quasi monopoly), there are free alternatives that are good enough for my needs, so I don’t care if Microsoft increase their prices. The same way, I have not paid for Adobe products in years, either (although I’m tentatively considering possibly getting a Substance subscription).
Don’t you think that with increasing acceptance of Blender, it will put pressure on the other 3DCC package makers to not raise their prices too much? Maybe the big studios with their bulk discount don’t care if the “big players” increase their prices, but the freelancers and hobbyists do.
So, no, I don’t expect things 3D to become much more expensive in the long run.
