New upgrade prices for Cubase

[Compyfox]

I think one solution to this whole drama would be:

Drop the spaghetti code, fire the marketing department, let the programmers speak up again and start from scratch.

That means that Cubase 7 lives on for the next 2 years (expanding the cycle to 3 years again), and we'll get Cubase 8 or "Unlimited" if written in a different form (I hereby ask to be credited, if Steinberg goes that route!!!).

Cubase "Unlimited" will then be:
- written from scratch
- has no 5.1 channel lock
- has no "sidechain for VST3 only" lock
- can do VST1-VST4 (yes, I think we're close to that as well)
- is x64 only (probably)
- has a 1-window design (with undockable windows)
- the GUI is skinnable (or at least highly changable to our desires)
- we see a new MixConsole and a new general UI, but sans the touch screen BS and the "to left/right of the Inserts" crap.



And (which I hope), it will exist in three flavors only:

1) Low Cost / Entry Level: Cubase Unlimited Studio
2) Mid Range / Studio/Recording Level: Cubase Unlimited Professional
3) Post Pro Range: Cubase Unlimited VP (Video Post)

"Studio" would be like current "Artist" (ultimately dropping Sequel - or Sequel going full iOS only!), Professional would be like current Cubase and Nuendo (ultimately dropping Nuendo), and "VP" would offer more video formats, a different built in Surround Panner (like the current Iosono one) and offer one or two "post pro" related audio codecs.

Prices could then be like:
"Studio" - 150 EUR
"Professional" - 300 EUR
"VP" (due to the codecs and the panner) - 699 EUR to 799 EUR

Upgrade fee (every two years: 50 EUR (Studio), 100 EUR (Unlimited), 200 EUR (VP)
Crossgrade: either half the price of the next full version, or the difference. That(!) is adding to the competition and makes the market more interesting.



And should Steinberg decide to ask for "interim payments" for updates, then offer a "Gaming Pass" type solution (pay 50 EUR once, and work care free), and/or a reasonable priced update fee so that the max upgrade fee of 100 EUR (studio) is not exceeded.

Example: 4 planned paid dot updates (always at .2, .4, .6, ., 100 EUR max upgrade fee... make the "dot updates" 20 EUR only. After all four dot updates you then only need to pay additional 20 EUR to upgrade to the next "Pro" version.

Problem with that: more work effort for actual shops that sell physical copies. So drop that "interim payment" crap and say "okay - free updates until the next version, we still have VSTi, we delved into the sample realm, we have VST plugins, and we get income from Elicenser licenses". It should be possible!



That would make a lot of peole happy!

But this will never happen!
At least not in this form. So I can only dream...

[chk071]

There has been a longstanding attempt to lower gasoline prices here (USA) through means of protest.. protest via not buying gasoline on a certain day.

It never worked. It will never work.

Even if the manufacturers of pump gasoline could/would lower prices if they saw an significant drop in demand for a day.. there is no way to get everyone to (a) hear the call and (more importantly) (b) care about the call.

I think this is the case here too... there are way too many people that would still buy.. either because of apathy to the 'cause' or simply because they didn't know there was a protest..

Do you think the opinions posted in this forum are representative for the group of people using Cubase, or any other audio app? I don't. Internet forums are often a hoard for people just venting their frustration over things they are supposed to handle themselves, but blame it on others/the producs they use. I know this sounds harsh, and i don't want to generalize it, plus KVR is rather moderate concerning this. But when i take a look at this thread, there is only negative opinions. Still Cubase stays the most used product on the market. See a certain misfit?

Btw, you can see on the example of Arturia what happens when people don't buy a certain product as they used to. It cuts the price to half. Arturia wouldn't do this if they still sold well.

[fese]

So I thought, hey, maybe buy the update to C7 while it is still "cheap", but after giving Cubase 7 and Studio 1 each a couple of hours (and Reaper like thirty minutes), I know now that I totally don't like the direction Cubase 7 is going GUI and usability wise, that I like a few things about S1 but miss lots of others and really couldn't warm to the mid nineties shareware optics of Reaper. So for the time being I'll stay with my good old C 5.5 as long as its running and re-evaluate the DAW market at some time in the future.
Like anyone cares...

[Tronam]

Still Cubase stays the most used product on the market.

You think this is true anymore? Ableton Live has bitten a huge chunk out of everyone's pie and Logic has gained a lot of momentum in recent years, especially in the hobbyist market due in no small part to Apple's "halo" effect and low cost. I think Steinberg is just doubling down on their pro demographic and not bothering to appeal to the amateur market much at all anymore. I suspect their collective share of the market has been dwindling in recent years.

[sebaden]

thanx to steinberg. cubase 6.5 was my last update. i'm not that sad btw..

[VitaminD]

There has been a longstanding attempt to lower gasoline prices here (USA) through means of protest.. protest via not buying gasoline on a certain day.

It never worked. It will never work.

Even if the manufacturers of pump gasoline could/would lower prices if they saw an significant drop in demand for a day.. there is no way to get everyone to (a) hear the call and (more importantly) (b) care about the call.

I think this is the case here too... there are way too many people that would still buy.. either because of apathy to the 'cause' or simply because they didn't know there was a protest..

Do you think the opinions posted in this forum are representative for the group of people using Cubase, or any other audio app? I don't. Internet forums are often a hoard for people just venting their frustration over things they are supposed to handle themselves, but blame it on others/the producs they use. I know this sounds harsh, and i don't want to generalize it, plus KVR is rather moderate concerning this. But when i take a look at this thread, there is only negative opinions. Still Cubase stays the most used product on the market. See a certain misfit?

Btw, you can see on the example of Arturia what happens when people don't buy a certain product as they used to. It cuts the price to half. Arturia wouldn't do this if they still sold well.

I think you might be largely restating the same view I was sharing. I'm not sure how to respond ??

[sebaden]

But when i take a look at this thread, there is only negative opinions. Still Cubase stays the most used product on the market. See a certain misfit?

no, because in the past steinberg lowered their prices and then again the update prices were okay at all.

let's talk in one or two years again and we'll see if cubase is still the most used product on the market. which market is the question anyway? pro not will change for sure! consumer sure many users like me will leave.

Btw, you can see on the example of Arturia what happens when people don't buy a certain product as they used to. It cuts the price to half. Arturia wouldn't do this if they still sold well.

exactly that will happen with the big semi-base. steinberg think they can profit with the few pros? okay let them fail!

[Alfalfa]

Do you think the opinions posted in this forum are representative for the group of people using Cubase, or any other audio app? I don't.

Most people have no idea a price change is coming. Even reading these forums, I didn't know how steep it was in the U.S. until I went to the Steinberg website myself and found it in USD a couple of days ago. It's a steeper hike in the U.S., probably to finally make up for the drop in the value of the U.S. dollar versus the Euro. Anyway, the reaction from other users could be worse for Steinberg than what is read here -- worse meaning something as simple as a shrug and a pass on the Cubase upgrade with a purchase of a competitor. Or not. But, that's their problem. Mine is to determine whether to jump ship while the dock is still in sight - I probably won't. I'll probably see where this ride takes me for a while longer.

[VitaminD]

I just 'boarded' this 'ship' so how do you think it makes me feel to see so many people screaming and running in the opposite direction?

[Alfalfa]

I just 'boarded' this 'ship' so how do you think it makes me feel to see so many people screaming and running in the opposite direction?

I wonder if people become more attuned to negatives once they have made a decision in the positive direction. Like, Oh, I'm going to buy Pro Tools, because it's the blah blah blah. Then you start reading all of the people with problems, how they think they'll have to try out Nuendo, etc., and you think, whoa!, maybe that's a bad idea! I just bought the upgrade to Cubase 7, so in effect, I am like you, I bought my ticket for the next phase of passage, and I'm wondering...

Human nature I suppose. Another option is to vigorously argue in favor of your choice.

[Tronam]

I just 'boarded' this 'ship' so how do you think it makes me feel to see so many people screaming and running in the opposite direction?

Don't mind us. It has always been a feature rich DAW and I totally understand the appeal of it. Like with all things the grass is never quite as green it looks from a distance, once the honeymoon phase is over. I rode 3 version cycles of Cubase and am curious if Steinberg's development approach has changed at all since then. For me the program was relatively stable, but suffered random inexplicable dump-to-desktop crashes often enough for me to habitually save often. New features usually felt half-baked and wouldn't be fully fleshed out until a future full version or point release. Bug fix updates would taper off after that, so you end up buying into the next version in the hope that they get fixed once and for all, only to have new ones get introduced. It felt like a perpetual cycle of incompleteness. Is it any different now?

[ObsoleteAcc99]

[DELETED]

[ZINO]

After October 15th, Cubase 6 to 7 is $299! That is a 50% increase from the current $199.

That's ridiculous. I wish they'd reconsider

They will, only when we stop buying the upgrades... Thats the only thing that they understand.

And for those who are afraid that they will miss the upgrade train and will have to buy it at an almost new price, two things:

a) You are already paying almost new price every couple of upgrades.
b) If you sometime need the newest version come to KVR wait a few days and you will get it at an amazing price secondhand.

!STOP THE MADNESS!

[Compyfox]

Only if you're in the US though. There are barely any EU shops that sell for "lower prices". Biggest discount I've ever had with Cubase was 20 EUR off. And I waited a couple of months for that.

It felt like a perpetual cycle of incompleteness. Is it any different now?

Nope.

[Armadillosound]

I just 'boarded' this 'ship' so how do you think it makes me feel to see so many people screaming and running in the opposite direction?

You're not alone