Thanks a lot for the your post
Bellsey@ I think you are right. I start my interest in 3d before the SG workstation death, so it is a real obscure past for me.
Maximus@ Why you are so sure the Softimage market share rise up compared whit Avid time?
Modo and Lightwave seems more popular compared to Softimage (if we can assume for true the data reported in site you suggested) , but they adding many requested featured in every release compared to XSI (and no view cube at the horizon
. Ok, softimage is really better, sure, and LW and modo new feature are sometime in XIS from many time or, in many cases, are only "sensationalism" addition, more smoke and less substance (LW can adding what they want, but the poor workflow don't cage... ), but in any case don't seem to me their popularity is a disadvantage in their development.
I don't think Softimage is a niche software, it just sells badly... ;)
my metallica friend would said: "sad but true"
I always had impression, small number is somehow intentional. There is "trademark" of "different software for power users, proud of their skills", which probably doesn't fiti nto expectation of majority of users, nowadays. I'd also believe Softimage always will find *enough* of people who want this "different".
A voluntarily elitism? IMO AD will not afraid if softimage would sell like or more maya. I think poor market share (compared to maya) is involuntary.
Now the question is, what is 3d software. Does Rhino3d fits there - with their "well over 150K" user base , Vray connection, so on.. Also, all those 2d artists who started 3d in zBrush, as well as intention to raise zBrush into complete 3d app - based on completely different concept. We will see...
it is a no problem IMO. Every software capable to show a model in third dimension on you monitor is a 3d software (so Rhino is a 3d software like zbrush).
It is only a speculation (this is a forum, we are like old wives who talk about this and that and speculating on useless stuff
I'm not frequenting so many forums, usually I'm very busy for doing that, but yesterday I starting a bit of search, for pure curiosity, and find softimage presence is very poor everywhere (excluding si.community and XSIbase
) . On polycount no one mentioned SI 2013 release, idem o cgfeedback (only Kel Solaar , an ultra talented artist, mentioned it, but in a maya 2013 topic, and said SI 2013 release is one of the worse release in his opinion, no one seems interest about and commented this sentence), CGtalk others are sure XSI will be left apart like Toxik compositor (will see XSI like gift for maya users... seems a joke
) , and in others forum many are practical sure XSI is a death software, and who know it is not dead are, frequently, sure AD will "take" ICE code and sticky it to maya (code is a lego block and you can attack it everywhere you want
Look very strange, just know the little XSI penetration in the market (well, not so little), but seems strange because I don't know a single Softimage user who want leave it or are disappointed with the software in any way (excluding mental ray side). Opposite, I know too many people, a mass of users, who are really bothered by maya and 3dsm. The world is mad...