For Japan only, Autodesk offered the opportunity for customers for purchase a Softimage Entertainment Creation Suite, the standard version which included Motionbuilder and Mudbox. The reason being that Softimage has always been a strong market for Softimage, especially in games. Outside of that it might not have been deemed viable in terms of business rules and pricing. Although the Suites look like just 'bundled' software, they're not. They are defined as actual separate products and therefore Autodesk (just like any other public company) has to adhere to certain regulations.

In terms of Softimage on Autodesk websites, again as I have said before, forget about the main corporate site and the various localised versions. The various localised Autodesk websites for various countries are just mirrors of the main website and not all the content is fully there. If anything the main Autodesk corp site is really like a hub that leads to other places that do actually provide better information. Personally the main Autodesk website looks kinda dated and could do with an overhaul.

Yes we can choose between max maya or si in the standard package.

Thanks Bellsey for putting up with us lot and trying to keep providing relevant information. Yes the Autodesk corporate site is annoying and frustrating but I find its not the main issue at the moment, if Autodesk have decided in their wisdom that suites are the way forward, yet only offer MAX MAYA suites and not Softimage ones , for us remaining Softimage customers who are not interested in a MAX or Maya as we have everything we need with Softimage.. we are now relegated to the sidelines as we do not want to purchase one of these 'suites' and therefore not a part of the current AD masterplan.. as all the marketing and attention are now on suites where does Softimage as the main pipeline tool fit into this equation? I don't see why, as Myara says, a Softimage suite cannot be made available as copying bits of information is not an issue , its more political - and also Silver subscription.. How the heck can Softimage be appreciated as the (imo) Superior Application that it is when it ONLY promoted as an accessory or 'companion'? from my perspective, Marc petite , a former Softimage employee who heads AD, seems to have a grudge from when he was working at Softimage? for nothing else explains the humiliating treatment that Softimage is currently getting on the suites.

If it makes you feel any better, in Japan softimage is more expensive than Maya and costs more than twice the price you have in USA autodesk download. Its about $7100 !! for softimage stand alone without subscription and the license agreement doesn't let you use the software outside your country. So well you don't have a softimage bundle but it's cheaper than max and maya. And way cheaper than Japan's prices.

Here 3ds max license costs 6600$, subscription 900$.
Softimage 5500$ and subscription 1500$.
For some unknown reason you can buy only from reseller.
As for license forbidding using software outside the country you bought it in, it's better to check you local law because it seems those frecking corporations think they can put anything they want in the license agreement.

Softimage isn't really the Superior application, each of the three apps have different sets of compromises. It's different, and I would say a smaller world; you have to be happy with what's in the box to do everything you need. Whatever app you start with, you accept those compromise and they become your vision of the world.

Some of these compromises have crippled its ability to gain significant traction. For example, being built on 1990s windows API that are now legacy, and having no SDK strategy from day 1. There would need to be years of re-write to reboot that, it's something that's deeply ingrained in the product. While you would do this , the worl would not be staying still.

Softimage has a full development team in place, and plans for the future. But let's not look at the market with rose-colored glasses and pretend Softimage is on equal footing with the other two, that people just see a demo of it to see the light, and can switch anytime. The facts are that 80% of the market is using either Maya or Max, and the rest is everyone else including Softimage. It's a very distant third (although still ahead of Houdini, I think). You have to use Softimage for what it does, enjoy it, and not fantasize about a "big three" reality that really has been "a big two" since the late 1990s.

New users or student do not have a real an equal choice to pick Max, Maya and Softmage. For one thing, it cannot be known what is going to be Softimage's position in the market in a few years, but you can rest assure the other two will still be titans. Best case, I think, Softimage will retain about the same position it has now. It may hinge on whether Maya or Max would get a ICE equivalent and if there are things you can only do in Softimage.

Luceric, for me, its 'All' of the things that I can only do in Softimage. I shudder to think of giving up over 15 years of aquired problem solving knowledge and starting from scratch with Maya or Max. oof! no way hose , I'll be joining 1/2y in houdini land before then if I can still have the luxury of choice.

and also, talk about the glass half full! Practical maybe, but your not inspiring confidence right now, the bit about the 1990s windows API was about Softimage..? I thought it had the most upto date one out of the 3? and catch up to Max and Maya take a few years.... sounds like Sumatra \ xsi all over again - forgive my ignorance on these matters but I dont understand this!

As a freelancer in Soho London, where, because of luck? there are quite a number of Softimage using studios still around, I'm in an envious position of being able to turn down work, and there seems to be a big shortage of skilled Softimage users right now. More so than its ever been - again imo, I see this as a positive and a growing phenomenon within in our 'small' industry and so far, touch wood, I dont have to subscribe to the mentality that we 'lost' in the 1990's, as in Soho commercials market as far as Im aware, Like in Japan, 3dSMAX had/has not made much 'traction' either. Film yes, its mostly Maya, but thats why I havnt got that many IMDB credits.... yet

You think not losing its current market share is the best case scenario? Are you for real right now? This makes absolutely no sense.

There was once a browser that held 80% of market share. Titan company that owns it was also arrogant enough to think that's not gonna change. Same company had a stock value 7 times bigger than a certain fruity little company in those 1990s. I guess having "a goal" instead of "a dream" made the fruity company's stocks now 14 times more valuable than those of the titan company, but hey! Apples and oranges, right?

...

Sadly, right.

Softimage is doing well, and the are lots of XSI everywhere around the world. Canada (ex: Ubisoft and others), UK (The Mills), France, Germany and Australia (Animal Logic) are all non-Tokyo hot spots where you can find lots of Softimage user. And in Tokyo there are thousands of seats.

But doing well doesn't mean that you're making progress in terms of percentage in the market, because the CG market continues to grow at rapid pace. Maya sells more new seat per year than the total size of the Softimage user base. You'd have to beat that just to keep up with Maya, and you'd have to beat Max too. Point is, Max and Max are very, very big.