Warning: I may contradict myself several times in this post.
Somewhere along the line, 'somebody' told me that the pricing difference is simply what respective markets will bear. In Germany, apparently, AC is seen as a high-end brand, and is priced accordingly. In the US, it's not, and it's priced more competitively.
I can accept this in principle. In this forum, we will hear anecdotes of being appalled at the price, but if GS didn't move units in a given market, they would have to adjust.
Assuming they're trying to compete. Which in the US they definitely are, because the US market is immense, which the Finland market isn't, relatively. In university economics we learn that if you lower the price you will sell more, but in real life it isn't so simple. Sometimes a higher price helps drive demand (iPod). Especially if you really have the best product. Is there a Finnish port of Revit? (I have no idea.) If GS has looked at Finland and concluded that they're selling AC to most of the potential customers, then to lower the price is just leaving money on the table.
The other thing somebody said is: We know we need to grow, we know it's absolutely critical. If we thought merely cutting the price would do it, it would be done.
The money goes into development, which I think most would agree is needed in the extreme. Someone has to pay.
OTOH
$10,000 is insane.
I actually believe that for proficient users with good standards, templates, etc., AC is a bargain at almost any price. An AC power user is amazingly productive.
But at 10k a seat, you need to get productive really really fast, and you probably need an understanding banker. It makes adopting AC riskier than it should be.
It is indisputably a barrier to entry for younger professionals. Yes there's a student version, but there's not a student-until-very-recently version. We need those creative insomniacs. We need their ACTalk posts, and we need the next generation to have a positive view of AC.
I also think looking at each country separately is quaint. Markets just aren't that clearly delimited anymore, and they're getting less so all the time, whether we like it or not. GS should look at global market share and try to grow across the board. The community needs every user it can get.
OTOOH
I would rather see AC grow through marketing and killer features rather than trying to compete on price. These things cost money, so we're (I'm) back at the beginning again.
Most importantly, I know next to nothing about sales of any kind, let alone the particulars of selling 20-odd localized versions of something as complicated as a 3D building modeling/documentation software, while trying to compete with a virtual monopolist (ADesk), so I'm really just weaving the wind.
Happy Sunday,
