Next up on debating hour, 'Pro Tools HD vs. Renoise'
After all, they both run on a computer, they both enable you to make music...
My point is, why should Ableton feel the need to reduce their prices when they have something unique? Where is the incentive? If you want the session view, you are going to have to buy Live.
I genuinely don't think including Operator or Sampler (or both) will make you choose Live over Logic, becuase if your choice is determined by that criteria then you could easily get more VST for your cash elsewhere. You either need what Live does uniquely, or you can get by with another sequencer.
Steinberg HAVE to do something about pricing because of Logic, the stuff in Sonar, and the way Reaper is proving how much you can get for no money. They're forcing Steinberg's hand. They have to act because Cubase is directly comparable to those other apps.
If people want to see Ableton include more stuff in the basic package, then fair enough. We all want more features. I just don't think it's a valid arguement to say they should include more stuff or drop the price for fear of losing customers: they will get customers all the time they have this unique performance angle.
A more interesting question for me is pondering why no one has tried taking Ableton on in terms of an easy to use live performance tool. Because until that happens, I don't see Live's price coming down.
Now, Live vs. Usine: that's surely a debate worth having?