I mean, that's how software used to be? Let's exclude anything cloud-based and assume no marginal operating cost of running purchased software. Adobe Photoshop

I mean, that's how software used to be? Let's exclude anything cloud-based and assume no marginal operating cost of running purchased software. Adobe Photoshop cost around $1000 in the 90s, and now it's like $25 a month? Back then you paid a discount to upgrade to latest version, and now it's generally included in the subscription. For professionals, the amortized subscription price is probably the same as the flat one-time free plus the upgrades, if not cheaper. Some of the really expensive software I paid for in 90s and early 00s still has a flat one-time fee, such as Visual Studio or Final Cut Pro. Adobe and Autodesk have moved to subscriptions, but if anything that has made them more accessible to hobbyists. They were both charging ludicrous sums back then so the normies resorted to warez downloads.