This is becoming prevalent in the world of game engines, where the engines sell for big money, but companies making under $100K per year can buy for a few thous

This is becoming prevalent in the world of game engines, where the engines sell for big money, but companies making under $100K per year can buy for a few thousand (Look up Unity 3D or Torque for more info). It serves as promotion and builds a much larger community for the engine developer. It also lets them get money from the mass-market, as usually the indie licenses come with less support requirements. For the big name publishers, they make a lot of money but provide the support SLA, custom development or source code access.