My personal opinion about the 1.8 release

Look

NI aint stupid they know that people aint really in need For the new mk2 controller.

I been readin alot on other forums about the NEW controller and reactions aint good.

80% feel that they dont need do get the NEW maschine sense everybody is going to get 1.8 For free anyway.

10% of forum writers are on the akai side

5% think the new controller looks like s... And lacks certen features, becuse of that they aint getting down.

5% like the NEW controller and is going to try to get it as soon as they get they hands on some cash. But muscians today aint earning no money and everybody knows that.

So

Becuse of this NI aint gone sell that many units of the mk2 and they know this. Thats why 1.8 is gone be the last free uptade For Us old maschiners. In 2.0 they are gone put in all the goodies we been asking For à long time know and in that way more or less force Us into uptading to the mk2 with mp3 import, sc, mc, midi import and all of that and be on the same level with the MPC ren when it comes to tech spec. and 2.0 is just going to work with the mk2.

This is what i belive is gone happend and i can smell it from far away.
What do you think?

 

I wouldn't say the reaction has been bad on other forums, and I don't care if 80% of people with the old controller reckon they don't need the new controller, because it is patently obvious to me that they don't.

I'm glad that everyone who bought Maschine up until now doesn't think their hardware is suddenly obsolete, because it means we can all use the upcoming updates to Maschine without having to buy a new controller. In other words, NI hasn't failed their existing market-leading userbase by throwing them to the wolves.

NI will continue to sell shed-loads of Maschine MKII for the same reason they sold shed-loads of Maschine MKI; they have a good product at a competitive price point. I don't think it's NI's objective or in NI's interest to attempt to sell their entire userbase a new controller. If it was, it wouldn't just be an evolution of the original design, it'd be something else.

I wouldn't bet against a paid update at some point, although I hope NI put the remaining features that they've said they'd put in a free update, in a free update.

 

Ya i dont think at all its NI goal to get the old maschine headz and force them to buy a new mk2 model at all. As in time i do think that updates may include a price but thats ok as long as they are effecient changes im game for it in the future.

besides if a new ground breaking design comes out and NI stop their support for the older maschine im sure a crossgrade will happen anyways and im game for that too.

 

mebbe, just mebbe, after three years a modernisation and refresh is required?..

NI is not targetting us with the MkII but making the package more attractive for new users... ya know... more sales

 

I hope not. I plan on buying a MK1 before they are gone. I personally do not want or care about the new controller. I was already planning on buying a Mikro anyway before the announcement and I plan to use it as a vst so as long as it works in my DAW I'll be happy.

 

Well said lethal_pizzle. I don't see the MKII controller as negative in any way.

MKII is just to keep Maschine fresh and noticed by new users while the real product evolution takes place in silence. This market is recently quite competitive, and NI will be hard at work on the next big feature set by now if not long ago. I am confident there will be a V2.0 controller eventually and also a 2.0 software with many more features instead of the incremental updates. I don't know if Maschine will ever be a full production environment or DAW, but NI is quite calculating about their product cycles and they have some strong business sense - I wouldn't count them out for anything.

 

I don't believe NI will charge for a 2.0 update, I don't think there are enough suckers out there who would pay for an update that would be close to 95% full of features that should have been in os/ 1.0, just how many chumps do you actually think are out there that would pay for midi import, mutes, a freakin songmode, a way to record your pad play/performance OMG…. and if they do try to get some money for that then that will show without a doubt exactly what they think of you!

I don't think they've got the cojones to treat their customer base like that.:|

 

they're definitely going to charge for the 2.0 update for old maschine owners, that's beyond obvious.

 

Care to share with the rest of us what's in this 2.0 update and why you think it won't be free?

 

No? Really? Did you see what they did to the Kore users?

 

Wont the 2.0 upgrade be at least months away in any case?

My take on it: MkII is more a sidewards step than an advancement on MkI (and nothing wrong with that). They have refreshed the look, feel and, via the coloured pads, usability of Maschine and by doing so have made what will look like a new yet established product to "newbies" when deciding between Maschine and, say, Ren. It will continue to sell well and will go some way in staving off competition. Good business in other words. Both MkI and MkII will be supported until a MkIII model emerges somewhere well down the line (I'm talking two years minimum).

Pure speculation here, but when MkIII does make an appearance I'd imagine it will come along with some a overhaul of the software as well as hardware. There is heaps of potential in Maschine for non groove based styles (for example), especially when using with the various bits and bobs within Komplete and I wouldnt be surprised if a more obvious take on an Ableton like set up is eventually developed. At this point, judging by NI's track record there will likely be a stop on MkI/II support.

But, why worry about all that! It's ages away and like everything in music tech, things will always change. Enjoy Maschine and 1.8, whatever happens in the future isnt going to stop the music you are making today.

 

I think 2.0 might have some deep traktor integration like I've been asking for. I don't care if I have to pay for it. I want to see N.I be innovators. Take it to another level. That is all I'm asking. They have features to catch up on and they have had the time. I think soon they will answer the call. Let us pray. Maschine now looks like a F1. Now they can take the great idea of the Remix Deck and apply it with Maschine as well. We might see something never done before.

 

lots of assumptions that i dont think are valid.

i think they will sell alot of units maybe not to exsisting users but new adopters.

also i think free updates will available for life for maschine owners at no point has ni stated that they intend to charge so this is an invalid assumtion.

ni make money from crossgrades, sound packs and new users and again there is not evidence that they intend to turn the incremental updates into a separate income stream.

as my view is that the cost of developing additional features pays for itself in terms of customer loyalty and attracting new users who are impressed by the level of support.

 

I tend to think what you are saying doesn't make sense...why wait till 2.0?

Imho much better to charge for the software now when you have the shadow of the new unit hanging over it...I think the longer time passes then people are prone to buying the new unit. The longer time goes on a replacement model is more viable.

 

I don't think Kore ever took hold like they were hoping it would, and there's only so long they can try to push something that wasn't producing for them like they wanted. NI isn't a tiny company but they do have limited resources to invest.

Forcing all current Maschine owners into an upgrade isn't the same thing as dropping an under-performing product-line, and would do far more harm than good in the long run. Never say never but I really doubt they'd do that.

 

I agree. I think the main reason is that the existence of the hardware (which can't be pirated) which is so integral to the Maschine experience makes it viable for NI to continue with the free software updates model. And the integration between Maschine, Komplete, and Traktor makes it more likely for owners of any of those products to invest into the rest of the ecosystem.

Yup.

 

exactly...

I highly doubt that, they charge for all major version updates, look at kontakt, free in between but each major point/version is a paid update, and kontakt is one of their most widely used and supported applications.

It's also pretty common with many other companies to charge for numbered updates and not point updates

 

Bloody hell 1.8 isnt out yet and the bullshitometers are now starting on 2.0!lol

The next update will probably be out next year i wouldnt worry about it the way the worlds going most of us wont probably be alive to use it anyway .

 

hahahahaha LOL

 

That's a good point and I certainly won't complain if a newly revamped Maschine 2.0 was a paid update after all the freebies we've received already. But Kontakt is a software only product and I could see NI adopting a different update model for Maschine where the software updates remain free, mainly due to the the fact that it's all about the integration with the hardware, which can't be pirated.