Some good points. There is a difference, however, between buying something once, and having to buy the same thing again and again and again.
This is why I will never buy another Adobe product.
I hear you. I’ve also heard of vehicle ‘feature subscriptions’, where you might only pay an even lower monthly rate for winter features during winter months. Again, it’s an attempt to lower purchase price with the ability to still gain more revenue after sale if the customer then decides they actually do want something, being even more flexible if only for certain months of the year. You could also provide a “30 day free trial” to see if it’s worth the money.
IMHO it’s really just a competitive free market trying to find ways of lowering cost. The optics just aren’t great.