MPC-Tutor wrote:Have to say, I rarely agree with the whole loyalty argument like this, you bought the hardware 8 years ago and got 8 years of support and countless free updates none of which were ever promised on the day you bought that machine, completely transforming your original MPC Live/X etc. They've given you plenty over the years without forcing you to buy new hardware. New synths, new FX, new features, all for free.
Just seems ridiculous to me that you think they owe you something in this arrangement. I'm sure they appreciate your purchase 8 years ago, which is why they gave you so many amazing free updates, right?
Personally, I have zero interest in whatever the “Pro Pack” is.
As you yourself hinted, I rarely buy into loyalty arguments. In business, loyalty doesn’t actually exist; incentives do.
People bought the Gen‑1 MPCs even though Akai made it abundantly clear—through both statements and behavior—that the firmware was unfinished. Then with v3, they changed direction entirely (in my personal opinion, for the better) and turned those products into something very different from what was originally sold. Ironically, the marketing for v1/v2 leaned more toward what v3 eventually became. And if you wanted the fixes and improvements, you had to ride along for years as the platform evolved into a completely different machine.
I’m not complaining—just stating facts.
So yes, Akai absolutely released “countless free updates none of which were ever promised when you bought the machine.” True. But those updates weren’t acts of generosity; they were attempts to stabilize and complete a product that shipped unfinished. Some fixes took years, some features were removed (TS, for example), and some still haven’t arrived.
This is modern business: continuous updates, shifting roadmaps, subscription models. I don’t love it, but I’m not upset about it either.
What is odd is portraying Akai as somehow benevolent in all this. It’s just business. We’re on one side of the transaction; they’re on the other. I’m sure they appreciate my purchase, but the reason they gave me “so many amazing free updates” was not because of something I bought eight years ago. It was because those updates served their business strategy.
Again, not complaining—just stating facts.
Which brings me to the OP: why put them down for wanting to start a petition asking Akai to provide free software for Gen‑1 customers? Nothing Akai has done—including eight years of updates—was “free” in the altruistic sense. It only appears that way because that’s how modern business models work.
So yes—go OP, I hope you get your bowl filled.
. It's not a scam if some shit cost money & keep in mind, everything is optional.
