Autodesk now owns Maya and 3D Studio

Exclusive story: Autodesk acquires Alias

http://www.autodesk.com
from WinCustomize Forums

Autodesk, the makers of 3D Studio Max has acquired Alias, the makers of Maya for $182 million in cash.  For those of you who thought that 3D Studio Max was made by Discreet, well, Autodesk now owns Discreet so in effect, the 3D modeling software market is under control by Autodesk.

Most 3D modeling that you see in movies, TV, and games is done using either Maya or 3D Studio Max.  This concentration of market power by a single company in such a key market has many designers and artists quite nervous.

"What about the cost of both products?" said Scott Tykoski, a 3D graphics designer at Stardock. "These are expensive products today when there's competition, what about in the future? Are we going to be paying $12,000 base cost for these programs in a year?"

According to Autodesk, the product release schedule for both products will continue into the foreseeable future without modification.  The two companies will continue to exist and market and sell both Maya and 3D Studio Max for the near future.

What the actual effect on development of both products now that competition between the two is gone remains to be seen.  This story is still developing..

5,667 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I don't like it. I don't like it at all. It's like Apple buying out Microsoft or vice versa. There is a monopoly in the making. And we will all be the victims.
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
3D Studio Max was made by Discreet, well, Autodesk now owns Discreet


Discreet's name just changed back to Autodesk.

Or was that just a typo?

They've changed the name of it about 4 times.

This doesn't bother me much at all, nothing like when Adobe bought out Macromedia, yet we still see both publishers pushing the products out with little change.
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I for one am actually looking forward to this. Same with the Macromedia/Adobe buyout. People seem to forget that just because you lose one competitor doesn't mean that another one won't rise in it's place. Besides being a surprise to pretty much everyone, I think most of the contacts I have in the CG industry are rather happy about it in the long run.

For 3d software, there are tons of different applications out there. Maya is geared more towards feature films and Max for games. I'd like to see the best of both worlds put together in one package. Personally, I think that the 3D max interface has a technical feel to it while Maya seems geared more towards the creative process. I'm not alone in that though about the GUI design for both applications either.

I don't see how this will spell doom for any particular camp, but a cohesiveness is more than welcome. Max will finally get some much needed improvement in it's animation area, Maya will be able to finally use more than a few select file formats, and both should be cross-compatible in the next few years. I eagerly await this.
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
3D Studio Max was made by Discreet, well, Autodesk now owns Discreet


if i remember correclty, MAX was made by Kinetix a subsidary of Autodesk which was later merged with Discreet when Autodesk bought Discreet....
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
To say that "Most 3D modeling that you see in movies, TV, and games is done using either Maya or 3D Studio Max" is slightly to broadsweeping, however I do see lots of Maya users being very uneasy about where Maya will be headed. I think an interface smarten up without changing it's base layout and functionality wouldn't go amiss.... but I hope Maya doesn't suffer for this merger. And I speak as a Lightwave user, I don't even use Maya.


"3D modeling software market is under control by Autodesk" is over simplifying a little too, but it certainly isn't the healthiest move for the Cg software market potentially.


Cheers!
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It's not out of order saying that at all really, 3dsmax is the most used app by 3d proffesionals and mostly for video games, maya was more favored in the movie industry, and lightwave has been a longtime favorite of freelancers. It's not that much of a monopoly though, and Soft Image XSI is generating a lot of heat. So there's still 3 big dogs and a handful of smaller recognized ones. I remember I used to be in love with rhino.