Is NI even paying attention to what Akai is doing?

What's so different about MPC-3 from any other full blown DAW.

PK, I think you're misunderstanding the issue. Nobody feels entitled to updates, and the expectation that companies would update the products they release is an expectation that these companies have set for themselves. Whether we're talking video games, operating systems, firmware, etc., tech companies have decided that they're going to push unfinished products to market, make us be paid alpha/beta testers, and then slowly add things that would have made the product finished at release, after the fact. In many cases, these products would never even get finished if the userbase didn't complain, threaten, or go through with legal action. It's just an unfortunate fact that there are no consumer advocacy groups for music technology products, so there are no legal definitions for things like "standalone groovebox", which means, legally, an MPC is just as standalone as a Push 3 is just as standalone as a Maschine+…even though MPC3 will make Akai's platform the only one that, in my opinion, fulfills what should be the legal definition of a "standalone groovebox". People are demanding updates because they do not currently have the means to sue these companies into compliance, which, frankly, NI (and others) should be grateful for. These devices are way too expensive for most of us non-famous, often working class (and even poor) musicians, to be left "holding the bag", so to speak. It's especially painful that, if we're going to switch over MPC, we can't even sell the Maschine+ for anywhere close to the price we bought it at, which means we could be losing even more money just to switch to a platform that gives us the features we need.

Do you think Apple being forced to use USB-C chargers on the Iphone is an atrocity, too?

What a very dismissive and elitist tone. I wonder if this is the internal culture of NI, if their core userbase/most active community members think like this. Do they really just think "Don't they know if they want polyrhythms, they can use reaktor blocks? We did a whole tutorial on that awhile back! What entitled fools!" "Psh! Why would they want or expect Maschine integration in our flagship Kontrol Keyboards? All of this user data we have says our customers want more soundpacks, hip hop beat tutorials, and DAW control!".

What a sad state of affairs. It's only a matter of time before someone tells Louis Rossman and this company's stock tanks.

I would LOVE to see you try to use this same set of arguments about your "legal right" to have your 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe be upgraded to all the features in the new 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. Sometimes one just has to shake one's head at the naivety….