[BXlnt2EachOther]

Variation on "have seen" - a couple examples of historically expensive software that became accessible:

Over time DaVinci Resolve went from a hardware-software system costing $X00,000 to having a software-only version for $1500 in today's dollars to having two tiers, a free version and $295 "studio" version that is also bundled in with BlackMagic hardware and cameras.

($800,000 to Zero - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WvP5_HFQSk)

I suppose a half-million-dollar hybrid system might not be off the shelf. For things individual users could actually (edit: realistically) buy, the perpetual Adobe Collection license was $3k in today-money.

For Mac users, Final Cut Pro Studio 1 was $1299 and Logic Studio used to be $999, plus paid major version upgrades; probably multiply by 1.5x for inflation; now they're $299 and $199, or IIRC $299 together in a bundle for students, and they've each received free updates for a decade.