Earlier quoted context omitted.
Looking at the price of the “Hobbyist DV” version, it is not out of line with what people often spend on hobbies like photography, music, and cycling. Or just on beer and/or wine. Or books. Not to say people don’t spend less on their hobbies, just that a license is a less than a Sony A7R3 or a used Les Paul.
Yes, if a hobbyist absolutely wants to buy a Lispworks license, that should be possible for many people. But that isn't the only criterium. The question is: is anyone as happy to pay the price compared to spend the money on other things, like buying a camera or lens. There is some perception of value involved. For example I do spend a lot of money on my camera equipment and some people are suprised by it, though I sp…
CAPI is the reason. If you want to develop a professional GUI application and you want to use Common Lisp, LW is pretty much the only option.