Hi Mark! Sorry for responding so late. I was kind of roaming the prairie in spring time. I hope you're fine! Yes indeed those were great times. I must have been there already since a few years, I remember threads about the towers in the forum in 2001. I guess, like in all industries politics began to play important roles, in order to get crazy funding that would wipe any competition from the market. Like Unity, that cost 2 billions so far, but cashed in way less. Investors primarily wanted to monopolize, as that promised more control over a new medium. Anyway, in my view.
Being literally senior programmer by now, I tend to follow more of a Guru approach. I think it was Confucius who said "The wise man is sitting at the river shore, and the sooner or later the dead body of his enemy is floating by". Not that I had any enemies tho - I have authorities ^^ well you know me, always on the brink of a coup d'etat.
Take care, yet have a wonderful time!
Dieter