One thing to note though is that ndo and 3do only work with Photoshop right? With that in mind and the new ndo2 and 3do2 things coming out, I'd say that Photoshop will be pretty important with some of the newer asset workflows. Not a requirement but definitely useful.
My laptop came with Adobe photoshop elements what basicly covers my needs in terms of image editing but I imagine that someone who works with textures, professional photo and can afford it sure should buy photoshop. As for the rest I use MSPaint :) http://youtu.be/SDc9sns01J0
Just in case people aren't aware, you can still buy a Photoshop license without paying monthly through Adobe's website: http://www.adobe.com/products/catalog/cs6._sl_id-contentfilter_sl_catalog_sl_software_sl_creativesuite6.html You just have to take a roundabout way through Products > Creative Suite 6 > Photoshop CS6 >…