I bought mine from one of Pixologic's local resellers for $564. That was a while ago but I would suggest checking out what they have to offer. http://www.pixologic.com/resellers/ Either way if any software developer deserves our money as game artists its Pixologic, they're unrivaled in bringing us powerful tools and…
No, but there is the school of thought that since Pixologic does tons of development on new features and seems to upgrade everyone for free to the new versions, the least you could do is buy your copy directly from them. More of a partnership that way, IMO. Maximize their profit on the sale since it's likely the last time…