When did they get screwed the first time?
Depends on who purchased what, and when.
In my case, I was told by Adobe that, in order to be eligible for an upgrade to the then announced Photoshop CS7, I had to first upgrade to CS6 because it would no longer be possible to skip a version (and only upgrade every other version if the new features were good enough to improve my workflow), so once in 3 years on average. Of course CS7 never happened.
My Lightroom perpetual license (I had been using LR since version 1.0 and upgraded every 18 months, or skipped a version) got more expensive if I adopted an annual subscription, and the perpetual license version ceased being offered.
Time and training to master these applications were rendered rather useless and I therefore also stopped developing several planned Plugins.
You pays your money and takes your choice.
I did, and spent my money on other/better alternatives, and have never regretted it.
I
am a bit puzzled why people still tolerate being used as a paying beta tester for Adobe, but hey we make our own choices. And if that means probably having to pay double the price for a new subscription, be my guest. Not me.
Cheers,
Bart