I have a huge amount of respect for Ashley and the crew at Scirra. Construct 2 is a great piece of software and I've enjoyed using it! But like many others I feel compelled to weigh in on the new subscription model. I completely understand the reasoning behind it, but it doesn't work for me at all.
I've been a professional game designer for many years, but I like to make little side projects in my spare time using C2, Gamemaker Studio, and Fusion 2.5. Unfortunately, I frequently get very busy at work and it's not unusual for me to put my side projects on hold for four or five months... sometimes more. With that kind of usage schedule I just can't justify spending $99.00 per year. Last year I probably used Construct 2 for a total of a month...
The reason for the subscription is due, I assume, to the high cost of becoming a web-based service, right? I can see where this change would be beneficial for Scirra, but I'm not yet clear how it benefits us users? (That's a legitimate question -- I haven't done enough research yet.)