The early versions of C2 were far, far more primitive than what we are launching now with C3. r45 came out in June 2011. We didn't add core features like audio support, animations, collision polygons, WebGL support, and more until later down the line.
I'm aware those versions are most likely cavemen paintings compared to C3 in its current state, I just prefer to consider the worst-case scenario of anything so I'm more prepared for curveballs life throws at me.
I would be willing to rent C3 if it was a rent-to-own model, even if I ended up paying more in the total cost of if it were just purchased outright, but I am extremely averse towards needing a subscription forever. Or even what one user suggested that we can only use versions up to what we paid for and if we didn't continue the subscription, we no longer get updates but can still use it. I think the latter is the best model for you to go with. I imagine people would even be willing to pay more per month for that thing than a yearly subscription would total to per month and you totally lose access.