Don,
this is fully understood. But it seems you separate soft- and hardware *too*
strictly in this “selling phase”. IMO it is the case that only with a well
written driver (let’s take graphics cards) you will get the most out of the
hardware. Moreover when new software (e.g. games) is released you will try
to optimize the performance of your graphics card (even for existing
products - and optimization can only be done via software, may it be
firmware or drivers). My point is, that the vendor wants his product to
perform well. And the product is not just “the hardware” or “the software”,
it’s a bundle. Especially after the initial release of such a product. They
are selling products, not hardware and not software alone.
But perhaps you have the better insight into this. So I’ll step back 
With best regards,
Oliver
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