It seems logical to me, basically 'Get the kids hooked, and it'll pay off later'. A sound long term strategy I would've thought.

Back when only freeware projects were on the horizon I would've jumped at the chance to see what I could do with Havok. Now however I have to treat anything that involves a cost on commercial release with extreme caution, to the extent that I will not be wasting my time learning an API with an unknown price tag.

If they had an open price scheme I would be far more likely to consider it. Maybe that will come later.