Unless you find a personal sale for Essential on the cheap, you will spend just as much to purchase Essential 5 and then upgrade to Artist as you would just upgrading to C6 full version from CS5. You might as well take the latter route and get all the features. Otherwise, you will be paying the same to downgrade!
My guess is that SB figures they would get the extra 99.99 from CS users by discontinuing CS and making Artist a non-upgradeable option. (being as it would be a downgrade anyway) Seeing as they supply the product, we are at their mercy as far as upgrades go. Our only option as a CS user is to stay where we are, especially if we are running solidly. Is your system is problematic enough to reconsider, the forementioned are your choices.
Actually Suprawill I see it the other way round.
You spend the extra $100 and get the you beaut version rather than the crippled budget app.
The only reason I haven’t upgraded is due to helges’ fantastic annoucement about 5.53 otherwise I’d already be on the C6 train.
For me I don’t need anything fancy so the upgrade would have likely brought workflow improvements to boot
(as they always inevitably do)
Maybe I’m not understanding your explanation but I see C6 full version as the best way to go as far as upgrading.
It may be overkill for what some are doing but better to have too much than too little. Being a CS5 user, I’ve already outgrown the offerings of Artist. I’m fine where I stand with CS5 because I am running flawlessly but there are things in C6 I can use.
All options are open right now in Steinberg universe 
I’m saying, C6 is the best alternative, not least because of the feature set but moreover due to the fact of cheaper future upgrades to the latest technology.
Agreed. If that answers the OP’s question, we’ve done our job. 
Feel the same way, use Cubase since VST24. At home and at work. feel like I’m forced to go to the full version that I dont need. And I cannot even upgrade to artist 6???
I don’t like to be fooled.
I’m checking other DAWs now, feels like I’m leaving Cubase.
Look at the feature comparison. If you’re speaking of CS5, Artist is not an upgrade. It’s a “downgrade”! It’s an upgrade for Essential. Basically, if we are to upgrade, we’re forced to pay the extra $100 for the full version. I can use a lot of the extras in C6 but I agree that our right to upgrade within the same version has been taken away. Best bet is to stay with CS5 or upgrade to C6. Going to another DAW will most likely cost you more for less imo. Buying Artist outright would also be more expensive than the upgrade to C6. That, I cannot understand.