I guess in terms of the learning curve and better equipment.
I view SLEs in general as having had a huge impact. Trust me, for most people, learning on a 2000 C kite was pretty hard. It took most people several months just to go upwind.
Some people took nearly a year to easily go upwind. Learning to jump on on that c.rap was very tricky (delay b/n pulling trigger and kite actually moving). Relaunch wasn't all that easy either. Now your average Joe goes upwind in 3 to 10 hours. So, I guess it's relative. Call me jaded.

It's my opinion that the board is the make or break(er) in terms of equipment bought.
If it's not the optimum size for the rider and local conditions, it won't matter how good the kite is. Just my opinion.