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The Mac App Store Needs Paid Upgrades

blog.wilshipley.com

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Re: The Mac App Store Needs Paid Upgrades

#21

Post by dorianj »

cjensen wrote: post #17

The Mac software scene has always had lots of indie developers. Let's look at that scene for some facts... The indies generally charge an upgrade fee for "major" versions, and give free upgrades for "minor" updates. Most, like Wil, do the right thing. Delicious Library hasn't had a major release in years, but it is maintained. Others (for example, in my experience "DVD Remaster Pro" and Parallels Desktop), clearly ab…

Angry Birds is one of the most popular applications for the iOS platform ever. It has sales in the millions, and this model isn't comprable for indie software that doesn't have that big of a potential market.

Rovio also just released Angry Birds in Space, which is a separate app, meaning they'll get new income from it. But because it's a $0.99, giving existing customers a discount isn't important.

Re: The Mac App Store Needs Paid Upgrades

#22

Post by falcolas »

deedubaya wrote: post #6

As a developer with Apps in the MAS, I can see where this makes sense from the developer's perspective. But I think it is a mater of laziness on the dev's part. Let me explain: From a users perspective, this would suck. It is an antiquated system. "I have to pay for an upgrade just so it works on the new OS?" Think of how many times you've had to do this in the past, and how you felt. Apple will act in the best inter…

I'd hate to pick up a piece of software, only to find that there are 50 new features that I want that I have to buy piecemeal.

It's how the gaming industry currently works (with DLC), and while it's working for them right now, there's an ugly backlash against those companies that forms with every new DLC release that requires a lot of PR to counter.

As Joe User, I depend greatly on Joe Developer to make my Mac more usable. If Joe Developer is driven away for greener pastures, and my Mac experience degrades as a result, the chance I may not stick with this platform grows.

Re: The Mac App Store Needs Paid Upgrades

#23

Post by sharth »

phillmv wrote: post #11
deedubaya wrote: post #6

As a developer with Apps in the MAS, I can see where this makes sense from the developer's perspective. But I think it is a mater of laziness on the dev's part. Let me explain: From a users perspective, this would suck. It is an antiquated system. "I have to pay for an upgrade just so it works on the new OS?" Think of how many times you've had to do this in the past, and how you felt. Apple will act in the best inter…

Can you currently do in-app purchases on the Mac App Store? That was my first thought as well.

Yes. You can. However, I would much prefer the world Wil describes over a world with in-app purchases.

I would much rather pay the 20$ or whatever to upgrade my software, than be nickel and dimed all over the place.

Re: The Mac App Store Needs Paid Upgrades

#24

Post by kennywinker »

twiceaday wrote: post #3
kennywinker wrote: post #2

The consensus among all the devs I've talked to is that this feature will magically appear the next time Apple does a significant update to one of it's bigger ticket apps... Final Cut, Aperture, Logic, etc. I can't see any way they can get around this problem without adding paid updates. Until then 3rd party developers are high and dry.

Shucks. They will just have to sell another version of the App (Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Rio) for full price.

Did you miss the headline? _Mac_ App Store.

Full price upgrades works for Angry Birds, but anything less episodic or standalone and you have problems. See Tweetie 2, for an example.

This issue is going to be rampant in the Mac App Store very very soon. It's been out for what, a year now? Time for a round of big updates... now you have two copies of all your apps.

Re: The Mac App Store Needs Paid Upgrades

#25

Post by duxup »

seanalltogether wrote: post #7
kennywinker wrote: post #2

The consensus among all the devs I've talked to is that this feature will magically appear the next time Apple does a significant update to one of it's bigger ticket apps... Final Cut, Aperture, Logic, etc. I can't see any way they can get around this problem without adding paid updates. Until then 3rd party developers are high and dry.

Which honestly underscores one of my biggest complaints when working inside Apples ecosystem. I always get the feeling that they're building solutions for themselves first, and developers second, they don't take an agnostic approach to creating a platform. A good example of this is when you look at their UIKit and Appkit frameworks, all of the components were designed to the specific behavior that Apples engineers wa…

Thus the downside of eat your own dog food.

Re: The Mac App Store Needs Paid Upgrades

#26

Post by campnic »

deedubaya wrote: post #6

As a developer with Apps in the MAS, I can see where this makes sense from the developer's perspective. But I think it is a mater of laziness on the dev's part. Let me explain: From a users perspective, this would suck. It is an antiquated system. "I have to pay for an upgrade just so it works on the new OS?" Think of how many times you've had to do this in the past, and how you felt. Apple will act in the best inter…

Your comment only makes sense under the argument that when a user purchases an app, the developer is indebted to the user to provide future functionality of any variety.

Maintenance should not be expected for free. New features should not be expected for free. How much those two pieces of work cost should be dependent on future expected earnings for the developer and the perceived value to the consumer, not on whether or not they are "expected" by users.

For an argument that starts out pandering to the "users perspective", I don't see how having a dedicated upgrade process is less "pro-user" then in-app purchases. Not only does it introduce more testing (altering the expected earnings vs. perceived value equation) but it also inserts delivery and design issues for the purchases which wouldn't be necessary with an upgrade system.

To me this looks lose(devs)-win(apple)-push(consumers)

Re: The Mac App Store Needs Paid Upgrades

#27

Post by kennywinker »

TetOn wrote: post #5
kennywinker wrote: post #2

The consensus among all the devs I've talked to is that this feature will magically appear the next time Apple does a significant update to one of it's bigger ticket apps... Final Cut, Aperture, Logic, etc. I can't see any way they can get around this problem without adding paid updates. Until then 3rd party developers are high and dry.

Nothing in Apple's recent history suggests this is true. Think of the recent kerfuffle over Final Cut; they had no intention of continuing to sell the older version even though the new one was feature incomplete. It is highly likely that, when it appears, Aperture4 will similarly just replace Aperture3 at approximately the same price point. You can choose to buy the new one or not, but there's no discounted upgrade p…

We have yet to see this problem. The switch to FCPX was the first version in the app store. There hasn't been a high priced Apple app that has received a major upgrade via the Mac App Store.

You may be right that they are going to stay at low initial / full price upgrade... I see two issues with that (for Apple).

One, if the upgrade is not major enough to convince people to shell out for it. This fragments their apps ecosystem, and increases the support headache.

Two, how do you carry people forward to the new version. If it's a separate purchase, that means it's a separate bundle, and won't show up as an update when you check for updates in the mac app store. Again causing confusion and fragmentation (you now have FCPX and FCPX.1 on your machine, which one opens that project file?).

Again, I could be wrong, but Apple's current strategy look unsustainable to me.

Re: The Mac App Store Needs Paid Upgrades

#28

Post by kennywinker »

benihana wrote: post #20
phillmv wrote: post #13

I want to say something about sharecropping, but I have a hard time thinking of the appropriate analogy. It's making me think about the service model as being a superior revenue stream, for-better-or-for-worse. From a user's perspective, the MAS already acts as a service; the subsidy is just being paid for at the developer's end of the scale. I love the iTunes/MA stores as a marketing and distribution channel, but I…

> without forcing everyone to become serfs. Calling people who willingly cede less than a third of their profits for access to the giant infrastructure and advertising Apple has at their disposal is a bit of hyperbole. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement for both parties, which both parties are free to sever at any time. Doesn't seem like serfdom to me.

Obvious hyperbole is obvious. IMO, the analogy stands. I'm not the only one who thinks so http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2011/10/serving-at-the-plea...

Re: The Mac App Store Needs Paid Upgrades

#29

Post by kennywinker »

killion wrote: post #12

I really like how most applications in the iOS store have been about upgrades. When a new version comes out I get it automatically without paying. Camera+ is a great example. Because the user base for the platform has been growing the potential install base for your application grows with it. The graph in Wil's post shows that the same application had a huge sales surge just because more people were exposed to it. If…

The constant expansion model works for some apps, but not for all of them.

I appreciate the free upgrades as much as the next guy, but without the paid-upgrade option niche products will suffer.

Re: The Mac App Store Needs Paid Upgrades

#30

Post by MatthewPhillips »

seanalltogether wrote: post #7
kennywinker wrote: post #2

The consensus among all the devs I've talked to is that this feature will magically appear the next time Apple does a significant update to one of it's bigger ticket apps... Final Cut, Aperture, Logic, etc. I can't see any way they can get around this problem without adding paid updates. Until then 3rd party developers are high and dry.

Which honestly underscores one of my biggest complaints when working inside Apples ecosystem. I always get the feeling that they're building solutions for themselves first, and developers second, they don't take an agnostic approach to creating a platform. A good example of this is when you look at their UIKit and Appkit frameworks, all of the components were designed to the specific behavior that Apples engineers wa…

I can't think of a better endorsement of a platform than the creators investing real development dollars into using it.

The alternative is Google, who doesn't release any top-tier paid apps on Android or Chrome Web Store. Or host anything important on Apps Engine.

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