

Apple acknowledges AppStore's "race to bottom", working on improvements. - pxlpshr
http://www.macrumors.com/2009/07/21/apple-questioned-about-netbook-again-and-app-store-pricing-and-rank-lists/

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patio11
I wonder what indie Mac developers feel about the logic of "as we sell more
Macs, you should slash prices. A buck may not be too low!"

For added hilarity, consider Apple philosophy on pricing apps (sell by shovel,
churn churn churn) vs pricing Macs (they are expensive, if you cannot deal
with that you are not cool enough to own our brand).

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Andys
Its not hilarity - its business.

The idea is to turn the complements of your product into a commodity. So -
cheap hardware for Microsoft Windows, cheap software for Apple iPhones.

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potatolicious
Food for thought: I see a lot of similarities between the iPhone and Wii
marketplaces. Both platforms are cheaper to develop for than the competition
(in Wii's case, the 360 and PS3), and both are incredibly hyped-up devices
popular in the mainstream media.

Both platforms suffer extensively from quality problems when it comes to their
software offerings. Both have a horde of budget-grade developers trying to
saturate the market with substandard fare...

Is there something we can take away from this?

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pxlpshr
This was another comment they made in the earnings report:

 _As for price, it's up to the developers to choose where to set the price. I
would think as the installed base grows, it makes sense to have lower prices
but that's totally up to the developer._

Which is the dumbest thing I've heard in my entire life. The number of
PCs+Macs FAR supersedes that of iPhones, and computer software pricing isn't
driven into the ground. Based on Apple's dodgy behavior at WWDC, I believe
Apple likes the high churn for their bottom line. Remember: "Best Non-Holiday
Quarter Ever".

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the demographic driving the store
likes quick fixes and ridiculous apps like "Moron Test", "Sally Salon", etc.
It's their digital gumball machine spanning 75 countries.

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ZeroGravitas
Are you sure "computer software pricing isn't driven into the ground"?

Seems to me a lot of software aimed at standard PC's is free or ad supported.
More so if you consider web apps or online Flash games.

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noelchurchill
As an app developer, I'm happy to hear this.

