“Microsoft has reportedly spent more than $1.5 billion to market its new operating system, Windows 8, and accompanying mobile device, the Surface. But the messaging seems to be lost on prominent app developers,” John McDermott reports for Advertising Age.
“Despite offering more lucrative revenue splits for app developers than competitors Google and Apple, many of the largest digital media properties in the U.S. and makers of the most-popular tablet apps have decided that developing apps for the Surface — and the Windows app store in general — is not yet worth their tim,” McDermott reports. “The most glaring omission is Facebook, a company that Microsoft invested $240 million for 1.6% stake in 2007. ‘That’s a bad thing,’ said Ray Velez, chief technology officer of digital agency Razorfish.”
McDermott reports, “Of the 10 app publishers that earned the most revenue on iOS in October according to app analytics firm App Annie, only one shop, Gameloft, currently has at least one app available for the Surface.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The failure of epic proportions continues unabated.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Martin” for the heads up.]
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Anyone with half a brain shuns Microsoft’s Surface tablet.
What does the other half buy?
Is it any surprise? Really?
Windows 8 is a confusing mess of two UI’s boot-strapped together to form possibly the worst user experience.
Combine this with umpteen different versions varying in flavour from cow poo to elephant snot and it is no wonder users are confused.
I still don’t understand their theory behind making multiple versions of what is essentially the same product. I mean I understand it makes them money, but surely this is outweighed by the myriad of work involved to create ~8 versions of the same thing?
Must be crazy weed they’re smoking in Redmond.
Well, that sums it up nicely and Microsoft has only begin to scratch the Surface of failure.
I predict a new Surface game:
Angry Chairs.
Monkey boy likes Angry Turds.
+1
*snort*
Love it! “Angry Chairs” HA!
Best pun of the morning read.
Wah ha hahahahahah ahahahah ahahahaha ahahahahahahah ahahahahahah haha ahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
Come on guys give Steve B a break! Oh, wait, no that would be as silly as he is!!
Amazing that they can’t take a trick. Bill Gates was a good guy, but Steve B seems to be regarded as complete joke!!
Anyone know why????
Bill Gates was not a good guy. He didn’t know anything about technology, just learned from his daddy about predatory licensing, predatory contracts, predatory partnerships, and predatory monopoly practices.
Developers developers developers Developers developers developers Developers developers developers Developers developers developers Developers developers developers Developers developers developers Developers developers developers Developers developers developers Developers developers developers Developers developers developers
Now that’s become a desperate cry for help. (Add a question mark and exclamation mark after each “Developer”.)
+1
” The failure of epic proportions” … You are referring to SB with his epic girth, right?
and this is only the “surface” of the iceberg lol
Win8 is confusing, irrational, awkward to navigate, dumbed down to near nothingness, married to hardware that splits at the seams, wastes acres of screen real estate, is severely limited in use, chock full of annoying adverts, eats memory, eats battery power, robs software of a resizable window environment, looks childish and acts schizophrenic and they wonder why no one wants to write software for it?
I do wonder why, I really do.
Well said!
That clicking sound you keep hearing is falling dominos.
> Despite offering more lucrative revenue splits for app developers than competitors…
A revenue split is meaningless, if there is no revenue to split.
Microsoft will soon offer up-front payment to developers to have some key apps ported to Windows RT/Surface. If Microsoft offers a “no risk” opportunity to earn (at least) a worthwhile one-time paycheck (bribe), then some developers will release apps for Surface.
I agree. At this point, they have no choice but to fully subsidize the development of choice apps, hoping to breathe life into the curious creature that is Surface.
I visualize Steve Ballmer in a lab coat holding sizzling electrodes, trying to jump start the dead monster on the slab.
Nah, I see Facebook sprouting like crabgrass onto any platform.
“Microsoft has reportedly spent more than $1.5 billion to market its new operating system…”
Sooo close! Don’t quit when you’re right on the cusp, Microsoft!
If Microsoft spends just a hundred billion or so more on promotions, Windows 8 and the Surface are sure to get traction.
It looks more and more like a very large committee designed this latest debacle. And that is not a good thing.
MicroSOFT has to court developers? Wait, what? Shouldn’t the world’s largest SOFTware company have multiple, killer apps, games, utilities, productivity apps, etc. ready to go for for their newest device?
This is where I really don’t “get” MS leadership. They shouldn’t have to wait on Facebook, for example, to have an awesome FB app. (Esp since FB can’t even create an awesome FB app for iOS.) Doesn’t MS employ about a million developers?
“Despite offering more lucrative revenue splits for app developers”
100% of squat is still squat. Get back to us when there’s some customers to reach.
-jcr
Microslot will probably have to take a more XBox financial style approach to this—throw BIG money at it. Pay the app developers 100% no financial loss guaranteed to even start a Win 8 project, with bonus money at completion time. Wonder how long they can keep that up?
Bill and Steve are doing a great Job! Please, please, please keep doing what your doing! Hell, raise the price of the surface another $200!