“Leave it to a company as cocky as Microsoft to dictate prices in a sector over which it has no control,” Rick Aristotle Munarriz writes for The Motley Fool.
“The software giant wants mobile software developers to forget the $0.99 price point that Apple’s App Store is championing, as it gears up for the fall launch of its Windows Marketplace for Mobile,” Munarriz writes.
MacDailyNews Take: Is Apple’s App Store really “championing” the 99-cent price point or did prices just gravitate to that base point? Plenty of apps are free (like ours) and plenty of others cost – and are worth – more than 99-cents, too. Apple provides the App Store, the developers set their own prices.
Munarriz continues, “‘You make more money selling applications than selling your application in a dollar store,’ Loke Uei Tan — a member of Microsoft’s Mobile Developer Experience team — told developers this week. ‘Ninety-nine cents? Come on. I think your app is worth more than that.’ He may be right, but that doesn’t matter.”
“Kidding developers about the notion of jacking up prices is preposterous,” Munarriz writes. “Microsoft may not see what it likes when it peers into Apple’s App Store, but it’s really only looking at the grim reality of software pricing’s future.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Since Apple makes the bulk of their money on hardware, they can continue to drive down software prices (look at what they did to MSFT on OS pricing) until Microsoft’s look even more outrageous than they do now (if that’s even possible). Microsoft will never be able to make up that loss with mice and obscenely faulty Xbox units (Xbox 360 failure rate is 54.2%). Apple’s turning Microsoft’s gold into lead.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Ah shit, that exchange between ‘Spark’ and ‘Metryq’ hit my squirrelly spot and I can’t stop giggling. I hate that.
‘MacDorks’. YES! Been way too long and I love it when ZT uses that!
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Uhm, I think the writer is being metaphorical, and not literal. When Apple “champions” something, the writer means that they are creating a platform where 99 cent apps can not only survive but also thrive.
“What a ridiculous assertion that Apple is “championing” 99¢ apps. Some developers have made a decision price their apps at that low prices..”
And what’s funny is if it were not for this bit of fiction, there would be no story.
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Again, 99¢ apps aren’t necessarily a bad thing. For example, I certainly wouldn’t pay more than 99¢ for a tip calculator or a digital whoopie cushion. And since those are quick and easy to write, the store is full of them.
Part of the problem with the store is that there really is no way to show customers that your App is worth more than 99¢ via the store. This means that developers of Apps worth more than 99¢ have to come up with creative ways of marketing their Apps. For most people, that means trying to get on Apple’s “Hot 100” list. Unfortunately, what’s the best way to get on the “Hot 100” list? Lower your price to 99¢.
I think a lot of people are like me, if it’s cheap, I buy more things. That helps everyone selling apps, all benefit from people being able to purchase lots of different ones rather than deciding which ONE to buy.
And at 99 cents it’s less risky to buy an app you aren’t sure you’re going to like. You give it a try for a couple weeks—it’s only 99 cents. The seller gets their money and if you end up never using it, it’s no big deal.
Well Zune Thang, I know we have our differences but you are irght, calling Microsoft cocky is really an oxymoron. You might give a pinky wave to a micro softie, but it certainly is not worthy of any phallic attributes.
At least there is a bright side, you are going home. Please be careful letting the door hit your ass on the way out, your Zune can only take so much abuse.
P.S. I am sure that hammerhoid app will be really useful to all the Zune users out there.
[I might buy the complete MS Office suite for my mac if it were 99¢.]
Yeah. If it included a 2 dollar instant rebate.
Oh, and what sparkplug said about cheap laptops and high-priced MS software, proves that ballmer is fscking nuts.
So, how will Lauren and mom feel about Microsoft telling developers to hike their prices? They are schizophrenic and they must be clinically put away – what are MS shareholders doing? When do they get out of their stupor 🙁
Remember an article from few years back as the ‘Net/Web was getting started
Was about like this one – what’s a good price to charge, etc
Forget the writer, but it went something like …
“I’d be happy with 5¢ per sale – from 1/2 the People in China”
BC
hey Zunie —
Remember this :
The only thing Micro$oft could ever make that wouldn’t suck …
would be vacuum cleaners !!
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If Microsoft is trying to convince iPhone developers to hike their prices above 99 cents, it can only mean one thing: Microsoft is planning to make all the apps in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile cost 99 cents or less.
“Come on. I think your app is worth more than that. (Now make it more expensive already so we can get to undercutting the App Store)”
MS has two problems with mobile crap. (Of course they have more problems)
1: You can create a nice looking app for iPhone in one day, that same app would be ugly on Windows and it would take more than two weeks of development. So nobody can offer Windows Mobile apps for $0.99 (Don’t forget, those people also have to debug their registry and BSODs)
2: How are people going to pay for those apps? In Zune points?