Final Cut Pro X ‘backlash’ coming from competitors scared to death over Apple’s $299 price tag?

13 years ago

I’ve often wondered if the outcry we hear about things like iPhone antennas comes from actual users or *gasp* from Apple’s competitors who would naturally benefit if the general public were sufficiently confused.

It’s not that difficult to place an idea into the media and then watch the echo chamber ratchet it up to ridiculous levels.

After the ludicrous “Antennagate” stories finally died down, I pulled my iPhone 4 out of my pocket and looked at it. What I saw was only the most reliable and receptive iPhone I’ve ever owned (and I’ve owned them all). As usual, a mountain was made out of a molehill.

So, I have to wonder where the “backlash” over Final Cut Pro X is coming from? Keep in mind that Final Cut Pro X carries an amazingly low $299 price, especially compared to competitor’s now quite old-fashioned-looking and performing offerings.

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Is all the noise we’re hearing today really coming from Final Cut Pro users who still have their previous Final Cut version(s) and already know how to properly and rationally submit feedback to Apple?

Or is it coming from non-Final Cut Pro users who see the $299 writing on the wall and realize that they’ll soon very likely have to learn something dramatically new and different from outside their comfort zone? Apple’s previous Final Cut Pro versions have not stopped working, nor has Apple stopped work on FCP X – in fact, they’ve just started working with a paradigm-shifing, extremely strong and powerful foundation upon which to build. Have a minute of patience, please. I heard the same sort of whining when we went from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X and some had to be dragged kicking and screaming. People stopped crying over Mac OS 9 in short order, too.

Or who perhaps some editors feel a little bit threatened that “non-pro” users will be able to edit so well for so little? And/or perhaps it’s coming from Apple’s now price-demolished competition who simply cannot crunch their numbers and make them come out profitably if Apple is going to offer Final Cut Pro X for $299?

All it takes to give something a 1-star Mac App Store review is to purchase the app. If the Acme Editing and Overpriced Annual Service Contract Company felt threatened enough, I wonder how many copies and what kind of reviews they’d give to Final Cut Pro X? Gin up a bunch of them and the “news reports” about Final Cut Pro X would certainly mention how many one-star reviews it received, right? It might even make FCP’s Wikipedia entry (it has). So easy to do. Much easier than creating a compelling product at a ridiculously low price that offers professional-level editing tools to so many, that’s for sure.

I really have to wonder exactly who’s really “outraged” over Final Cut Pro X and why. I can’t prove anything, but I’ve seen enough in the past to have strong suspicions today.

SteveJack is a long-time Macintosh user, web designer, multimedia producer and a regular contributor to the MacDailyNews Opinion section. (He also has over 16 years of professional linear and non-linear editing experience. – MDN Ed., June 25, 11:15am EDT)