Underscore David Smith, on Logic Pro X’s same-as-it-ever-was $199 price:
Logic Pro X is a Major (with a capital M) update to their professional audio editing suite. It appears to represent a significant investment in both time and resources. So how is it being sold, especially to people who already paid $200 for the previous version (Logic Pro 9)? It is a separate app download with a full cost purchase. No upgrades, no introductory pricing, just straight forward sale.
I’d say that this is the best indication of Apple’s intentions and expectations for the App Stores going forward. I wouldn’t expect anything like upgrade pricing to appear in the Stores. It seems like the message is to either give your upgrades to your customers as free updates or to launch a new app and charge everyone again. Neither approach is perfect but I am now very confident that this is going to be the situation for the foreseeable future.
Good thoughts here by Smith.
While I’d never balk at an opportunity to upgrade to a new version of an app at a discount or even for free, I’m more than willing to pay money for great apps. Should Tapbots make Tweetbot 2.0 for iOS a standalone app and charge $3 for it, I’ll pay for it. I adore Tweetbot, and I don’t feel any twinges of free upgrade entitlement because I paid $3 for 1.0. Besides, the altruist in me likes knowing that I’m supporting developers in making great things.
That said, I can see the pitfalls here: not everyone feels as altruistically as I do, and money doesn’t grow on trees. It sucks as a developer, but from a user perspective, I’d rather pay a bit for something I really love than have it simply be given to me on the proverbial silver platter. But, again, that’s just me.
