[Sanddancer]

I'd argue that the AppStore model is several steps backward from shareware, websites, etc. Yes, you get cheap updates, but you're once again beholden to the retailer in order to get your product noticed, it's harder to create apps that deal with social commentary, you've once again got to calculate in retailer overhead in determining a product price, etc. Hell, the bad old days let you include a catalog in with your product so customers could purchase stuff directly from you without the retailers demanding their pound of flesh. So no, the AppStore is not a game changer by any means.

[leschaps]

The game has changed fundamentally for both producer and consumer, and the AppStore (powered by mobile device success) is the biggest winner in exploiting the change. The level of its success puts it in a position of influencing/controlling the underlying economics and has forced big changes to the business models of anyone seeking access to the market it provides. I can't really agree that it is worse than other market channels, since the market landscape is fundamentally different from a few years ago, but having been a producer and consumer of software products over a long period, I feel like it is a net loss for competitive (and quality) software development, and a soft win for consumers in some ways, but as you point out, the control and opportunity trade-offs on the production side relative to the bad old days are a pain, and may result in compromises for the consumer.