[Fr0styMatt]

It's a shame that this stuff happens really; I think it relegates the Mac App Store to a certain niche more than anything else.

I was surprised at the limited selection I found in the store. Having just got a new Mac, I went searching for the usual suspects - no VMware or Parallels? I understand why as these apps can't be sandboxed. Hardly any commercial 3D authoring tools? Where's Illustrator and their ilk (not the Lite versions, the actual full versions). I was really surprised at the lack of big creative and high-end apps on the store - at least in the sense the big apps that the Mac is known for. It seems to be a bit of a wasteland in that regard. I'm sure there are many gems in the store from smaller developers, but I found the app discovery experience roughly on par with that of the iOS app store, which isn't a compliment :)

The convenience factor is wonderful though - it's been a few years since my last Mac and apps I purchased were right there waiting. Setting up the new machine was bliss. Hopefully many of these issues can be worked out as the store evolves.

Slightly off-topic; where do I go to find the gems on the store? What are the good review sites (something like what TouchArcade is for iOS games)? Any with a focus on creative apps?

[gress]

Pixelmator, Sketch, Omnigraffle, Logic, FCP, Motion, are pretty solid creative tools.

[hippee-lee]

And Blender too.

[pornel]

Blender is GPL and sadly Apple's T&C forbid publication of Free Software in the App Store.

[gress]

No. People who choose GPL choose not to publish their software in the App Store.

[wsc981]

I like Cheetah3D for creative 3D work, but I ain't a pro - YMMV. Photoshop LE has been well worth the money for me. I agree it's a shame Illustrator is not available on the AppStore.

[Fr0styMatt]

I think a lot of it has to do with that 30% cut. 30% of a $25 app isn't that much, but I guess if I were someone big like Autodesk or Adobe and it were my big, multi-thousand dollar app, why would I want to give Apple a 30% cut when the distribution model that I have now works already? I guess that's why you see a lot of 'Lite' or 'Debut' edition apps, something to entice you over to the more expensive apps which can then be purchased without Apple taking a cut. There's no real benefit (and lots of downsides) as a developer if you don't need the Mac App Store for the exposure.

[elithrar]

> There's no real benefit (and lots of downsides) as a developer if you don't need the Mac App Store for the exposure.

Exactly right. I would say that most people in the market for Photoshop know they need Photoshop itself. Adobe is pushing subscription based services as much as they can, which are at odds with the App Store model.

There some great alternatives though if you don't need PS: Pixelmator and Acorn are both capable image editors and both are on the MAS.