So long trials: Pixelmator going Mac App Store exclusive

The transition was probably inevitable, but most of us were not expecting developers to take their applications Mac App Store-only so soon. In an announcement released on their blog, the Pixelmator team took the first step towards the inevitable. They’re transitioning their application to the Mac App Store completely. Starting today, you’re being redirected to the Mac App Store to purchase Pixelmator.

Haters will hate, and a couple may have a point, but the Pixelmator team believes that “completely moving Pixelmator sales and distribution to the Mac App Store” will be the best thing for their application. There are obvious benefits:

1. The Mac App Store lets you download your applications directly from the store at any point both now and in the future. You can buy an application once, and re-install it for free directly from the app store. We’re not sure if this is intended, or if it will last long-term, but for now it’s a great system.
2. The move will “theoretically” put the application in front of a new audience. I say theoretically because we don’t yet know how non-technophiles will gravitate to the store.
3. Insert all the other positives about the Mac App Store here.

To help with the transition, Pixelmator is putting the Mac App Store version of the application on sale for $29.00, and they will then offer up a free upgrade to Pixelmator 2.0 for Mac App Store users. There’s clearly an incentive to make the move to the Mac App Store version, especially if you’re an avid Pixelmator user. The additional price to make the transition isn’t too steep.

Let’s think about the impact

The Mac App Store and iOS Stores are fundamentally different. Pricing structures on the iOS App Store are low enough that there’s not really a barrier to entry when purchasing applications. Paying a couple of dollars to try out an application is usually worth it, but when it comes to forking out cash for applications in the $100.00 range, give or take a couple bucks, it’s hard to make a commitment without trying it first. Pixelmator fully moving to the Mac App Store means we will no longer be able to get a trial version of the application before we buy it.

What happens if you buy Pixelmator on the Mac App Store, and you don’t like it? It’s not exactly easy to get a refund from Apple in this case. If you do manage to get a refund, 100 percent of the app’s value gets refunded out of the developer’s pocket, and Apple still makes off with 30 percent of the profit.

This could get dangerous really quickly if more developers go Mac App Store only in the upcoming months. I’ve never asked for a refund on an application, but if I’m dropping a Benjamin (or a Borden for my Canadian friends), that might change pretty quickly. Gone are the trials we’ve come to rely on, and here are the days of pay first and try later.

So long trials, it was nice knowing you.

TL;DR Pixelmator’s moving to the Mac App Store permanently. Everyone can currently download the app there for $29.99.

Article Via The Loop