Pixelmator's Million-Dollar Mac App Store Results
By Harry McCracken | Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 10:01 am
How well can a small software company do on Apple’s new Mac App Store? Very well indeed, if the results reported by the developers of Pixelmator, an image editor, are any indication.
They say that the app grossed a million dollars in sales in the App Store’s first twenty days. The program sells for $29.99 (a limited-time discount from the normal price of $59), so that’s more than 33,000 copies. The Pixelmator folks will net $700,000; Apple will keep $300,000 as its cut.
Pixelmator’s blog post doesn’t say how well the app did in pre-App Store days, but it does use words like “ecstatic” and “fantastic,” so it sounds like a safe bet that a million dollars’ worth of sales in twenty days hasn’t been typical. And with the upcoming 2.0 version of the program, the developers are going all-in with the App Store–it won’t be available anywhere else.
So far, most of the news about the App Store seems to be good–or at least I haven’t seen any reports from developers who have been disappointed with the experience. As on the iPhone App Store, many companies appear to aggressively cutting prices in order to encourage as many downloads as possible.
The most interesting question is how well the store does in the months and years to come–once it’s no longer a novelty, and once most Mac owners have it installed, have given it a try, and have settled into whatever buying habits they’ll adopt now that the App Store is here. What’s your impression so far, Mac users?
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January 25th, 2011 at 10:06 am
Wow. That's bananas. Cool to see a good program get out to other good folks.
I haven't purchased anything from the Mac App Store. It's sad that I've purchased more software for iPad than I have for my Mac… but I do more "regular" tasks with my Mac and don't find myself needing to purchase much software.
January 25th, 2011 at 10:32 am
I have been seeking a replacement for Adobe's Photoshop and was considering Pixelmator. Having it in the App Store for $30 got me to purchase it. I am now using Pixelmator as my default application for: PSD, JPG and GIF files. So far, it is going well.
January 25th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
How hard could it be to search the web for an app? You can find reviews, alternatives, and so on.
If the appstore has the cheapest price for the desired program, go for it – it's understandable, but buying from the appstore because you didn'd know a certain program existed before says something about you as a computer user and as a type of consumer in general.
January 26th, 2011 at 11:48 am
No need to make insulting generalizations edi. Unless the App Store's price was much more expensive, I would buy from the App Store. I feel better about giving my private info to Apple than to a company I know nothing about.
January 25th, 2011 at 3:56 pm
Edi, that's the dumbest thing i've ever heard.
There's always something you never heard of no matter how much you're into "whatever".
You could find 100s of movies Ebert never heard of, and doesn't says anything less about him as movie critic or lover.
And why are you so butthurt about where and what people buy?
January 26th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
While this is great, it seems likecApple's take is a little steep. As an apple shareholder, I think this is a bit excessive. Maybe apple should consider a sliding scale for revenue share?
May 18th, 2011 at 3:36 am
It certainly seems steep at this scale – but bear in mind they weren't generating sales anywhere near this level before getting onto the App store – so the 30% fee on each sale seems reasonable when the massive growth in sales is considered. The initial costs to sign up are relatively low as far as I understand, so after that Apple takes care of all the billing and logistical stuff and you just sit back and rake in the results (aehnm, I mean work hard at developing the next update….).