Dan Counsell, founder of Realmac Software has written about his wishes for the Mac App Store. He talks about the issues developers currently face, and also some tips on what can be done to fix them.
The Mac App Store may seem like the best option for indie developers, but it’s not. I remember when Apple first announced the Mac App Store (MAS). It sounded like a pretty good idea to give Mac developers the same kind of centralized marketplace to sell their software that made the iOS App Store so popular. Apple said then and still proclaims that MAS is dedicated to helping devs “make great apps” but most developers (myself included) will tell you that it’s never lived up to it’s potential and is now going off the rails.
I released my app Qwiki on the Mac App Store, mainly because I don’t want to manage the admin, sales, and other boring tasks that come with managing it yourself.
But although I don’t have experience selling pro apps, there are a ton of restrictions that stop them from selling directly on the MAS. Some restrictions are good for your security, but they can get out of hand, and it’s led to big name apps being removed from the store.
I’m also hoping for some improvements, especially as Phil Schiller is now in charge of it.