4 ms·

Uhm, the $99/year thing is actually substantial. It is not competitive at all. I'm pretty sure if Apple let people just download IPA files (like they do with A

Uhm, the $99/year thing is actually substantial. It is not competitive at all. I'm pretty sure if Apple let people just download IPA files (like they do with APKs on Android), lots of developers would choose that over the walled garden.

fr2null 5y ago
$99/year is literally nothing for most companies. Furthermore, Android has competing app stores, yet by far the biggest one is still the Play Store. Lots of developers (and users) did not and would not chose other distribution methods.
- joseloyaio 5y ago
  That's a lot. That's basically a $9/month SaaS. They are not subsidized at all. I've seen cheaper subscription services that also come with support, hosting and services.
  - charcircuit 5y ago
    It's less than a day's worth of wages for a software engineer and provides you a potential audience of millions of users.
    - AndriyKunitsyn 5y ago
      "A potential audience of millions of users" means less than it implies. If I just put my work online, have I got the audience of billions of Internet users? Probably yes, but it doesn't mean much - I still need to tell people about my work somehow so they would be interested in it. If we think about how App Store can actually actively help us in promoting an app, without specifically buying ad in the App Store - which doesn't cost $99/year, it costs much more - it's not exactly appealing. Epic's CEO showed how bad the App Store search is in finding apps that users specifically search for: https://twitter.com/timsweeneyepic/status/1019852527007944704 https://twitter.com/timsweeneyepic/status/101985252700794470... And why wouldn't it be bad? Iphone users don't have any better.
  - dwaite 5y ago
    Apple developer accounts come with support, hosting and services.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- benhurmarcel 5y ago
  Not all apps are developed by companies.
willhinsa 5y ago
$99/year, AND you have to do your development on a Mac!
shagie 5y ago
What about the price to become a Playstation, Nintendo, or Xbox developer? ---- Sony ---- https://www.retroreversing.com/official-playStation-devkit https://www.retroreversing.com/official-playStation-devkit > Perhaps the most ingenious move on Sony’s part was its decision to use the PC as a development platform, enabling it to call on the skills of huge number of developers. Licensees now receive a pair of full-length ISA cards that plug into a normal PC. These two cards contain the entire PlayStation chipset, as well as extra RAM and some logic to enable them to talk to the PC. ‘lt’s great having the system inside the PC,’ reckons Peter Molyneux. ‘With most bulky console development systems it sometimes feels like you’re surrounded by NASA control.’ > Such technology doesn’t come cheap, though. PlayStation developers need to cough up £ 12,000 for the full system (which Sony is adamant it doesn’t make money on), although all subsequent software tools and hardware upgrades are free. ---- Nintendo ---- https://developer.nintendo.com/faq https://developer.nintendo.com/faq > Registering for the portal and downloading the tools is completely free. Also, if you plan to release a digital only title, you can use the IARC system to retrieve the age rating for no fee, which will allow you to publish in all the participating countries. All that is left is the cost of acquiring development hardware: you will find more information on this inside the portal. https://developer.nintendo.com/home/development-for-nintendo-platforms https://developer.nintendo.com/home/development-for-nintendo... > On 3/25/2021, the only Nintendo platform for which new development is possible will be Nintendo Switch. > Development for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U will only be possible for those who have already purchased development hardware. Those who do not have development hardware will not be able to develop. https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/nintendo-switch-dev-kit/ https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/nintendo-switch-dev-kit... > At the Game Creators Conference 2017 in Osaka, Japan, Nintendo announced that Switch development kits would only cost 50,000 yen, or roughly $450. > To put things in perspective, a PlayStation 3 development kit ran for $20,000 at launch. ---- Microsoft ---- https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-store/register/ https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-store/regist... > Individual accounts cost approximately $19 USD, and company accounts cost approximately $99 USD (the exact amounts may vary depending on your country or region). This is a one-time registration fee and no renewal is required. (having some difficulty finding the specifics of the Xbox series X and series S dev kits) --- --- --- The point of this is that as a game device, the iPhone is in line with other developer programs and in some cases (Sony, looking at you) quite a bit less expensive.

fr2null 5y ago

$99/year is literally nothing for most companies. Furthermore, Android has competing app stores, yet by far the biggest one is still the Play Store. Lots of developers (and users) did not and would not chose other distribution methods.

joseloyaio 5y ago
That's a lot. That's basically a $9/month SaaS. They are not subsidized at all. I've seen cheaper subscription services that also come with support, hosting and services.
- charcircuit 5y ago
  It's less than a day's worth of wages for a software engineer and provides you a potential audience of millions of users.
  - AndriyKunitsyn 5y ago
    "A potential audience of millions of users" means less than it implies. If I just put my work online, have I got the audience of billions of Internet users? Probably yes, but it doesn't mean much - I still need to tell people about my work somehow so they would be interested in it. If we think about how App Store can actually actively help us in promoting an app, without specifically buying ad in the App Store - which doesn't cost $99/year, it costs much more - it's not exactly appealing. Epic's CEO showed how bad the App Store search is in finding apps that users specifically search for: https://twitter.com/timsweeneyepic/status/1019852527007944704 https://twitter.com/timsweeneyepic/status/101985252700794470... And why wouldn't it be bad? Iphone users don't have any better.
- dwaite 5y ago
  Apple developer accounts come with support, hosting and services.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
benhurmarcel 5y ago
Not all apps are developed by companies.

willhinsa 5y ago

$99/year, AND you have to do your development on a Mac!

shagie 5y ago

What about the price to become a Playstation, Nintendo, or Xbox developer? ---- Sony ---- https://www.retroreversing.com/official-playStation-devkit https://www.retroreversing.com/official-playStation-devkit > Perhaps the most ingenious move on Sony’s part was its decision to use the PC as a development platform, enabling it to call on the skills of huge number of developers. Licensees now receive a pair of full-length ISA cards that plug into a normal PC. These two cards contain the entire PlayStation chipset, as well as extra RAM and some logic to enable them to talk to the PC. ‘lt’s great having the system inside the PC,’ reckons Peter Molyneux. ‘With most bulky console development systems it sometimes feels like you’re surrounded by NASA control.’ > Such technology doesn’t come cheap, though. PlayStation developers need to cough up £ 12,000 for the full system (which Sony is adamant it doesn’t make money on), although all subsequent software tools and hardware upgrades are free. ---- Nintendo ---- https://developer.nintendo.com/faq https://developer.nintendo.com/faq > Registering for the portal and downloading the tools is completely free. Also, if you plan to release a digital only title, you can use the IARC system to retrieve the age rating for no fee, which will allow you to publish in all the participating countries. All that is left is the cost of acquiring development hardware: you will find more information on this inside the portal. https://developer.nintendo.com/home/development-for-nintendo-platforms https://developer.nintendo.com/home/development-for-nintendo... > On 3/25/2021, the only Nintendo platform for which new development is possible will be Nintendo Switch. > Development for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U will only be possible for those who have already purchased development hardware. Those who do not have development hardware will not be able to develop. https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/nintendo-switch-dev-kit/ https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/nintendo-switch-dev-kit... > At the Game Creators Conference 2017 in Osaka, Japan, Nintendo announced that Switch development kits would only cost 50,000 yen, or roughly $450. > To put things in perspective, a PlayStation 3 development kit ran for $20,000 at launch. ---- Microsoft ---- https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-store/register/ https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-store/regist... > Individual accounts cost approximately $19 USD, and company accounts cost approximately $99 USD (the exact amounts may vary depending on your country or region). This is a one-time registration fee and no renewal is required. (having some difficulty finding the specifics of the Xbox series X and series S dev kits) --- --- --- The point of this is that as a game device, the iPhone is in line with other developer programs and in some cases (Sony, looking at you) quite a bit less expensive.