2000 apps in the Windows 8 Store

http://www.billreiss.com/only-2000-apps-in-the-windows-8-store-wheres-the-interest/

I think Bill makes some good points that resonate with me and probably a lot of other Windows Phone developers.

FYI Only 1500 apps showing up in the UK store at the moment and quite a few of those are traditional desktop Apps.

@Ian2: What's the annual fee for registering as a Win8 Marketplace developer?  For me the WinPhone licence hasn't been worth it (I don't develop enough to justify the cost) and I seriously doubt that Win8 marketplace fees will be worth it either.

Herbie

I think it is $99 unless you have an MSDN subscription, in which case you get a year for free.

I think one of the major holdups will be that you have to have Windows 8 on your computer to develop the apps. You need people to migrate to Windows 8 before you can have people really developing a substantial amount of apps for Windows 8. Yes, there have been previews and release candidates...but many people really need the solid foundation under their feet before they can start developing.

@Ian2: Great piece Ian. Thanks for sharing. I agree with a lot of what Bill is saying as well as the commenters.

4 hours ago, Ian2 wrote

I think it is $99 unless you have an MSDN subscription, in which case you get a year for free.

This is what I don't understand. I can develop Windows apps for free and get 100% of the profit, or I can pay $100/year to develop Metro apps and get 70% of the profit. Why are developers going to move to Metro again?

The only reason I haven't consider it, is because I don't have a tablet with sensors yet. And I am out of ideas. I am not too eager to make my own because I am sure there will be plenty of free offerings for me to download. And as of now, I am more occupied on something else than casual apps.

@blowdart:I think for Metro Apps, you either: 1) deploy it through Metro store if you're going to sell it, 2) deploy it through Windows server if it's target is intranet user, 3) there suppose to be a third way which is yet to be announced.

Is 2000 apps a small number for an operating system that hasn't been released yet?

And I think quality will be the determining factor here.

MS are pushing for apps before release -- I have received two phone calls from MS asking if I have anything in the pipeline and offering any assistance I might need (e.g. access to technical help).  Unfortunately (for MS) I am in no hurry to spend time developing for Win8 Modern UI due to the developer license costs (although I do have a couple of app ideas).

Herbie

@Dr Herbie:

Right, I see your point. Might have been a good idea to waive the fee for two years to build more interest.

@Ray7: Or even to combine it so there is a single licence for Win8 and WP8 to encourage the largish population of existing phone devs to move to Win8?

Herbie

4 hours ago, Dr Herbie wrote

@Ray7: Or even to combine it so there is a single licence for Win8 and WP8 to encourage the largish population of existing phone devs to move to Win8?

Herbie

I would be more inclined to keep the two separate. From a marketing point of view, I think a 'freebie' scheme would bring fresh blood to the platform.

Oh, and some tools to take the grunt work out of porting from iOS and Android (if that's possible).

I agree about the waiving of the developer fee for a year or maybe even two. In my opinion, that's the best move. Registering as a dev is quite a hurdle to take, both because of the upfront costs and because of all the administrative hassle. You have to register a developer, and someone who approves your stuff (?), and these can be the same person but not necessarily etc. If anyone with a Live ID could simply upload stuff to the store, then I think there'd be a lot more uptake. 

You'd get into some quantity over quality issues of course, but the store certification process should take care of at least some of that.

I think the point raised in the blog post about not being aware the store is open is kind of irrelevant. W8 general availability is what people are aiming for, not some arbitrary date on which the store actually opened. I agree that they shouldn't have axed XNA though. There are many Xbox Live Indie Games and WP7 games. With a little tweaking, those could all have been on W8 right now.

14 hours ago, spivonious wrote

*snip*

This is what I don't understand. I can develop Windows apps for free and get 100% of the profit, or I can pay $100/year to develop Metro apps and get 70% of the profit. Why are developers going to move to Metro again?

Where are you hosting these apps for free, and what free payment system are you using?

Another interesting comment on the state of the App situation in Windows 8:

http://hal2020.com/2012/09/27/developers-ignore-creating-windows-store-apps-at-great-peril/