[Fr0styMatt]

It's a shame that this stuff happens really; I think it relegates the Mac App Store to a certain niche more than anything else.

I was surprised at the limited selection I found in the store. Having just got a new Mac, I went searching for the usual suspects - no VMware or Parallels? I understand why as these apps can't be sandboxed. Hardly any commercial 3D authoring tools? Where's Illustrator and their ilk (not the Lite versions, the actual full versions). I was really surprised at the lack of big creative and high-end apps on the store - at least in the sense the big apps that the Mac is known for. It seems to be a bit of a wasteland in that regard. I'm sure there are many gems in the store from smaller developers, but I found the app discovery experience roughly on par with that of the iOS app store, which isn't a compliment :)

The convenience factor is wonderful though - it's been a few years since my last Mac and apps I purchased were right there waiting. Setting up the new machine was bliss. Hopefully many of these issues can be worked out as the store evolves.

Slightly off-topic; where do I go to find the gems on the store? What are the good review sites (something like what TouchArcade is for iOS games)? Any with a focus on creative apps?

[gress]

Pixelmator, Sketch, Omnigraffle, Logic, FCP, Motion, are pretty solid creative tools.

[hippee-lee]

And Blender too.

[wsc981]

I like Cheetah3D for creative 3D work, but I ain't a pro - YMMV. Photoshop LE has been well worth the money for me. I agree it's a shame Illustrator is not available on the AppStore.

[Fr0styMatt]

I think a lot of it has to do with that 30% cut. 30% of a $25 app isn't that much, but I guess if I were someone big like Autodesk or Adobe and it were my big, multi-thousand dollar app, why would I want to give Apple a 30% cut when the distribution model that I have now works already? I guess that's why you see a lot of 'Lite' or 'Debut' edition apps, something to entice you over to the more expensive apps which can then be purchased without Apple taking a cut. There's no real benefit (and lots of downsides) as a developer if you don't need the Mac App Store for the exposure.