App stores are the New Big Thing in software distribution. While many companies have solutions on offer, Apple has grabbed the spotlight with its recently-launched Mac App Store. Online software sales is big, and it's becoming bigger every day.
However, it's still a relatively new system, and we should be prepared for rockiness as different companies get into the groove of digital sales. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales says the very concept of the app store in its current form is dangerous, a "chokepoint" that threatens Internet freedom. This is a pretty extreme viewpoint, and while I disagree there are certainly measures that should be taken to keep app stores reasonably open. While it would be nice to see a world without DRM, at the very least we could see app stores offer a measure of portability and flexibility in software installation and use.
Many gaming companies have already made a great deal of headway in the digital distribution field, years before the Mac App Store. Fledgling app stores should look to the successes (and stumbles) of Valve's Steam service, Good Old Games (GOG.com), and other digital video game stores to figure out how to best move forward.
In the seven years since Valve launched Steam, the game service has overcome some significant issues and experienced several shaky steps before becoming the gaming powerhouse it is today. It was originally just the publisher's own game distribution and matchmaking service, but after a great deal of experimentation and steadily growing third-party support (and developer support on the part of Valve itself), it's become the definitive PC game marketplace.
GOG.com, meanwhile, has become an incredibly popular electronic boutique in the last 3 years, letting gamers enjoy their favorite PC games from the past at reasonable prices and with assured compatibility. Legacy software, especially legacy video games, is a seldom-considered but vital part of the marketplace. GOG.com figured out that by making sure the classics work and selling them at a reasonable price, you can develop a large, loyal consumer base without focusing on content development.
Make It Developer-Friendly
Steam didn't turn a profit for years—not until it started to offer third-party games in addition to its own library. Third-party support exploded when Valve released Steamworks, a set of development tools to help developers produce games that work with Steam. Now, both large and small developers clamor to release their games on Steam. By offering the tools necessary to develop for your system, and by making them available to both big names and independent developers, you can ensure a large library of must-have software titles and inexpensive-but-vital impulse buys. For every Call of Duty 4, there is an Amnesia: The Dark Descent or Super Meat Boy. The latter titles might not be as record-breakingly profitable as COD, but their lower cost of development and word-of-mouth buzz make them valuable titles, too.
Besides helping developers, a good app store has to be both open enough for small programmers to get in on the action, but have high enough standards to make sure that the market doesn't get flooded with cheap, useless, coded-in-an-hour nickelware. Apple has failed on both of these levels with the App Store, being too stifling and denial-happy for some projects but looking the other way while utter junk hits the store. Steam has cut a good compromise, still maintaining high standards while giving independent developers opportunity. Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade has also done very well on this, offering its own Xbox Live Indie Games section for small-time developers while keeping the "main" XBLA store clean and focused on major titles.
Make It Portable
Nobody wants to buy the same program twice, unless it's a significant and tangible upgrade. If I pay for an application on my Droid, I want to be able to access it on my Galaxy Tab. If I pay for an application on my PC, I want to be able to access it on my netbook. Services like Steam and GOG.com have excelled at this by offering different ways to install software on multiple devices. Steam can authorize multiple computers under the same username, so users can access the same game library at school that they can at home. It's a vital feature.
GOG.com goes even further, offering standalone, non-DRM games that can be installed on nearly anything. While they're not protected in any significant way, they haven't stopped GOG.com from becoming a remarkably successful digital store for classic PC games. I don't just want the convenience of a program installing smoothly and automatically on my computer. I want local storage. I want multiple devices. I want the software on my terms, on any platform I use.
The App Store does this to an extent, offering to authorize different computers and devices for downloaded apps. It could be more flexible, and larger, more expensive programs are often limited by more stringent licensing issues (an unfortunate problem that lies in the software license structure itself, and not the store).
Make It Compatible
Software should be cross-platform whenever possible. Many users work on different types of computers in different situations; they might have a Mac at home, a PC at work, and an Ubuntu netbook for when they travel. If you can't ensure that every piece of software in your app store is compatible on all platforms, at least clearly note which applications work on which devices.
Steam helpfully introduced SteamPlay, a feature that shows specifically which titles work on both PCs and Macs. If a game has a SteamPlay icon, you know it'll work in both Windows and OS X. Obviously this isn't necessary for platform-specific markets (XBLA and PSN games don't need to work on their competing systems), but when computers have a wide variety of processors and operating systems, and portable devices have a wide variety of form factors, it's vital. Something as simple as a colored dot to denote a portable app is optimized for tablets, or an asterisk to show a software title works best with 64-bit processors, can make all the difference.
GOG.com goes above and beyond in ensuring compatibility. The service focuses on selling older PC games that were originally designed for DOS and Windows 3.1/95/98. However, all the games they sell work on modern systems because they preconfigure them (often with programs like DOSBOX) to work on the more advanced hardware and foreign operating systems. This dedication to compatibility is vital in both giving users an enjoyable experience and in keeping older titles viable on the market.
Make It Worth It
It's true that digital distribution can be very convenient, but that convenience isn't as tempting as economic incentives. If I can buy a piece of software online this moment for full price, and for 20% off if I schlep over to Best Buy, you can be sure I'll make the trip to Best Buy. Steam has offered great deals in the form of both seasonal sales and bundled discounts, and that's one of the main factors that gamers keep coming back to the service. A single new game for $50 doesn't interest me nearly as much as a handful of slightly older games for $5-20, or the complete library of a publisher for $75.
Package deals are a particularly good way to appeal to consumers. Besides simply selling the best 5 apps individually for $5 each, bundle them together as the "Best 5 apps collection" and sell them for $20. The store might make less on each sale, but the deal will bring in far more users.
The iTunes Store offers great content deals like free MP3 downloads, promoted TV and movie downloads, and other media. Unfortunately, it doesn't try quite as hard with software. Still, with certain great deals, like these 11 top buys Michael Muchmoore uncovered, Apple's at least on the right track. It could highlight and promote these deals a bit more, though.
Give Us The Works
Whenever possible, offer incentives for purchasing software through app stores. Steam and other game stores often give out additional content when you purchase game through their stores. Maybe it's a DLC item or quest in a game. Maybe it's a downloadable soundtrack. In the case of GOG.com, it's often useful and entertaining extras like wallpapers, soundtracks, and electronic versions of the games' manuals. If you're selling movie or music software through an app store, toss us a bone and give us a few free songs or TV episodes. If you're selling ereader software through an app store, throw in a book or two. Give us that little bit extra that will have us coming back to your app store and not physical retail outlets.
Apple's starting off strong with the App Store, but it could do much more. Similarly, every app store from the Android Marketplace to the most obscure digital distribution outlet on the web could learn from these issues. Valve has spent years figuring out how to best put out digital content, and while there's more to software than just games, Apple has been at the digital distribution game as long as Valve when it comes to music, but Steam's the software old-timer with plenty of stories to tell.