How much non app store shrinkwrap software revenue goes to the top developers? I would imagine a far bigger proportion than 50%. Just consider Microsoft, Adobe, EA, Activision, and how much is left for everyone else? (B2B is probably the same but it's harder to figure out.)
For example, Adobe (usually considered number 2 in shrink wrap desktop software) has roughly $10B in annual revenue, Autodesk is barely a fifth of that. Microsoft is $70B, a good deal of that is just MS Office. Activision is maybe $5B, EA less than $4B. Pixelmator — one of the standout success stories of indie Mac development — probably has under $5M. If there are 100 indie devs as successful as Pixelmator I'd be surprised — MS Office alone is 7000x bigger.
If anything the iOS App Store sounds far more democratic
An article like this is worthless without context and it offers nothing new.
For example, Adobe (usually considered number 2 in shrink wrap desktop software) has roughly $10B in annual revenue, Autodesk is barely a fifth of that. Microsoft is $70B, a good deal of that is just MS Office. Activision is maybe $5B, EA less than $4B. Pixelmator — one of the standout success stories of indie Mac development — probably has under $5M. If there are 100 indie devs as successful as Pixelmator I'd be surprised — MS Office alone is 7000x bigger.
If anything the iOS App Store sounds far more democratic
An article like this is worthless without context and it offers nothing new.