🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <48536@sun.uucp> cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis) writes:
>The Atari User community has to understand that it is impossible to stay
>in business by selling a complicated, quality program for less then $200. 
>Sure it would be nice but until there are 4 million of you to distribute 
>the cost it won't happen. And until you can prove that you are willing to
>pay what it costs to get the software you demand no one will write it.
>Word Perfect Corp took a big chance when they introduced WP for the Atari
>and Amiga. Both were 'unproven' markets. I know that they recouped their
>entire development investment for the Amiga in 7 days of sales. What
>that does is make people like Ashton Tate, Microsoft, and Borland look
>seriously at the Amiga market. It can work for the Atari too but you have
>to prove yourselves. And if the only thing you are interested in buying
>are games then that is all anyone will write for you. 

I agree with you to a certain extent; however, the market is really
more complex than that.  One big factor in software sales is that of
the software's PERCEIVED VALUE.  This is also known colloquially as
"Bang for the Buck".  Personally, I rarely hesitate to buy a package
priced $50 or less that claims to do what I want.  In the $75 - $100
range I might ask around for opinions of other users.  Over $100,
though, and I'm going to do some SERIOUS thinking before I invest.

Why?  Because with virtually ANYTHING ELSE I buy, if it doesn't work
or doesn't work properly, I can RETURN IT for replacement or refund.
Personal computer software, you may have noticed, doesn't work that
way (why is another thread...).  Buying an expensive software package
that I can't try out ahead of time (seriously, how many computer
stores are willing or able to demo a major product for you?) is a
gamble, and I'm not a betting man.

So, to companies out there who want to sell me expensive software, I
say: You must either PROVE to me (by having respected publications,
such as Byte Magazine, STart, etc. review your product) that it
does what you say and is worth the cost, or allow me to try out your
product (by releasing "demo" versions that have key features disabled
as Aldus did with PageMaker on the Mac) on my own so that I can make
an informed decision.

A company's reputation on another hardware platform isn't enough; just
look at what Microsoft did with Word/Write (or whatever they call the
Atari version).  Did they release the latest and greatest Mac version
to the Atari community?  Hardly.  Can you tell that by gazing at the
pretty slipcase through the shrink wrap?  Hardly.

By the way, I must point out that Antic Publishing has been doing
marvelous things with/for the Atari, and yet they seem to get very
little attention from the Atari community (not their products; those
are doing well).  They have consistantly offered useful, quality
software for extremely reasonable prices, and show no sign of
stopping.  Some examples: Flash (Communications software), CAD-3D
(solids modeller), Cybermate (CAD-3D animation editing tool),
Cyberpaint (2D Animation/Screen Painting tool).  They provide upgrades
to their customers for only the cost of a disk plus postage.  They are
responsive to the requests of their customers.  Why aren't there more
publishers like them?  Beats me.

(I have no affiliation with Antic except that of a satisfied
customer.)

Greg Wageman               
Schlumberger Technologies  UUCP: ...!decwrl!spar!snjsn1!blfca1!greg
1601 Technology Drive      ARPA: greg@blfca1.com@spar.slb.com
San Jose, CA 95110         BIX:  gwage
(408) 437-5198             CIS:  74016,352

"Nest deeply, and carry a big stack."
------------------
The opinions expressed herein are solely the responsibility of the
author.