Rev 2.02/New pricing

[curry]

I thought that everyone had agreed (about ten thousand times) that 
the great thing about Revolution and MetaCard is you develop on all 
platforms. We all know that developing on one platform for another 
without being able to make changes on both can be the pits.

This new pricing model doesn't just affect people how people can use 
it according to their budgets, it changes what Revolution 
fundamentally is.

I realize all change is shocking and first responses tend to be 
pessimistic. I don't want to be too negative without hearing all the 
options. But my first reaction certainly wasn't jumping for joy.

The old model was really neat. If it needed some adjustments, that 
wouldn't be too bad. But I don't like to throw out everything and 
start all over every year. (That's why I don't change OSs and 
computers every time Apple has a trade show, for example.) I'm 
planning to base most of what I do in Rev, I've spent a lot of time 
building up stuff, and I'm hankering for a stable process, if 
possible avoiding big surprises--they tend to wrench the stomach.

I also need to know that I can continue to afford to stay on the ship 
that I jumped onto when I embarked on my journey; the ocean analogy 
is a good one to show the situation a person would be in if the 
licensing changes beyond his means! (Well, not lethal, but...)

I still hadn't renewed, but with the old system I was looking forward 
to doing so when I could, for the next big release. I guess there is 
still the question of the renewal fees. That might improve it a bit 
or not depending on what they are.

But here are the points I want to consider:

1. The fee model is very similar to RealBasic. I guess that's okay. 
(Although I came here trying to get away from RealBasic!) The prices 
and update privileges are similar. But a few important points: 
Realbasic Standard is 150 for CD and printed docs, and (as far as I 
know, I haven't fooled with them much lately) no "Made with" message. 
RB is 100 for license and downloads only.

I prefer e-docs, so that's no problem for me, although many people 
are ravenous for docs printed out. (But when you pay 150 for 
something, it shouldn't be like a cereal box offer for kids where you 
get the nag version. "Made with" is popular for versions of software 
ranging from free to 30 dollars. Even though it's the cheapest level, 
150 is still way above the nag level and those customers have paid 
adequately for control over their software including notices. You 
might get away with it (and maybe open up a new market for Rev and 
get more new people in) for a fifty dollar version with enough 
additional limitations.

If I bought RealBasic (not planning to, but let's look at the 
comparison since the price models look similar) I would definitely 
get (two of) the license-only versions at 100 each. If I bought Rev 
(from scratch, pretend I'm a new customer) that's 150 each--for the 
same thing, download the app and docs. Now, you do get some value for 
that 50 dollars each, but still, that's a consideration.

2. A more positive thought: Depending on the renewals, I may be 
considering the 150 version, buying one for Mac and one for Windows. 
That's fine. I would probably prefer that to the 400 version because 
you can edit on both platforms. But a promo screen at the end would 
jinx it up.

Even if the renewal fees were sweet enough to make it better for me 
to use another version, I still think that would still be a good 
option for people getting started.

But again, the promo screen--it's almost like a communication 
breakdown and lack of understanding of concepts and viewpoints 
between company and customer--not realizing that a 150 or 300 dollar 
per feature version customer is a serious customer! Look at other 
companies and products. The nag version (with the right limitations, 
they need to be sufficient limitations and something to adequately 
differentiate from the standard version and more serious 
users--notably, probably not making products to sell for profit) is 
totally acceptable to bring in people who are not doing something so 
serious, at a different price range. Teachers, kids, hobbyists who 
are not hard-core, freeware developers and non-profits--all these 
would be perfect examples and Rev could possibly start a new line of 
business there--but it has *nothing* to do with a version, no matter 
what it's called, at the 150 range. Making this mistake could have 
the potential to cheapen your product image and lose a whole set of 
potential customers in a certain range of price and interests.

3. What will be the results of the changes in terms of defining 
Revolution and how will people see it under the new setup? The old 
definition was definitely: the ultimate in multi-platform, in all 
aspects, at all levels.

However, I can understand that paying for platform privileges makes 
sense. So if this works out, fine. I'm open to it, as long as the 
issues such as #1 and #2 are handled well enough.

Well, there it is. I want to say congrats to RunRev on everything 
that's happened lately! It's exciting. But think carefully about this 
pricing model.

Thanks,

Curry Kenworthy