Microsoft brands Windows Store 'most significant opportunity ever' for devs, with userbase more than iOS and Android combined
One of Microsoft's key strategies when pitching the forthcoming Windows Store for Windows 8 to developers was always going to be the massive userbase the OS will attract from day one.
As Android OEMs have discovered, to compete with Apple in the tablet market, manufacturers need to be able to offer consumers tens of thousands of apps from day one, if not more.
Microsoft's approach, therefore, is to unify Windows 8 across both tablet and PC, with the millions of consumers who buy the platform for computers guaranteeing an audience for developers who support the marketplace from day one something Microsoft hopes will, in turn, produce a flood of apps to draw in tablet consumers, too.
User rush
As such, the firm's first Windows Store presentation had this 'guarantee' of a massive userbase for developers to exploit at its heart.
According to corporate vice president of Windows web services Antoine Leblond, Windows 8 has the potential to outperform the likes of iOS and Android - in both tablet and smartphone form - with ease.
"Every iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet and Mac sold in the last two years - I could combine all of these numbers together and it doesn't match what Windows has sold," he said, touting Windows sales figures of 500 million during the last two years alone, naturally in excess of iOS and Android's combined 399 million.
Indeed, Leblond quoted Gartner figures, which predicted 400 million x86 PCs will be shipped within the next 12 months.
"It's not a small opportunity, it's not even a medium one or a large one," he added. "In fact, it's the most significant developer opportunity ever."
Share and share alike
But Microsoft isn't just throwing user numbers around in order to tempt developers aboard. The firm is also promising an increased array of flexibility when it comes to both payment models and revenue split.
In terms of the latter, Windows Store will adopt the standard 70/30 structure for most apps, but when revenue hits $25,000 from sales, the developer's share will rise to 80 percent.
Leblond also claimed both subscription models, and integration with payment platforms such as PayPal, will be supported as standard, allowing developers to monetise their titles as they see fit.
"We're going to let you choose what you use. We're going to give you room to innovate, not just in your app, but also in your business model."
On the discovery front, Microsoft plans to expose Windows Store to major search engines, allowing direct links to app pages to appear in search results.
"The best possible advertising for your app is your app itself," Leblond concluded.
Windows Store will initially role out via the Windows 8 beta, due to launch in February, before a hard launch later in the spring.
[source: Eurogamer]