Amazon has followed Apple’s footsteps into the future of software delivery with the launch of dedicated substore for Mac software downloads. Called simply Mac Downloads, the site is divided into two sections, one for “Software” and one for “Video Games,” and it includes more than 250 titles.
The Loop first spotted the new substore, and many on the Internet are hailing it as an effort by Amazon to “go after Apple,” referring to Apple’s Mac App Store launched earlier this year. The reality, however, is that this is more an effort to pull all of the existing software downloads Amazon already sold under one banner than it is an effort to launch a new store. Amazon didn’t even put out a press release for the launch of the substore.
The substore is differentiated in several ways from Apple’s offering, as well. For one thing, it has far fewer Mac apps so far. Apple claims the Mac App Store has “more than a thousand apps,” while Amazon is offering approximately 252. Amazon isn’t including any kind of update mechanism for their downloads, either, a task left to developers, while Apple manages downloads through the Mac App Store just like it does through the iOS App Store.
In addition, Mac Downloads is a page on Amazon’s broader store, not a standalone app. Lastly, it has some marquee software titles Apple doesn’t offer — most notably Microsoft Office for Mac on the software side and games like Civilization V and Dragon Age 2 on the gaming side.
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