Whenever the Mac App Store launches, it’s not going to be as full-featured as the iOS equivalent. We already knew that the Mac App Store would launch without promo code support, but according to new information Apple has just sent to developers, it also won’t support Game Center or in-app payments at launch.
In-app purchases, of course, would facilitate Mac App Store developers to embrace the freemium model, in which they deliver the core program for free but then sell additional features piecemeal. While I’d loathe to see many freemium apps on the Mac, it’s still a sad omission, since it would allow developers an easy way to allow for sell upgrades to demo versions within the Mac App Store ecosystem… especially given the fact that Apple is warning developers to host demo versions of their software themselves.
Game Center’s another woeful omission, giving how great it would be for some of the Mac’s better games to be able to avail itself of match-making and achievements, but at least Steam for Mac keeps that end of things taken care of.
Of course, the Mac App Store is a difficult undertaking, and it’s likely that — as with the iOS App Store — it will mature and gain new features over time. I wouldn’t count Mac in-app purchases or Game Center out just yet.
