Grungetastic Updated: Now Free!

by Pu on September 16, 2011

Following its recent update, Grungetastic is now free in the App Store. JixiPix’s app had already gotten a price cut in occasion of the update to version 2.o.
Grungetastic Free
The update to 2.0, which took place last week, revamped Grungetastic’s UI and added tons of new items, although mainly in the form of in-app purchase. A new update, to version 2.01, took place earlier today to allow users to have more freedom when applying effects and to help them to achieve subtler results. Grungetastic now counts seven themed preset packs and a rich choice of textures, borders and other elements to turn even the cleanest photo into a grungy feast.

You will find more details on the update to 2.0 of Grungetastic here. If you want to know how the app works and what it can do, please read our full review.

The current offer is valid both on the iPhone and iPod Touch version and on the HD version for iPad of Grungetastic.

ILAR September 16, 2011 at 4:08 am

Ouch! There goes my $2.99. Advantage JixiPix.

Pu September 16, 2011 at 4:33 am

You know, this is a touchy subject for many developers. Some developers — few of them, actually — refuse to apply price drops exactly for the reason you pointed out in your comment =)

ILAR September 16, 2011 at 4:43 am

First that huge update where they rewrote it ground up, then the price cut, and now this. JixiPix seems to have gotten quite bullish on pushing this one, don’t you think?

Pu September 16, 2011 at 4:57 am

In general I think things have gotten a bit out of hand. Cutting prices or giving apps away for free in “special” circumstances can be acceptable, but sometimes it’s clearly unfair towards loyal users that perhaps wanted to express their appreciation purchasing the app when it wasn’t free. Of course, it’s not big money we are talking about, so I reckon this is not that terrible and as users we can get over it. Also, developers have to make a living too. But on the long run this is not a good stategy to acquire a loyal following, IMO.

ILAR September 18, 2011 at 8:16 am

“this is not a good strategy to acquire a loyal following” True dat!

Harry September 16, 2011 at 5:04 am

ILAR, I agree with you and your frustration.

This is an ongoing issue with the App Store market, which is partly the fault of the developers, partly the way the system as a whole works. The race for low prices for iPhone apps that brought developers to create stuff and selling it for $0.99 or little more than that means that a lot of developers need to sell at least 10,000 copies to break even for an app that took at least 3-4 months of work. And to achieve these sales you either have a completely unique product or strong marketing (which would obviously increase the cost of the app for the developer/publisher).

There are few developers that do not play with their prices like this; these price cuts, as a matter of fact, punish the users that bought your app on day one. There is a game developer, Rocket Cat Games, that always made it clear that the only price cut they offer is upon launch – early adopters of their games get a lower price and some extra in-game items. Once the price goes up, they never bring it back to the sale price, because they feel it is unfair to their clients.

Maybe they overdo it a bit (cutting the price of a game after 1 year from its release, for example, is reasonable in my opinion), but they have gained a loyal following thanks also to this way of doing business.

But again, the market in the App Store is bloody difficult, so developers with less means do whatever they can to stay afloat – unless they get lucky, in which case they no longer need to play too much with their prices.

ILAR September 18, 2011 at 8:19 am

Yes, Harry, sad and stark — the strife between creativity and capitalism.

Miege September 16, 2011 at 7:34 am

A good deed is priceless. No material is permanent. 😀

Sasha September 16, 2011 at 5:01 pm

I have decided I am not going to buy any more apps cuz they’re all going to be free sooner or later.

Miege September 17, 2011 at 2:45 am

No trickle, no growth.

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