This article mostly seems to ignore the fact that you can still distribute apps outside of the App Store. In fact, considering the falling costs of hosting and easy access to marketing tools (look at the quality of the website for any Mac App), it's probably never been easier.

For pro apps with dedicated audiences (see: Adobe, Ableton, Avid, Nuance) which is just about anything with a plugin architecture, the App Store's distribution is unnecessary. These are established companies with deep links into creative communities. As a consumer, when you're looking at spending hundreds of dollars on, say, music software, you don't care what's in the "Top 25" or on Apple's "Featured" list (if you're smart) - you care about what the people you're working with are using and the opinions of specialized professionals.