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I like Cheetah3D for creative 3D work, but I ain't a pro - YMMV. Photoshop LE has been well worth the money for me. I agree it's a shame Illustrator is not available on the AppStore.

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I think a lot of it has to do with that 30% cut. 30% of a $25 app isn't that much, but I guess if I were someone big like Autodesk or Adobe and it were my big, multi-thousand dollar app, why would I want to give Apple a 30% cut when the distribution model that I have now works already? I guess that's why you see a lot of 'Lite' or 'Debut' edition apps, something to entice you over to the more expensive apps which can then be purchased without Apple taking a cut. There's no real benefit (and lots of downsides) as a developer if you don't need the Mac App Store for the exposure.

> There's no real benefit (and lots of downsides) as a developer if you don't need the Mac App Store for the exposure.

Exactly right. I would say that most people in the market for Photoshop know they need Photoshop itself. Adobe is pushing subscription based services as much as they can, which are at odds with the App Store model.

There some great alternatives though if you don't need PS: Pixelmator and Acorn are both capable image editors and both are on the MAS.

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