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Adobe customers could previously upgrade their Creative Suite from three versions back. So customers could upgrade to Create Suite(CS) 5, from CS 4, CS 3, and CS 2. Many customers either can't afford or don't want to spend the extra cash to upgrade every version. These customers usually upgrade CS every other or every third update. That will all change with Creative Suite 6.

In a recent blog post, Adobe added a CS subscription service for the Creative Suite called Adobe Creative Cloud and changed its upgrade policy. The subscription price will cost $49.99 per month for individuals. For customers who want to remain on the current system, which Adobe calls "perpetual licenses", they will need to upgrade much more frequently.

Customers will only be able to upgrade from the previous significant release. For users looking to upgrade to the next version, CS6, they will need to have CS 5, or CS5.5. Users who are currently using CS 4 or CS 3, will only get a 20% discount off the full price. That is an expensive change for many users.

Adobe is looking to stabilize their income by forcing people to switch to a subscription service. Adobe Creative Cloud service will be cheaper than upgrading the entire suite for every major version. Yet, it leaves many people out in the cold. Those that can't afford to upgrade regularly will also be forced to choose. They will have to decide to either upgrade every version or switch to another product.

This will be good news for the competition as Adobe is causing many long time customers to take a closer look at the competition. Pixelmator is one of those applications that will benefit from this new policy. Customers will be able to buy a multitude of applications for the price of just one Photoshop application, which can compete with Adobe for many users. While competition is still a ways behind Adobe products, this policy change will help to motivate the competition to improve their products.

For many customers, Adobe has become too expensive of an option to consider. There is a void in the market for quality creative applications that don't cost $600 a year to own. Time will tell if the competition can rise to meet the void in the mid-range market that Adobe use to fill.

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2 Comments

1. Kevin ~ November 23, 2011 09:54
   Adobe can't get people constantly forking out big cash for minimal updates, so they are forcing their users hands. Get into the monthly fee system or else pay big, big dollars later. My guess is this will only help to increase pirating, delay people upgrading to an even longer cycle, or cause people to look at alternatives like Pixelmator. Anyone have any suggestions for a solid Illustrator replacement?
2. ronjamin ~ November 23, 2011 10:35
   @#% Adobe and their rapist policies. They are the worst company out there. They don't give a @#% about their customers. Their call centers suck and are filled with @#%$! Whenever I can dump an Adobe product, its a happy day for me.

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