Adobe goes subscription-only, rebrands Creative Suite as Creative Cloud
At its Adobe MAX creativity conference in Los Angeles on Monday, Adobe announced the next generation of its popular creativity suite, rebranding it Creative Cloud and announcing a range of connectivity and functionality improvements.
In abandoning the Creative Suite label for Creative Cloud, Adobe signaled its intent to move fully into the mobile and Internet era, abandoning individual standalone editions of its products and moving toward a subscription-only model. That model will see users subscribing to the $50/month Creative Cloud system and receiving updates through that subscription.
Adobe will continue support for its existing Creative Suite 6 products, but the company has no plans to release further Creative Suite products.
A Creative Cloud membership will include access to virtually every product Adobe makes, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Typekit, and more. In addition to Adobe's software, a Creative Cloud membership will include access to services like Behance, an online creative collective. Behance will be tied directly into a Creative Cloud membership, allowing for a streamlined process for sharing to one of the larger collections of creative professionals on the web.
Monday's announcement also included a demonstration of Creative Cloud's capabilities in document sharing across mobile devices. Creative files can be stored and accessed across Macs and PCs, but also iOS and Android devices with near-instant updating of changes to the material. Adobe's demonstration of the sharing capabilities used a notebook, iPad, and Nexus 10 from Samsung in order to show off the constant updating capabilities of the service, with each device displaying changes as they were made.
The new Creative Cloud will roll out in June. Customers that own a Creative Suite product already will be able to get their first year of Creative Cloud at the discounted rate of $30 per month. Students and teachers can get also get the service at that price, and there are promotional prices available for CS6 users. Creative Cloud for teams will run at $70 per month per seat, and comes with 100GB of storage and centralized deployment and administration capabilities.
In abandoning the Creative Suite label for Creative Cloud, Adobe signaled its intent to move fully into the mobile and Internet era, abandoning individual standalone editions of its products and moving toward a subscription-only model. That model will see users subscribing to the $50/month Creative Cloud system and receiving updates through that subscription.
Adobe will continue support for its existing Creative Suite 6 products, but the company has no plans to release further Creative Suite products.
A Creative Cloud membership will include access to virtually every product Adobe makes, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Typekit, and more. In addition to Adobe's software, a Creative Cloud membership will include access to services like Behance, an online creative collective. Behance will be tied directly into a Creative Cloud membership, allowing for a streamlined process for sharing to one of the larger collections of creative professionals on the web.
Monday's announcement also included a demonstration of Creative Cloud's capabilities in document sharing across mobile devices. Creative files can be stored and accessed across Macs and PCs, but also iOS and Android devices with near-instant updating of changes to the material. Adobe's demonstration of the sharing capabilities used a notebook, iPad, and Nexus 10 from Samsung in order to show off the constant updating capabilities of the service, with each device displaying changes as they were made.
The new Creative Cloud will roll out in June. Customers that own a Creative Suite product already will be able to get their first year of Creative Cloud at the discounted rate of $30 per month. Students and teachers can get also get the service at that price, and there are promotional prices available for CS6 users. Creative Cloud for teams will run at $70 per month per seat, and comes with 100GB of storage and centralized deployment and administration capabilities.
Comments
BA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
Subscription ONLY?! Enjoy that, Adobe.
I'll keep CS 6 as long as I can, and by then hope for a reasonable replacement. I simply do not accept the "subscription model", especially in its current, 'unregulated' form.
For example, today it's $50 a month. Imagine if, after two years time, once you're fully locked in and dependent, it jumps to $100 a month.
Suck it up or lose the service you depend on?
No. just no.
This is, in my mind, completely outrageous, and is now the nail in the coffin for me to finally make the jump to Aperture for my photography needs. As long as they don't start plastering my CS6 install with "upgrade now" bulletins, I'll keep CS6 around. If they do, bye bye Adobe! It's been a miserable relationship, and I'm glad it's coming to an end!
Goodbye Adobe. You may get more control but who'll update now. Like MS Office, there are no compelling reasons to update, this kit does everything most folk want it to do.
These folks going cloud subscription only just don't get it do they, internet connections and levels/speeds of access just aren't that good for many who would use this software as a student or teacher. You won't be catching many of these early anymore.
Me: Adobe moved to an entirely subscription based service.
Boss: What does that mean?
Me: You have to pay $50 a month to use their software.
Boss: Guess you better start researching alternative software.
You listening Apple?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Banyan Bruce
These folks going cloud subscription only just don't get it do they, internet connections and levels/speeds of access just aren't that good for many who would use this software as a student or teacher. You won't be catching many of these early anymore.
The cloud part is not required always on. You have the application on your computer and periodically you need to verify your credentials. The cloud storage, sharing and services part is optional. You can still save your files locally and copy them around on your network just like always.
Originally Posted by bdkennedy1
You listening Apple?
Why not wait a year or two until Adobe's a month from bankruptcy due to this travesty, buy them, and make their software into something with a usable interface and OS X priority?
Wait, what am I saying… OS X exclusive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tribalogical
No. Just no.
I'll keep CS 6 as long as I can, and by then hope for a reasonable replacement. I simply do not accept the "subscription model", especially in its current, 'unregulated' form.
For example, today it's $50 a month. Imagine if, after two years time, once you're fully locked in and dependent, it jumps to $100 a month.
Suck it up or lose the service you depend on?
No. just no.
I know, this is pitiful. And remember the video of their dumb-a__ CEO diverting questions about their Creative Cloud during a press conference regarding the price gouging of Austrailian citizens like a freaking pre-recorded machine?
I sincerely wish them all the worst, and hopefully people will wake up and NOT line the pockets of these bastards anymore!
Oh, and BTW, their Lightroom product is still BUGGY and SLOW as hell, and all they do is blame the end user! Screw you Adobe!
There are other great tools out there that have matured rapidly, and will continue to do so. I don't think that the vast majority of Adobe customers use more than 1/3 of the suite software on a regular basis. I'm already looking into a Photoshop replacement, and there seem to be several great programs that would cover my needs. Anyone have a good Illustrator substitution?
In the long term, I think this will be good for the industry, encouraging competition and helping smaller developers. In the meantime, Adobe's anti-competitive practices and outright greed will disrupt the industry as a whole.
I don't like it, I don't want it, but I have literally no choice, I'm going to have to do it. In fact it's only going to make my job tougher, because some clients will start using other products and some won't, so I'll have to buy and learn a lot more software than I otherwise need.
Quote:
Originally Posted by keithw
Looks like Photoshop CS6 will be my LAST version of Photoshop. Not interested in "renting" then software nor any other title in the portfolio!
That is probably a good plan if you are not a graphics professional. Adobe is definitely positioning the platform as a professional solution. It is very similar to other high end professional offerings such as AutoDesk. Many people who have less intensive graphics and collaboration needs should probably migrate toward solutions such as Pixelmator anyway.
The only Adobe app for which I have no viable alternative is Encore, part of the Production Suite.
Originally Posted by Bergermeister
The only Adobe app for which I have no viable alternative is Encore, part of the Production Suite.
DVD Studio Pro?
DVD Studio Pro is dead. One can still use it for the time being, but as part of Final Cut Studio, Apple will no longer be updating it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Why not wait a year or two until Adobe's a month from bankruptcy due to this travesty, ...
I doubt Adobe would be announcing this if their initial beta, trial and upgrade process wasn't a huge success already. They have probably cut the piracy rate considerably with this model. Usually the folks who complain the loudest about the high price of Adobe products are the one using pirated copies. They wish they could afford it but they are not professionals so they cannot. That leaves them with three choices: live on Ramen noodles for the rest of their life, steal the software, or use some less capable alternative. With the subscription only model, option 2 has been eliminated.
Sounds like they might be desperate. Anyone savvy as to their current financials?
Interesting question also arises from this announcement: Will they sell/rent all of their apps through the Apple desktop App Store? And if so, how will the App Store handle recurring subscription payments?
As for me, I'm sticking with my 4 year old software and refuse to upgrade.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
DVD Studio Pro?
Work requires DVD and BluRay.