Adobe Reportedly Ditching Boxed Software: Will This Stop The Aussie Rorts?


Adobe’s recent strategy for defending its woeful Australian software prices has been to hammer home how apparently wonderful Creative Cloud is, even when asked rather directly about boxed software. It seems that’s no accident, with reports suggesting that boxed Adobe software will soon be a thing of the past.

TechHive reports that Adobe is planning to ditch boxed software copies, possibly as early as May 1 in some regions, relying instead on download and subscription packages only. There’s a quote from an unnamed Adobe spokesperson, who says:

“As Adobe continues to focus on delivering world-class innovation through Creative Cloud and digital fulfillment, we will be phasing out shrink-wrapped, boxed versions of Creative Suite and Acrobat products. Electronic downloads for Creative Suite and Acrobat products will continue to be available—as they are today—from both Adobe.com, as well as reseller and retail partners. We are in the process of notifying our channel partners and customers, as plans solidify in each region.”

Now, there’s no confirmation on this — I’ve reached out to Adobe Australia for comment — but it does gel with comments that Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen made to Australian media recently where he dodged questions on boxed software prices and instead tried to spin things around to talk about the subscription-based Creative Cloud product, stating that it was “the future”.

It looks as though the future is very nearly here, but will it make a change to the excessive prices we already pay for Adobe software? [TechHive]


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