The Next Web reports that as of early Wednesday morning, Microsoft's Windows Store contained 12,895 applications. That's roughly 2,895 additional applications that have been added since the Windows 8 storefront reached its 10,000 app mark just eight days prior. Break that down to a daily total, and an average of 362 apps have been added roughly every 24 hours.
WinAppUpdate, which has been keeping track of the tally, said that the daily numbers are actually down. Since the day before Windows 8 officially hit the market (October 26), Microsoft was adding around 500 apps per day – that's how Windows Store zoomed past the 10,000 mark so quickly once it went public.
At the current growth rate, the Windows Store will likely scoot past the 20,000 mark by the end of November or early December. Then again, Microsoft may suddenly push to stock up even more paid apps before the holiday season kicks in, hoping to cash in on the Christmas cheer as consumers receive their bonuses, year-end tips and early gift cards.
But as WinAppupdate points out, there's a lot of "junk" piling up in the Windows Store, similar to the littering problem facing Google Play and what flooded Apple's App Store in the early days. "A ton of the apps that have come into the Windows Store over the last week are just promiscuous apps," the site writes. "I’m not seeing stellar apps that are platform exclusives, and more importantly, I’m seeing a dearth of, well, productivity apps."
What Microsoft needs is developers that will take a chance with both Windows 8 and Windows RT – to take advantage of their unique environments and the overall four-screen experience. Right now developers are seemingly testing the waters, getting familiar with the territory, and many may even be waiting for the Windows 8 consumer base to grow before jumping into the development pool with everything they've got. Some of the more popular desktop apps revised for the Modern UI interface -- including a few of Microsoft's own tools -- feel half-based as it is.
As The Next Web states, Microsoft needs to use its resources to make sure that the Windows Store is not only full, but "full of the right stuff" and not stocked full of thrown-together apps just for the sake of a large, impressive app count. Even more, what the store really needs is a Modern UI version of Halo 4 for PC which, unfortunately, won't happen anytime in the immediate future. Boo hiss.
