Adobe ditching boxed Creative Suite software, moving to the Creative Cloud

It’s been almost ten years since Adobe first launched its Creative Suite, and now, it looks like CS6 was the last boxed version we’ll ever see.

At this week’s Adobe MAX conference in Los Angeles, California, the software giant that has become renowned for everything from Reader to Photoshop to After Effects delivered attending developers quite an unexpected surprise: instead of unveiling Adobe Creative Suite 7 as many expected, the company announced that it would no longer be making the boxed suite of software for users.

Instead, Adobe is focusing its efforts on its Creative Cloud service, which connects its customers to its full suite of programs through a subscription-based model. Launched just over a year ago, users pay a monthly fee to use the apps, and also receive 20GB of cloud storage. Monthly subscriptions range from $19.99 USD for students and teachers to $49.99 USD for new Creative Cloud users.

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There’s a couple of reasons that Adobe is likely making this move: the reason that the company gave at the MAX conference was that they wanted to stop duplicating their effort in making a version of the software for the Cloud, and another for the Suite. This way, the team can work on a single version and put in their full effort and resources.

But the less discussed reason that is likely also motivating the move is the rampant piracy that has long been associated with Adobe products. A look at various lists of the most pirated software in the last year tends to see the latest Adobe Creative Suite software consistently within the top three.

If you do opt to go with Adobe’s new subscription model, however, there are some definite perks. For one, you won’t have to shell out a massive amount of cash at once to get the Adobe software suite. If you were to purchase Adobe Creative Suite Design Standard (the smallest boxed package in the Adobe lineup) new off the shelf, it would run you about $1300 USD. With the new system, you commit at most to $49.99 per month for a year, totaling $600. You’ll get access to more software than with CS6 Design Standard, plus have access to your files anywhere you can access the cloud, and training available from Adobe on how to use any of the unfamiliar software.

Of course, $600 is still an awful lot of money for the casual Adobe CS user — and if you want to use any of the mobile software Adobe has developed, like Photoshop Touch, that will cost extra.

For the time being, Tech Crunch reports, Adobe will still sell Creative Suite 6, but won’t be providing any extended support or new features. Adobe has said that it will make sure CS6 runs on the new versions of OS X and Windows, and provide basic bug and security fixes, but that’s about it.

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Since its launch, over half a million people have subscribed to Adobe Creative Cloud’s paid services, and two million people have subscribed to its free ones, which includes a 30-day trial of all the Adobe products, Tech Crunch reports.

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