That's not a realistic scenario, though. There's not really a need to buy many apps, which was my point. You just buy the few that really stand out and meet your whims/needs where the free ones don't. You need to buy less so you can pay more for the ones you do buy.

I'm not arguing that apps should cost more on Maemo, just that they can and still reach the same demographic.

VGBA is free; the games are not free. You can't really compare piracy or deferred payment (ie bought the ROM originally for the console and now playing it in an emulator) with app prices. lol Tell me how much that ROM for the GBA would have cost you and then let's hear how $3 is too much for a game...

This is the way the "shareware" model has worked for decades now. Doom is the same way, yet many many people paid the $10 (i think it was) for the second half (well, 2/3).

I think Angry Birds is released with the same idea. If you like it, you buy the expansion to show your support and appreciation. If you don't, you're not obligated.

My feeling is that maemo will support a higher premium for, um, premium products for a long while. Perhaps if it gets to the point that it has a glut of commercial apps like the iPhone does, it won't, but for now people can grab 90+% of their needed apps for free and fork out $10 for a couple commercial ones.