Yo.
Not posted for a while but I think i can offer some input here.
The gamesack review annoyed me a little as although they were right in their criticism of the quality of the games against what the hardware was capable of and its relative obscurity I think they didnt really explore the reasons why. These were mainly around lazy developers unhindered by a lack of quality control simply repackaging floppy disk games onto CD, and a pretty bizarre advertising campaign (below) coupled with the fact Commodore went bust almost immediately after launch.
So, Amiga + CD Drive or CD32?
Amiga + CD Drive every time. The CD32 does have 1 custom chip over the Amiga but so few games require it I think its a none issue and as a cost comparison an Amiga computer with CD is much more affordable.
That said if you want to pay, the CD32 does have expansions that were released (by 3rd parties, as if Commodore ever knew what to release lol) such as SX1 and SX32 turned it into a fully fledged Amiga computer though best of luck getting either of those boards for a reasonable price (£3.5k for a '030 SX32 on ebay at time of writing).
I do like the console, add a 3rd party pad such as the Competition Pro and its a simple and enjoyable to way to play many old Amiga games.
However even if the mishandled launch, manufacturers bankruptcy and woeful overall catalogue were not working against it I dont think it would have been more successful than it was. The Saturn and Playstation were rumoured and around the corner so console gamers were waiting for those, Amiga owners (like me!) were more interested in expanding their computer than buying a console.
I think the system, handled better and released earlier, could have been as successful other hybrid machines such as the Sharp X68000 but we will never know.
Not posted for a while but I think i can offer some input here.
The gamesack review annoyed me a little as although they were right in their criticism of the quality of the games against what the hardware was capable of and its relative obscurity I think they didnt really explore the reasons why. These were mainly around lazy developers unhindered by a lack of quality control simply repackaging floppy disk games onto CD, and a pretty bizarre advertising campaign (below) coupled with the fact Commodore went bust almost immediately after launch.
So, Amiga + CD Drive or CD32?
Amiga + CD Drive every time. The CD32 does have 1 custom chip over the Amiga but so few games require it I think its a none issue and as a cost comparison an Amiga computer with CD is much more affordable.
That said if you want to pay, the CD32 does have expansions that were released (by 3rd parties, as if Commodore ever knew what to release lol) such as SX1 and SX32 turned it into a fully fledged Amiga computer though best of luck getting either of those boards for a reasonable price (£3.5k for a '030 SX32 on ebay at time of writing).
I do like the console, add a 3rd party pad such as the Competition Pro and its a simple and enjoyable to way to play many old Amiga games.
However even if the mishandled launch, manufacturers bankruptcy and woeful overall catalogue were not working against it I dont think it would have been more successful than it was. The Saturn and Playstation were rumoured and around the corner so console gamers were waiting for those, Amiga owners (like me!) were more interested in expanding their computer than buying a console.
I think the system, handled better and released earlier, could have been as successful other hybrid machines such as the Sharp X68000 but we will never know.