Talk:Amiga CD32

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[edit] The first?

From the start of the article: "The Amiga CD32 was the first 32-bit CD-ROM based game console." Surely the FM_Towns_Marty actually holds that crown? Sure, it was only released in Japan, but accuracy matters! 212.113.198.67

Okay, fixed. Mdwh 22:42, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

The CD32 may not have been the first, but that WAS how Commodore marketed it. I have the original retail box, and it does say "The worlds first 32-bit CD games console" across the top.

it is the world's first, because the "FM Towns Marty" wasn't the whole world's! :) It was only released in japan so maybe, technically, it can't count as the worlds first 32bit console... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 89.242.156.161 (talk) 03:55, 1 January 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Flop games console?

Was this console actually a flop?

Certainly, C= went bankrupt less than a year after its release; but that wasn't that due to dubious management (or exploitation) of the business and general lack of development of their overall computer business, rather than the CD32's fault?

At the time, IIRC, I read that the CD32 was a low-cost "cash cow" that provided Commodore with a quick-and-easy way to make money that they needed, and that it was the best-selling CD-based console in the UK at one stage.

Certainly, it didn't have anything like the subsequent PlayStation's level of success, but was it ever intended to? If it was created a nice income stream for Commodore for a relatively low development cost, was it really a failure?

It could be argued that the CD32 was a success; simply nowhere near as big a success as Commodore needed to bring themselves back from the brink. But then, was it ever expected to be?

Fourohfour 10:45, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Having investigated this further, it appears that the Amiga mags may have been reporting a somewhat whitewashed picture of the situation; they didn't mention the fact that it wasn't sold in the US (due to them being impounded), or that it was (supposedly) discontinued in Feb 1994 (before C= went bankrupt). Why was it discontinued? General failure, or that they didn't pay their bills to the manufacturers? Fourohfour 11:33, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

The CD32 was sold in the US, but it was a very low key launch, with very little units sold. I have never heard of the CD32 being discontinued though. It was manufactured right up to the bankruptcy, and it is well known that the Philippine government seized the remaining units. According to Amiga Computing Issue 88 (July 1995) the manufacturing assets they seized was around US $1 million. —Pixel8 20:42, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

I was putting consoles in the category depending on if they didn't sell well on their own or were made obsolete by a new generation of consoles (eg. Sony Playstation) or market forces (eg. the 1983 video game crash). The CD32 would fall into the former category. I don't like the name of the "Computer and video game flops" category but I thought it was a useful reference. Maybe "Commercially unsuccessful video game consoles" would be a less judgemental title. - Diceman 21:21, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

All successful consoles are still eventually rendered obsolete by the next generation of consoles; it doesn't mean they weren't a success, as this applies to the original PlayStation too (ironically). I agree entirely that the "computer and video game flops" category is a poor and somewhat judgemental title. "Commercially unsuccessful" is better, but still open to interpretation. I would argue that *if* the CD32 was made and sold successfully in some markets until C= went bankrupt (*or* it was discontinued for reasons other than lack of commercial success; e.g. C= not paying their bills to the manufacturer), then it was not commercially unsuccessful.

I could have written that better, I meant that I didn't consider a console commercially unsuccessful if it was discontinued due to external market forces (like a market crash or a new dominant console). If it simply didn't sell well on its own merits or the company that made it had internal troubles, I put it in the "flop" category. The 3DO and CD-I consoles are interesting cases because neither sold very well, but they both hung around until they were yanked off the stage. The CD32 on the other hand went down with Commodore, even if it was a perfectly good console it was let in the other areas. - Diceman 14:05, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Hmm... perhaps we disagree there; I'd say a console *was* commercially unsuccessful if it failed due to external forces (market collapse, new unexpected competition); what I wouldn't say is that (e.g.) *if* the CD32's demise was due to C= as a whole going down, despite it making money, that doesn't make it a commercial failure (assuming it met *expectations*).

I was always under the impression that the CD-I was ultimately as big a failure as the CDTV, and was only around longer because Philips had more money that they were willing to throw into its continued existence and marketing. It could be argued that this made it a *bigger* failure, I guess. Fourohfour 21:09, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Ultimately, what defines a "flop"? Is it a "flop" if it makes money? Is it a "flop" if it doesn't meet the expectations of the manufacturer? It's hard to judge, really. Fourohfour 10:44, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

I'm going to say that most people from this generation barely remember commodore, less this system (actually I only remembered about it when i saw it listed)and hence it is a historical flop. Playwrite 03:14, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

But 10+ years later, people tend not to remember any systems except the huge commercial successes! A flop isn't simply "didn't do extremely well", it means that it's a failure. Does anyone have actual sales figures? Mdwh 22:46, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cooperation with Sony

I removed the following statement, anyone have a source for this?

Interestingly the CD-ROM interface in the machine was developed in association with Sony and many ideas from the CD32 made it into the Playstation and Playstation 2. Thanks to its PowerPC cored CELL processor there is speculation of the latest version of the AmigaOS (AmigaOS 4) being ported to Sonys Playstation 3. Pixel8 16:50, 23 October 2006 (UTC)