I must admit that my CD32 story is not a pleasant one. I first heard about this unit at about the same time I was coming to grips with the unpleasant fact that my favorite platform was headed into extinction. At the time, I owned an Amiga 3000, and was wondering what to do. The 1200 seemed like a downgrade, but the 4000 was simply too expensive. There were constant rumors about an AGA upgrade for the 3000. However, the time seemed right to jump to the PC platform, even though I despised that move.
Then I began hearing about the CD32 and thought that maybe, just maybe, Commodore had a plan to pull itself out of the fire. Then I saw a picture of it on a BBS and thought it was a sick joke. I thought someone was trying to be sarcastic, saying that the future of the platform was a game console instead of the wonderful personal computer that it was. The CD32 looked like a toy, nothing more. I remembered Commodore's famous marketing campaign--"Why buy a game when you can buy a computer?" and thought--yeah, this is a mistake.
After that shock wore off, I started wondering if this meant that Commodore was ready to release a CD-ROM drive for the other Amiga platforms, or whether the CD32 could interface somehow with a "real" Amiga. Of course, the CD drive never materialized, which meant that any Amiga CD-ROM games would be limited to the CD32 (or I suppose there may have been third party add-ons; if so, I was unfamiliar with them at the crucial time). I was still waiting for an AGA upgrade for my 3000 which never came.
Nevertheless, I've been wanting a CD32 for some time now, having been impressed by the few games I've seen for the system. Captive springs to mind, of course, but I've seen other great looking games. To my mind, it might be the best solution for a casual Amiga gamer; it'd definitely be easier than mucking about with a 1200 or 600, the other viable choices as I see them.
As far as the CDTV is concerned, I have zero experience with that box.
I must admit that my CD32 story is not a pleasant one. I first heard about this unit at about the same time I was coming to grips with the unpleasant fact that my favorite platform was headed into extinction. At the time, I owned an Amiga 3000, and was wondering what to do. The 1200 seemed like a downgrade, but the 4000 was simply too expensive. There were constant rumors about an AGA upgrade for the 3000. However, the time seemed right to jump to the PC platform, even though I despised that move.
Then I began hearing about the CD32 and thought that maybe, just maybe, Commodore had a plan to pull itself out of the fire. Then I saw a picture of it on a BBS and thought it was a sick joke. I thought someone was trying to be sarcastic, saying that the future of the platform was a game console instead of the wonderful personal computer that it was. The CD32 looked like a toy, nothing more. I remembered Commodore's famous marketing campaign--"Why buy a game when you can buy a computer?" and thought--yeah, this is a mistake.
After that shock wore off, I started wondering if this meant that Commodore was ready to release a CD-ROM drive for the other Amiga platforms, or whether the CD32 could interface somehow with a "real" Amiga. Of course, the CD drive never materialized, which meant that any Amiga CD-ROM games would be limited to the CD32 (or I suppose there may have been third party add-ons; if so, I was unfamiliar with them at the crucial time). I was still waiting for an AGA upgrade for my 3000 which never came.
Nevertheless, I've been wanting a CD32 for some time now, having been impressed by the few games I've seen for the system. Captive springs to mind, of course, but I've seen other great looking games. To my mind, it might be the best solution for a casual Amiga gamer; it'd definitely be easier than mucking about with a 1200 or 600, the other viable choices as I see them.
As far as the CDTV is concerned, I have zero experience with that box.
Matt Barton, Managing Editor
Location: St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA
Email: matt@armchairarcade.com