A brief history of the Amiga

The Rise and Fall of CD32

The Amiga CD32 was the very last machine Commodore produced before the company became defunct. It was launched in the UK for £329.90, and was the world's first 32-bit games console by the very nature that it was based on an A1200. The CD32 consisted of a 2x CD-ROM, Kickstart 3.1, 2MB Chip RAM, the AGA chipset, and the option of a FMV (Full Motion Video) module. It also had the Akiko chip, which allowed for fast chunky-to-planar conversions (necessary for games to use newer graphics techniques, yet display them quickly on the older display hardware). All this made for a good console, superior to the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom and Sega Genesis/Sega Megadrive units available at the time.

Unfortunately, like the CDTV, the machine wasn't a blockbuster seller. Although it enjoyed many sales, it was not enough to save Commodore from financial problems. Most of the games released were just CD conversions of the original Amiga 1200/4000 ones, with little enhancements.
Continued: Bidder after Bidder after Bidder... (or is that "Bitter?")

Table of Contents: A brief history of the Amiga
MobyGames™ Copyright © 1999-2009, MobyGames.
All rights reserved. Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form.
moby sites | about us | advertise | disclaimer | privacy statement | become an approver | RSS