Confirmed: Amiga Maxi AND Other Products Coming!
Sept 20, 2023 19:58:28 GMT
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Post by c64stuff on Sept 20, 2023 19:58:28 GMT
First guess is the Amiga Maxi won't be a full sized Amiga 500. That's just too big of a machine to manufacture and also will take up too much desk space for your average consumer. I'm guessing it'll be either a somewhat shrunk down Amiga 500 or a full size Amiga 600. My second guess is a few of these other products also in the works might be the Spectrum and an Atari 8 bit computer/ST combo machine that will run software for both, since the C64 mini/maxi comes stock also able to run Vic20 games in the same respect.
Wouldn't make much sense to produce a product that has a much lesser appeal to consumers by selling an Atari 8 bit computer only or an ST only product, since neither sold in anywhere near the numbers as the C64 or Amiga, just like a Vic20 only machine wouldn't have mass appeal. The Vic20 sold in big enough numbers, but doesn't have enough mass appeal to the general consumer. Hence the limited special edition production run of the the Vic20 Maxi that was essentially just a C64 Maxi in a white case so costs to produce it would be low enough to make it feasible to do a limited product run.
An Atari 8 bit computer that also ran Atari 2600/5200/7800 games without ST ability would for sure have enough appeal to the masses, but an Atari ST only machine probably wouldn't, so I'd at least like to see an ST replica computer become feasible by it also including Atari 8 bit computer games so it has enough appeal to be sold as a mass produced product in stores and on Amazon, and the icing on the cake would be if it ran 2600/5200/7800 games too. Then again, a replica ST case might not have enough retro novelty mass appeal as a replica Atari 8 bit computer case to the general public?
The Spectrum of course sold in huge numbers at least in the UK, whereas the Amiga and C64 sold well in the UK and North America, but there's enough of a retro gaming fan base in the US that are now aware of the Spectrum's history and tons of games and would buy one for that reason. Just like many non C64 or Amiga owners and even younger modern gamers bought both these products because they were aware of things like the C64 being the number one selling computer of all time and having a bigger gaming database than any computer or console in history, or they've heard of the groundbreaking 16 bit graphics and sound of the Amiga and it's huge catalog of unique and great games too just like the C64.
Machines that sold in lesser numbers than the Spectrum, ST, or Atari 8 bit computer line wouldn't have as much potential to sell in large enough numbers in both the UK and North America to make it worth the effort. Thinking of more obscure machines like the BBC Micro or Amstrad computers. Same deal in the states. Things like Texas Instruments Ti994a or Radio Shack CoCo computers don't have a large enough fan base to sell in big enough numbers. I could see a Apple II line/Macintosh combo machine possibly maybe having enough of following to produce, but even that's borderline.
Not knocking any of the more obscure machines in the states or UK. I'm sure there are some avid fans who would gladly buy such a reproduced machine, but that possibility would be restricted to a much smaller Kickstarter type of project financed by the smaller base of fans to be produced in limited numbers for them alone. It's not something you'd find being sold in larger numbers in retail stores or on Amazon like the C64 Mini/Maxi and A500 mini are. The very reason they are sold in such outlets is because there's enough of a fan base, and there's even non-Commodore owners and younger gamers who would and do buy them for the reasons mentioned above. It's one of the reasons Atari 2600 flashback consoles are also sold in retail stores or on Amazon. It has enough history to be iconic, and so consumers both young and older will buy it even if they never grew up with or back in the day owned an Atari 2600.
Retro Games Ltd seems to concentrate on producing products that are viable enough to not just sell to avid fans of a particular machine, but also are popular enough due to the history and reputation of the computer they're replicating that it will also be bought by the general public in places like retail stores or on Amazon. And just as importantly too, it's packaged in a "plug and play" software frontend so the general consumer can easily play such games without tweaking and setting up emulators, while still offering more complexity for hardcore fans of a machine who want to customize things and dive deeper into the original hardware and software non-gaming aspects of the computer.
Something like a raspberry pi is too complex for your general consumer to tinker with setting up emulation unless you get a premade image, and even then it's still not as seamless as the mini/maxi front ends for an easy plug and play product solution. Point being that Retro Games Ltd isn't just selling a replica case, they're also selling an easy to use plug and play front end solution that can appeal to the average consumer who would otherwise never try to set up an emulator to play such games, beyond avid fans of a particular computer who are willing to take the time and have the knowledge to do such things.