Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ukma!dftsrv!amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov!xrtnt From: xrtnt@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov (Nigel Tzeng) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Game vs Multitasking Message-ID: <2253@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> Date: 6 Jun 90 13:51:20 GMT References: <3930@darkstar.ucsc.edu> <7934@mirsa.inria.fr> <2214@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> <7958@mirsa.inria.fr> Sender: news@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov Reply-To: xrtnt@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov Distribution: comp Organization: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, MD, USA Lines: 121 News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4 In article <7958@mirsa.inria.fr>, buffa@sardaigne.inria.fr (Michel Buffa) writes... ^ ^In article <2214@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov>, xrtnt@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov ^(Nigel Tzeng) writes: ^ ^|> ^Many of my friends bought their amiga only for playing. They even ^never used ^|> ^the workbench disk. They buy a game, boot and play. When they are ^fed up they ^|> ^boot another one on their single drive machine, and they don't even ^know what ^|> ^multitasking mean !!!!!!!! ^|> ^ ^|> ^They are the one who make the game market. They are the one who save ^up money ^|> ^to buy games, they are the one who make game software companies ^living. They ^|> ^are the real customers !!!!!!!!!!!! ^|> ^|> Hmmm...explain why I've spent nearly 1k on games then? I should have bought ^|> more memory but $50 here and $50 there... ^ ^Ok, you are one of the customers, but you are not the majority. In Europe, the ^customers who buy games are 16-25 years old, and 80% have got an AMiga 500 ^with a single drive. ^ Okay. Makes sense to some degree. Especially considering that the newer Game machines (Genesis, etc) don't seem to be in great supply in Europe...the Amiga would be the best game platform around (bang for the buck wise). But here's a question: It appears that the US Amiga game market differes from the European ones. The ratio of "high end" machines (in this case 1 meg+, and maybe a HD and second drive) to low end (original 512K A500s single drive) is higher. If you are a US developer wouldn't you tend to optimize for the US market? Won't you want to release a "European" version more suited for that environment? ^ ^|> ^Most of you are using their amiga principally for 'serious ^application', even ^|> ^at home (That idea makes me crazy !!! There are so many nerds ^here!), if you ^|> ^|> Thank you so very much to condecend to talk to us "nerds". (No smiley here ^|> since there wasn't one in your post). ^ ^I wasn't talking especially about you. (I don't even know you), I was talking ^about the feelings I've got when I read some of the messages here (like, ^yesterday night, I was compiling... and so on.) Well I do spend some time using the system as more than a game platform... ;-) ^ ^|> Let's be honest. If all they are doing is playing arcade games they ^could get ^|> a lot more bang for the buck to get a Sega Genesis these days. If they are ^|> playing simulations or RPGs where you don't need to count every last ^CPU cycle ^|> then multi-tasking isn't such a bane. Having a game HD installable ^is now just ^|> an expected feature on other machines. It is an indicator that an author is ^|> paying attention to the users and I like that. The better companies provide ^|> that and it is a minimum standard that should be adhered to. Same with the ^|> other features. ^ ^Yes, but the Sega is not marketed in Europe, the games are expensive, you ^can't try them before buying them (With the Amiga, you can try the games with ^demo versions, with pirated versions...if you are honnest enough -like I am- ^you can buy only good games like Kick-Off, F29, Turrican...) That's kind of a shame. Then again the European kids get a break of sorts. When they need a computer they have one at hand already. A nice one in fact. You can't expand a Nintendo or a Sega to a real computer no matter how much cash you sink into it... ^ ^|> To be frank...from the dozen or so Amiga users I know the people who ^spend the ^|> most money on games are the ones with a hard drive, extra memory and other ^|> hardware. They are the ones who know just how much effort (or lack ^of effort ^|> in some of these games) goes into any software product and is more ^likely to be ^|> a paying customer. Just my observation and MHO. ^ ^I've got an HD too, but it seems like your friends are pretty rich. People I ^know buy one or two games per months, and that's all their money. They are 15 ^years old, and they really don't dream about an HD. In France, the Amiga 500 ^are sold in supermarkets. They don't sell HDs, RAM expension boards. They sell ^Amiga 500, games, joysticks, Nintendo, etc... Actually most fall into the same age group (16-25) but are at the older end (more like 23-25) and are working. Since most are also programmers they have this idea of a "minimum" system for home use. After all when you come home after using a SGI or a Sun you don't really want to use a floppy system with too little memory to have 5-6 processes doing something. That would be too painful to bear ;-). Actually for the group I have the "lowest" configured system (1 meg mem, 48 meg slow seagate HD, A500). Of course there is the valid question: Do you really want to come home and play with yet another computer after banging your head against one for 8-10 hours already? ^ ^------------------------------------------ ^Michel Buffa: Projet Robotvis, INRIA, France ^ ^ Internet: buffa@sardaigne.inria.fr ^Surface Mail: Michel BUFFA, INRIA - Sophia Antipolis, ^ 2004, route des Lucioles, 06565 Valbonne Cedex -- FRANCE ^ Voice phone: (33) 93.65.78.39, Fax: (33) 93 65 77 65 ^------------------------------------------ NT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- // | Nigel Tzeng - STX Inc - NASA/GSFC COBE Project \X/ | xrtnt@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov | Amiga | Standard Disclaimer Applies: The opinions expressed are my own.