2COMMODORE LAUNCHES THE CD321


         By Stuart Menges


After   months   of   speculation,
Commodore  finally  announced  its
newest  Amiga  - a console machine
with  32-bit graphics - to British
press  and  retailers.  The "Amiga
CD32"  promises  to be the world's
first   32-bit   home   multimedia
console:    It  should  be  on  UK
dealer's  shelves  by the time you
read  this (US buyers will have to
wait until Autumn.)

The  CD32  retails  at  300 (about
$450)    and    is   basically   a
keyboardless  Amiga  1200;  it has
2MB  of  chip  RAM  and  a  14 MHz
68EC020  processor.   The  machine
however, instead of a floppy drive
(AmigaDOS    is   in   ROM,   with
enhancements allowing CD-ROM use).
The   machine   has  a  hand-held,
11-button   game  controller  with
connectors for mice, joysticks, an
optional   keyboard,   a  TV  set/
composite    monitor   and   video
expansion.   And  finally,  CD32's
custom  chip set has been modified
to   allow  faster  hardware-based
pixel manipulation.

The  new  unit  is compatible with
CDTV  and  CBM's A590 drive.  With
the  addition  of an MPEG-standard
Full  Motion  Video  Card  (due to
sell  for  about  $300),  the CD32
will          play         VideoCD
industry-standard discs.

Software  developers attending the
launch  were  enthusiastic for the
new machine, and Commodore expects
more   than   70   titles   to  be
available       by      Christmas.
Programmers  seemed  determined to
take  full advantage of the CD32's
mass     storage    and    graphic
capabilities.   Still,  the  first
releases  will  be  standard-Amiga
game  conversions.   They  include
"Robocod", "Pinball Fantasies" and
"Nick  Faldo's  Golf"; all feature
CD  soundtracks,  freeing  up  the
Amiga's  four  sound  channels for
in-game  effects.  Other games are
being   custom-developed  for  the
machine's  capabilities, including
"Microcosm"  (a  shoot'em-up  with
over  44,000  frames of animation)
and    cutesy    strategy    game,
"Diggers".  With a concept similar
to  the  classics  "Rockford"  and
"Lemmings",  "Diggers"  shows  off
the advantage of mass storage with
over   a  million  screens  on  34
levels.

Even    with    all   this   games
development,   Commodore  will  be
looking to market the machine as a
multiuse  box,  citing video games
as only part of the story.

Unlike cartridge-based rivals such
as  Sega  and  Nintendo, Commodore
does  not  have  official licenses
that   can   curtail  development.
David Pleasance, Managing Director
of  Commodore  UK,  said  that the
CD32  is  "destined to be the most
significant product that Commodore
has ever produced."

Ironically,  Pleasance's statement
is  also reflective of the current
market:  Amiga sales are dwindling
and  consoles  are rising steadily
in popularity.  At the very least,
Commodore's  timing  is  right; as
recent  as  June,  Sega  told  the
British  Press  that  it could not
produce  a  32-bit  machine at the
right   price.    Certainly,   the
CD32's powerful graphics will give
16-bit  consoles  a  run  for  the
money.   Expectations are high for
the  success  of the CD32 - so let
the games begin!