Did you get an Amiga because of the C64 legacy?

[CCCP alert]

Originally Posted by Zak

Did you or your relatives get an Amiga for you back then, because of the good legacy of the C64? Or was it a well-planned rational decision because of the technical specifications?

I read about the specs of the still to be named Amiga in 1984 from the Teletext pages of ITV's Database (computer focussed TV programme).

Nothing with better specs came out until the Archimedes either. So I got an Amiga 1000 purely for technical reasons, Marble Madness just proved I got my research right

[Snoopy1234]

No C64 but 4096 colours and stereo sound from a chip same as in the Fairlight synth Dire Straits used had me sold.

[TCD]

I had a C64 before the Amiga, but I didn't get an Amiga because it was a Commodore machine. Of course I didn't know it at the time, but the Amiga is more closely 'related' to the Atari 8-bit machines. I don't remember any of my friends mentioning that they got an Amiga because they had a C64 before (most did).

[Galahad/FLT]

No Commodore legacy here, I had a BBC Model B, which in all honesty, I hadn't used in at least two years, computers were not in my future.

And then a mate of mine invited me to see his Amiga in action, so I went and saw it and it blew me away.

A brief dalliance with an Atari ST, and then bought a second hand A500 1.2, and it seemed that computers were in my future.

I always wanted a C64, but I wasn't given the choice, my parents bought the BBC because of its use in schools, they didn't buy it specifically for me, it was bought for me and my sister, but she had no interest in it at all.

[TCD]

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

And then a mate of mine invited me to see his Amiga in action, so I went and saw it and it blew me away.

Same here I would wager a guess that this was the main selling point of the Amiga.

[TommyTomorrow]

No. My first computer was Atari 65XE then I saw the A500 for the first time and fell in love with it, a year later I had my own.

[Seiya]

i had a C64 yet in 1994 and after watched The Secret of Monkey Island and Wing Commander i hoped in a conversion. After miltary service i take a second hand Amiga 500 to play these games.

[S0ulA55a551n]

Nah. Got one cause friend had one we used to play on lunch breaks from school. And then it was was magazines. Everyone said they were like arcade perfect back in the day. I had an Amstrad CPC 6128 before that.

[Karlos]

I got the machine purely on it's own merit. I was late to the owner's party, but I'd been exposed during my school days and had seen what the machines could do.

[Thorham]

I got an A500 because a friend had an A500. I was interested in the Atari ST first, but my friend's A500 quickly changed that.

[Dunny]

I came from the speccy; the C64 was for rich people.

[TCD]

Originally Posted by Dunny

I came from the speccy; the C64 was for rich people.

I'll never get over the fact that supposedly I was a rich kid...

[d4rk3lf]

Originally Posted by TCD

I'll never get over the fact that supposedly I was a rich kid...

Maybe he meant metaphorically "rich", because C64 was so much better then speccy

[Dan]

My brother and me had friends who had an amiga. Before we had an c128d which we had to share.
The games on the amiga were great (comparing to the c64 versions) especially LTEC ... and pinball dreams.
So we jobbed and collected the money.
My brother bought one first and shortly after i got mine.

[Predseda]

I had Amiga just after C64, but no relation for me. If Amiga was produced by other company than Commodore, I would still buy it.

[Dunny]

Originally Posted by d4rk3lf

Maybe he meant metaphorically "rich", because C64 was so much better then speccy

Hehe, quite

But seriously the C64 was way more expensive than the Speccy. Not as much as the toffs with their beebs, mind, but it was still way too expensive for my family to afford at that time.

[Megalomaniac]

My understanding, as it's before my time - the C64 was a lot more expensive than the Spectrum initially, but I think the gap closed over time, especially as the Spectrum didn't have printer or joystick ports built in. The BBC had a lot of expensive 'extras' which weren't much use for most home users. The Amstrad's integrated monitor made it much dearer for anyone who had a spare colour TV to use the Spectrum or C64 with - if not, they worked out much the same, except you couldn't watch Minder or Airwolf after playing the game if you bought an Amstrad rather than Spectrum/C64+TV.

More relevantly, the ST was cheaper than the Amiga, or came with more games, for its entire life, likewise the STe for most of its life, but there reached a point where it was the better buy, at least if you wanted arcade action games.

[jotd]

No, I had an Oric at first, then went for pretty time consuming studies, and when I got more time in 1991 found that the amiga was great and got one one month later.

[Dunny]

Originally Posted by Megalomaniac

More relevantly, the ST was cheaper than the Amiga, or came with more games, for its entire life, likewise the STe for most of its life, but there reached a point where it was the better buy, at least if you wanted arcade action games.

I completely understand, but by the time I had the ability to earn my own money, it was always gonna be an Amiga

[Adropac2]

I first got an ST and I loved it a whole lot. Until eventually it became obvious the Amiga was like an ST but also like the C64 with it's custom chips for everything smooth. I was incredibly lucky to get my A500 when my dad following an unfortunate incident at the time asked if I wanted anything. Went over to Bristol and got one and it was the best day ever. Luckily had a friend of my brother who also had an A500 and knew where to get the games. The same guy who used to show me his Amiga which is why I soon became quite envious of the differences in these machines

I just assumed the ST was a C64 but better because why would a computer as good as it looked to be not have the ability to scroll etc. But there you go and I did immensely enjoy it though despite it's obvious comparative flaws to the C64. I still play each of these systems all the time though because it's a hard time to beat but yeah the Amiga was a very special time for sure