What if things had gone worse

[Amigajay]

To counterbalance the negative threads, i thought i would create one that actually improves and gives people a brighter outlook for the day.

So the question is, what if things had gone worse?

What is worse, did Commodore not release the A1000?, did they make a console from it, did Atari buy Amiga?

[Megalomaniac]

The whole Amiga project could have easily gone unreleased if Commodore or someone else hadn't saved it. It could easily have succeeded as a console, but I think the underlying hardware is just too versatile and capable to have been pigeon-holed as a 'mere' games system. I loved the Amiga infrastructure of smaller companies being able to release risky titles without as much corporate pressure, and the wide availability of PD games and budget reissues alongside the full price stuff.

Atari buying Amiga might have actually improved things, as it'd mean no ST and thus no lame ST ports - maybe they'd've equipped the Amiga with MIDI from day one so we'd've got that market too? Would the same impetus to bring it mainstream with the A500 have been there though?

[Amigajay]

Trouble with Atari buying Amiga, was thing would have been different without a Commodore Amiga to fight against, so possibly the Atari Amiga would have been alot more costly to buy than the ST was without a rival about to arrive on the scene.

It could have been aimed more for DTP and Music and games publishers didn’t even take a second look at it, and as you say they might have kept it as a full computer with monitor like the ST was at launch. Meaning no Amiga games at all!

As i said, now we feel better, my pleasure!

[Cris1997XX]

Guys, what if Sega bought the Amiga and released it in 1985 to compete with Nintendo!?!?

[TCD]

Commodore decides that the A1000 was a flop and goes for the C256 (C65) instead of the A500.

[Paul_s]

Jay Miner's dog Mitchy is kidnapped by Atari after Amiga's secret are leaked.

Mitchy has a $1m bounty placed on his head.

The bounty is paid - Amiga is cancelled and only a handful of Amiga 1000s are released causing a spike in their value to $1m a piece.

Meanwhile RCK of EAB fame goes onto create a website devoted to cats and dogs.

[Amigajay]

Originally Posted by TCD

Commodore decides that the A1000 was a flop and goes for the C256 (C65) instead of the A500.

Quite conceivable considering pretty poor A1000 sales to start, had they not given it more than 6 months, they could have wrote off the whole project and concentrated back on IBM compatibles and the C64/65.

[Cobe]

Wow! We'd be childhood trauma blissfully a ignorantly free!

Maybe we'd aged well.

[Bruce Abbott]

Originally Posted by Amigajay

To counterbalance the negative threads, i thought i would create one that actually improves and gives people a brighter outlook for the day.

So the question is, what if things had gone worse?

What is worse, did Commodore not release the A1000?, did they make a console from it, did Atari buy Amiga?

Commodore wouldn't make a console from the Amiga because they wanted a 16 bit computer.

How worse it would be if Atari bought it depends on whether Jack Tramiel leaves Commodore and buys Atari or not. If he does then he releases the Amiga with TOS and GEM instead of Amiga OS. He calls it the Atari ST but it has the Amiga chipset inside.

That's bad, but not as bad as if the old Atari buys it. They would strip it down to a games console and then go broke trying to sell it.

If Tramiel doesn't leave Commodore and doesn't buy the Amiga he still needs a 16 bit computer, which might be the C65 or it might be a different design using a 68000 CPU. If it has a chipset similar to the C65 that might not be so bad. Still worse than what we got though.

[Amigajay]

Originally Posted by Bruce Abbott

Commodore wouldn't make a console from the Amiga because they wanted a 16 bit computer.

How worse it would be if Atari bought it depends on whether Jack Tramiel leaves Commodore and buys Atari or not. If he does then he releases the Amiga with TOS and GEM instead of Amiga OS. He calls it the Atari ST but it has the Amiga chipset inside.

That's bad, but not as bad as if the old Atari buys it. They would strip it down to a games console and then go broke trying to sell it.

If Tramiel doesn't leave Commodore and doesn't buy the Amiga he still needs a 16 bit computer, which might be the C65 or it might be a different design using a 68000 CPU. If it has a chipset similar to the C65 that might not be so bad. Still worse than what we got though.

Well the thread is what if things had gone worse, so imo Atari buying it would be the worse scenario, an Amiga Panther console if you will.

Certainly the specs would have to be streamlined to cost reduce for a console, maybe they could chuck out the 68k for a cheaper cpu and keep the custom chips.

Named the Atari 10400, launch in 1987 for £99.99 with a game paddle with Pole Position III, other games inc Breakout II, Submarine Guy and Castle Adventure retail for £34.99 each.

I think you might be right!

[Arne]

Things could be worse – in a darker timeline we're all really angry at Commodore's "Amiga Web Services" right now. Remember Windows 3.1? What Microsoft had survived and made a Windows 94? What if Apple had survived instead of Intergalactic Digital Research and their draconian Arch-CP/M?

[Gorf]

Scenario 1:

Sharp buys Amiga Inc. and takes it as basis for their secret X6800 project. The Xamiga is released at the end of 85 - but only in Japan.
The rest of the world never get to experience it.

Scenario 2:

Microsoft buys Amiga Inc. and takes it as basis for a next generation MSX platform, the MSX pro - which is more tailored towards arcade games. It gets released alongside the 8-bit MSX2 line.

We see a bunch of manufacturers releasing various models.

The Workbench gets replaced by a version of Microsoft BOB, because that's all kids and gamers need.

[alkis21]

The first thought that crossed my mind: Imagine if we had never bought an Amiga! I can't think of anything worse than that. It's been such an important part of my life for 35 years. I would probably be a different man today without it.