Quote:
Originally Posted by lmimmfn
I dont think the issue was around the complexity/documentation regarding arcade perfect, it was around what's considered good enough(and publishers had strict schedules), hence lots of ST ports because at the time no user had enough info to know if the Amiga hardware was being used fully or not vs the ST(unless you owned both back then to compare games). Magazines covering the dual formats wouldnt really complain about the Amiga being underutilized and would comment that the music/audio is better on the Amiga version and maybe slightly more colourful.
The C64 was different in that you had to use the hardware to get anything on screen(character maps, sprites etc. ).
Its more akin to Amstrad CPC getting direct Speccy ports even emulating the Speccy display but with only 4 colours.
I didnt get an Amiga until 1990 but i had considered getting an ST(as it was cheaper and the games bundle was great) in late 88/early 89. I knew the Amiga was more powerful but i wanted to move on from 8 bits, im glad i saw sense in the end.
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In truth (speaking as someone who started with a Spectrum), Amstrad users got the same raw deal as Amiga users, but by a greater extent, and for longer. You still get people who seem to judge the CPC's potential based on those Spectrum ports, whereas even people who had STs back in the day can see that the Amiga's potential for 2D arcade games went far beyond the ST's.
Ultimately the Amiga did overhaul the ST in most of the world, meaning that ST ports largely died out by about 1990, and the (pre-AGA) Amiga had another 3-4 good years after that, whereas the CPC never really got close to the Spectrum (France being an exception in both, for whatever reasons) so you still saw Spectrum ports on the Amstrad quite late. A pity really.