Battle of the German giants
2 min read
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Gregor Neumann reports direct from West Germany, the major European battleground for the war between the Amiga, and the Atari ST
IT’S hardly surprising, given the importance to Commodore of the West German market (second only to the USA), that the company watches its sales figures over here with an eagle eye, and no doubt a nervous twitch.
Commodore’s main 68000 rival is of course Atari, and the battle between the two companies on the Amiga/ Atari ST front, which has been simmering ominously for 12 months or so, is now really hotting up.
Look at the statistics. By May 1987 only 27,000 Amigas had been sold in Germany. That figure has now risen to 160.000, with the biggest slice of the cake going to the Amiga 500. of which 100,000 units have been sold.
Over the full range of machines, the Amiga is still 100,000 units behind the Atari. More than 150,000 Atari STs have been sold in the last 12 months, making a total of a quarter of a million units.
But Commodore is catching up fast, and I think we can soon expect to see equilibrium between the two machines. After that – maybe even before – it will be no holds barred.
The breakthrough came with the rapidly falling price of the 500. The overpriced Amiga 1000 was long seen by many people as a dream machine no one could really afford. And last year’s retail price for the 500 – 1,300 DM (about £430), without monitor or second disc drive was proving simply too high to dent the competition.
However, the 500 is now available in certain retail l outlets for 975 DM (£320).
This is not only an astoun-i dingly low price for a superb professional machine, but it : also means that the psychological 1,000 DM barrier has been crossed, a significant consideration in Germany,
Of course, in the 8 bit arena, Commodore still reigns supreme. The C64 is by far the best-selling home computer in Germany there are a staggering 1.6 million machines out here, with the Amstrad CPC running a poor second at ‘only” half a million.
Now, according to a reliable source of mine, more than 80 per cent of C64 owners are ready io upgrade to a 68000 machine, and brand loyalty is certainly going to play an important part in their choice.
How Atari will counterattack remains to be seen, but like many other observers over here, I’m looking forward to watching the cut and thrust which is now bound to ensue.
It’s unlikely, however, that we will see any major moves forward on either the Amiga or the Atari marketing and sales fronts before the autumn. Only dedicated German freaks would consider buying a new machine as against spending his money on skiing or lazing on a sunny beach.
And while he does so, the battle lines are being drawn up ready for his return.
Source : AMIGA COMPUTING
Source of information – AMIGA Computing of June 1988 – Download of the magazine below:
