★ PEOPLES ★ PC AMSTRAD ★ "The market is ready for us to move" says Amstrad as it enters the battle against the ST and Amiga ★ |
| AMSTRAD Games PC Gamble (New Computer Express) |
Amstrad is to launch what could be the first of a new range of PCs. The new computer will be a 16MHz 286-based PC called the PC5286 Games Pack. It comes with a 40Mb hard drive and 1 Mb of onboard memory. It will not, however, be aimed at the business community but rather at the home user who wishes to run business software and also indulge in games playing. It will be priced at £1,050. A three game bundle of Prince of Persia from Domark, F-15 II from Microprose, and Links from US Gold will be included with the PC. The PC5286 will have no options for expansion and it is probable that it will be forcefully targeted at the first time buyer. To this end, Amstrad has bought in a menu driven front end called Counterpoint, a colour icon-driven graphical user interface(GUI). SIGN OF THE TIMES On behalf of Amstrad, sales and marketing director, Malcom Miller said: “Recently, the signs are already here that the (PC) market is ready for us to move - recent surveys have shown that in the UK, entertainment software on PC format is already outselling ST versions and is closing fast on the Commodore Amiga”. LEADING THE WAY Speculation within the industry, however, maintains that the games machine will not be a one-off. It is thought that it will be the first PC in a new series, possibly to be called the PC5000 range. The 5000s will eventually replace the third generation PC3000 series currently being pushed by Amstrad. The new series of PCs are expected to lead the way in a major restructuring of Amstrad's DOS-based machine range. Amstrad's last games-based launch was the ill-fated CPC console, the GX4000 and the 6128 Plus machines, neither of which has sold in great numbers. The arrival of a new PC-based system which also takes on the games bundle ethic pioneered by Commodore and Atari places Amstrad in direct competiton with the two games hardware giants. New Computer Express #148 (7 September 1991)
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