Amiga Computing - Commodore Is Awesome

HOW OF SUPPORT
One thing that has kept the Amiga platform so
strong is the loyalty of the users and, I'm sure many
would agree, the various shows that are held help
keep the market aiive. It gives the companies the
chance to meet the customers face to face - and
find out what they really want. It also shows a
unanimous front against the onslaught of the PC.
Shows are held all over the world. From the
huge Computer '96 at Cologne to the smaller scale
Expos, Amiga users flock in droves to find out
about the latest for their platform of choice. The
Amiga still dominated at last year's Cologne show
with only 30 per cent of exhibitors from the PC
side. In 1996 we also saw a successful Video
Toaster Expo held in Hollywood, with high profile
exhibitors such as AntiCravity and Nova Design.
The Amiga Central Ohio Network recently organ
CENE AMIGA
The demo scene has always been particularly
strong on the Amiga. Even now, regular parties
are held and although support for the demo
scene has dwindled in some parts of the world,
it is still popular in many of the Scandinavian
countries and places like Germany.
Manfred Linzner (Pink/Abyss) told Amiga
Computing, "Most demos are coming today
from France, Finland, Sweden. The UK as a
demo country is DEAD! One of the most
famous groups of all time (ANARCHY (UK divi
sion) died some years ago and so also the UK
demo scene." He believes the Amiga demo
arena is the best demo-related scene, 'The best
musicians are found on Amiga, the best draw
ing artists and probably the most innovative
coders are also showing their skills on Amiga at
its best."
Thies Edeiing from RAW Online the demo E-
zine, (http://www.xs4all.nl/~blahh), told us
about the scene in The Netherlands,
"Compared to the real scene-countries like
Sweden, Finland, Germany and smaller ones
like Norway, the UK, France, it's quite small. In
these countries there are several active groups
who produce demos on a regular basis. In The
Netherlands I can't think of a group - consisting
of only Dutch members - who produces a
demo for every big party."
He tells us that demo parties worldwide are
Some work by demoers, Abyss
ised an Amiga show
and, pleased at the )
response, are organis
ing one for this year.
Dave Pearce from AmiCon
told us, "Last year's show was
successful in a number of ways:
Nova Design, Silent Paws and several
other vendors simply sold out of product in a short
space of time, which showed Amiga consumers are
not afraid to buy."
"Most people were amazed that there were so
many Amiga users close by. Companies who par
ticipated were great, too. Many of them went out
of their way to do something special for the event
and were very careful and patient with questions
and inquires about their products and commitment
Albert by Louie - vote for your favourite pic at Raw
still very popular, 'There is The Gathering in
Norway, each Easter. I think this is the third big
party. From what I've heard though, the peo
ple attending there mostly consist of PC-
gamers (isn't it fun, playing network
Quake for three days at some party? No,
it isn't). Of course there is Assembly in
Finland, every year at the beginning of
August. And last, but definitely not least,
the most popular one: The Party in
Denmark, every year between Christmas and
New Year. This one is the most popular in the
Amiga scene."
Jon Lennart Berg from the Norwegian based
Amiga Foundation Network said, "Our demo
scene is probably more alive now than ever -
every coder wants to beat the PC at what the
PC does best - namely tex
ture-mapped 5-D. Last year
we saw the highlights of
Amiga demo-coders demol
ishing any PC resistance with
4-8Mb AGA demos - hopeful-
iy some of this technology
will make its way into the
games we all hope for."
In Australia, however,
the demo scene is not as
good. Warrick Burgess told
us, "The scene itself is pretty
bad currently, with only two
active groups, Cydonia (mak
ers of Defy, the disk line) and
a new group called Broken
formed by The Heavyweight
The Amiga demo
scene is still going
strong in some
countries
Cologne's Computer '96
showed that there was still
huge support for the Amiga
to the Amiga market." He con
tinued, "I feel that events such
as ours show people that there
are Amiga users out there, keep
ing up with today's standards and
still doing fabulous things with their
machines. I think all of us realise the
Amiga situation is grim and there's been lit
tle to be thankful for, but when a large number of
Amiga users get together to talk, browse and inter
act with each other, everyone leaves with a better
outlook."
This year looks set to have just as many Amiga
shows. It has been cinfirmed that the World Of
Amiga UK is going ahead, plus plans are being
made for a show in Melbourne, Australia to name
but a few.
Raw Eztne keeps you informed of the demo scene
an ex-member of Devious Dezigns
Terminator (ex-member of Dusk).
and
Both are still producing things (Broken has
taken over releasing the Devious Tools util
ity pack series) but generally the scene is
< i slowly falling away as more people pur-
1 I chase PCs. I don't think it will ever com-
Jjr / pletely disappear, but like the C64 scene
just continue at a smaller size." He goes
on, "Having said that, the commercial
(retail) side is more interesting. While the
Amiga isn't selling in chain stores here, the
interest and support of smaller computer spe
ciality stores hasn't dropped off. One store
recently even advertised wanting to purchase
A1200s!"
In Australia there are only two active groups
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997