The 1st dual sid setup came out in the mid-80's didn't it? It was on a cart I think. Commodore should have incorperated it into the 64c and c128. The Amiga could have done even more with dual sids too.
Yeah, with as cheap as MOS could crank out the SID, it would have been cool if they had thrown one or two in the Amiga as a programmable synth, in addition to the digital Paula. Paula's synth capabilities weren't as hot. Offloading that would have allowed games to have great chiptunes while still having all the digital sample slots for multiple sound effect layering.
And as for what is so great about the SID. Well, as mentioned, it's a real synth. I hate to sound like a corny audiophile nut, but you just don't quite get that same sound from a digital sample as you do from a real synth. I haven't done the blindfolded sound test, but I honestly think if someone played a tune on a real SID (or another synth chip) and then the same tune from a digitally emulated synth, I could tell the difference. (Unlike the folks who need all gold-plated connector ends, even for their USB and Firewire cables...) I know I could tell when my C64 emulator was using my Catweasel SID and when it wasn't.
And with so many people having the Commodore 64, the SID name has a lot of nostalgia for a lot of people who owned them.
