CommodoreUSA Partners with Disney

[danwood]

For anyone that doubts there's interest in C=USA machines, take a look at their facebook page. The number of people who liked C=USA is going up by the minute. I imagine the spike will be even greater tomorrow and once TV commercials begin and this is just the beginning .

Just looks like more people who are wrongly believing these new machines will be a continuation of the platform they loved or a modern implementation, and will be disappointed when it's just the same as their existing PC, bar the case.

[WolfToTheMoon]

So again, who are they aiming at?  PC users who want an 80s case?

I guess the same people who are buying FIAT 500s and getting this

[number6]

Hmmn a bunch of comments from people who are assuming the Amiga is "back" and the C64 is "back" who will probably be very disappointed when they find out that it's just the same as the Windows Pc they already have.

Doesn't really explain it to me, they are not bringing the Amiga back, the Amiga is/was a platform, the same as Windows/Unix/Mac/ST, this is a Windows platform machine with an Amiga badge.

So again, who are they aiming at?  PC users who want an 80s case?

It seemed that the original plan was strictly based on brand recognition, which Barry Altman made clear last year.
"Altman said that he is bringing back the name because "the *name Commodore and the Commodore Computer was the most popular computer of all times "even though a product has not been introduced in the last*almost*20 years the name itself has brand recognition that parallels and rivals the greatest in the industry." He said that Commodore has an 87% ranking."
source

Any venture will change/adapt over time, though, so I wouldn't be quick to conclude that any future view is quite the same. There are a lot of variables here...a lot.

#6

[redrumloa]

So again, who are they aiming at? PC users who want an 80s case?

There is value in a name and likeness. If the cards are played out right, former and current users will buy one. Current users will be a smallish number, former users could be a much greater number. It could also appeal to people who appreciate the retro look.
 
Do what I am doing, sit back and enjoy the show as a casual observer. You will witness one of two things.
 
1) Rebirth of a brand name and identity.
2) A spectacular failure on a big stage for the world to see.

[danwood]

It seemed that the original plan was strictly based on brand recognition, which Barry Altman made clear last year.
"Altman said that he is bringing back the name because "the *name Commodore and the Commodore Computer was the most popular computer of all times "even though a product has not been introduced in the last*almost*20 years the name itself has brand recognition that parallels and rivals the greatest in the industry." He said that Commodore has an 87% ranking."
source

Any venture will change/adapt over time, though, so I wouldn't be quick to conclude that any future view is quite the same. There are a lot of variables here...a lot.

#6

If the Commodore brand had such good ranking, why have half a dozen bigger companies (Escom, Tulip etc.) failed over the last 15 years?  Plus they were actually released in the 90s/early 00s when people still remembered Commodore as a brand.  Even closer to now, the Commodore Gaming PC rigs of 2007-2009 also failed.  Did he not use this very valuable research?  I'm sure the brand is still recognised, but past experience shows people regard it as an old brand from a different era, and are not interested in owning a Commodore these days.

Bananarama are still a recognised band name, but their albums in the 00s flopped.   Recognition and desire to buy are very different.

[danwood]

There is value in a name and likeness. If the cards are played out right, former and current users will buy one. Current users will be a smallish number, former users could be a much greater number. It could also appeal to people who appreciate the retro look.
 
Do what I am doing, sit back and enjoy the show as a casual observer. You will witness one of two things.
 
1) Rebirth of a brand name and identity.
2) A spectacular failure on a big stage for the world to see.

I'm not convinced there is value in the name/likeness in 2011.  It's seen as a brand of the 80s, I think what's been mistaken here is nostalgia "aww man I loved my Amiga/C64, playing Sensi Soccer and Golden Axe lol!" dreaming of long summers as a kid with your friends.

In the same way people might reminisce about being into Rick Astley, or New Kids and wearing parachute pants and rara skirts, nostalgic memories are one thing, people look back fondly on them, but it doesn't mean they want a wardrobe full of shoulder pads and miami vice suits 30 years on.

[digitex]

Hmmn a bunch of comments from people who are assuming the Amiga is "back" and the C64 is "back" who will probably be very disappointed when they find out that it's just the same as the Windows Pc they already have.

Doesn't really explain it to me, they are not bringing the Amiga back, the Amiga is/was a platform, the same as Windows/Unix/Mac/ST, this is a Windows platform machine with an Amiga badge.

So again, who are they aiming at?  PC users who want an 80s case?

The Amiga is much more than a machine..it is first and foremost an iconic BRAND!!! And how can you call our products a Windows platform, when we don't even promote or sell it with any MS s/w?
It is very clear that the only people who will be disappointed are the handful of members here, who refuse to open their minds to any change. All 68 of them, which is the average # of viewers online here, compared to the thousands and tens of thousands who are following our efforts to bring back to life a nearly dead corpse, who has been kept in hibernation for the last decade.
And as for who we are marketing to, tune in tonight at 12"01 AM EST, and find out.

[digitex]

or the VW Beetle, now undergoing it's third rebirth as a 2012 model..which IMHO, is gorgeous!

[Kronos]

I guess the same people who are buying FIAT 500s and getting this

Ah people who buy an overpriced and less functional Fiat Panda and are than suprised that it's still typical italian quality (read that car sucks donkey rear)....

The pseudo retro blitz will only get you that far, unless your product is good enough to stand on it's own (if BMW had named the Mini "0-series" combined with a modern  looking body-kit, it would still be a success cos it's actually a quite good sporty small car).

So no, putting a bottom end PC into a retro case that has serious useability-issues  isn't gonna sell wll once the blitz is over.

[danwood]

The Amiga is much more than a machine..it is first and foremost an iconic BRAND!!!

The reason it was an iconic brand was because of the hardware/software it ran.  When I was 9 years old and drooled over the Amiga in catalogues it wasn't because of the name, it was because of the mind-blowing graphics and seeing demos and games in stores that blew me away.

And how can you call our products a Windows platform, when we don't even promote or sell it with any MS s/w?

I've yet to see which, if any OS will be shipped, so you won't be offering Windows 7 as an option on your PCs?   Make no mistake though, these are IBM PC/Wintel machines you're selling, they're a development/descendant of the "PC" platform, not the Amiga platform.

Even if the Amiga did go x86 and was still around, it would be running it's own custom software and run specific Amiga apps, like the Mac, probably with some proprietary hardware too.

These machines are what we call "PCs" today and what we called "PCs" in the 80s, machines that ran DOS now run Windows, they're not Amigas, nothing close, and the comments on most of the links above seem to be from people who remember the Amiga with fond nostalgia, and probably are bored of their PCs/Windows boxes and are expecting a rebirth of the Amiga platform, when this is no such thing.

CUSA fans may berate AmigaOne/OS4, but at least they run the Amiga platform and are direct descendants of the Amiga in many ways, they still run a lot of Amiga apps and do things in the Amiga way, these CUSA machines don't because they are descendants of the IBM PC platform, not the Amiga.

[danwood]

So no, putting a bottom end PC into a retro case that has serious useability-issues  isn't gonna sell wll once the blitz is over.

At the risk of being overly harsh, dunno about you, but if any of my non-retro buddies walked into my place and saw a Commodore 64 sitting on my desk, they'd probably laugh and be like "you loser lol" while sitting down and playing with their iPad.

It's not a cool case design for the general public.

[number6]

If the Commodore brand had such good ranking, why have half a dozen bigger companies (Escom, Tulip etc.) failed over the last 15 years?  Plus they were actually released in the 90s/early 00s when people still remembered Commodore as a brand.  Even closer to now, the Commodore Gaming PC rigs of 2007-2009 also failed.  Did he not use this very valuable research?

Yeahronimo and Tulip were literally at war the entire time, and I've written extensively about that history on AW.
You saw the result of the Amiga Inc. vs Hyperion war as well, and how that affected development, so you have here example of both past and present endeavors and why they end up the way they do.
Commodore Gaming...erm...you mean another one that claimed to be the "licensor", when they were proven not to be.
See the parallels here, as in "legalities"?
Add the quick withdrawal of C=USA from the idea of using AROS, strictly based on possible legal interference with business, and you might see they are trying to avoid the principal C=/clones pitfall of the past...legal shenanigans that could interfere with their right to succeed or fail on their on merits.

Now, as to why no immediate approach to the community. Well, they did, in respect to AROS, and I just commented about that.
Amiga OS and MorphOS...they've not seen a market there and have decided to launch off a proven brand name.
Again, this does not mean they don't have some inkling of a desire to put some of what you and I think of as "amigalike" or "amiga heritage" into their endeavor.
This just means that they HAD to start somewhere with a launch that makes sense from a financial standpoint.

This is just my opinion, viewing this from the outside mind you.

#6

[redrumloa]

I'm not convinced there is value in the name/likeness in 2011. It's seen as a brand of the 80s, I think what's been mistaken here is nostalgia "aww man I loved my Amiga/C64, playing Sensi Soccer and Golden Axe lol!" dreaming of long summers as a kid with your friends.
 
In the same way people might reminisce about being into Rick Astley, or New Kids and wearing parachute pants and rara skirts, nostalgic memories are one thing, people look back fondly on them, but it doesn't mean they want a wardrobe full of shoulder pads and miami vice suits 30 years on.

Do you remember how well the "New Beetle" sold when it was launched? The New Beetle had nothing to do with the original VW Bug except a vague likeness. The New Beetle was essentially a VW Golf with a 20-30% markup over the Golf.

[WolfToTheMoon]

If the Commodore brand had such good ranking, why have half a dozen bigger companies (Escom, Tulip etc.) failed over the last 15 years?

AHAAA! Now we're getting to the point... Good question. Maybe because their modus operandi was too much like Commodore's? Maybe because they were not really in sync with the market? Maybe because they sold non-competitive products? Or maybe all of the above.

Ah people who buy an overpriced and less functional Fiat Panda and are  than suprised that it's still typical italian quality (read that car  sucks donkey rear)....

well, they can't keep up with demand so they must be doing something right.
BTW, my family has the original and the new 500.

[danwood]

Yeahronimo and Tulip were literally at war the entire time, and I've written extensively about that history on AW.

True, the Commodore brand was jumping back and forth, but even before them Escom were selling Commodore branded PCs for a couple of years, in most of the high-street stores, they failed.  Heck, even Commodore couldn't shift Commodore branded PCs in the late 80s/early 90s, in-fact their move into PCs is often attributed as one of their financial disasters that eventually killed them.

If you couldn't market/sell Commodore PCs in 1988-1997 (when they were still a global mainstream player) I fail to see how you can in 2011, personally.

[redrumloa]

 
I wonder what these numbers will be after people start opening their TRON DVD?