A letter from CATS
11 messages in this thread
LETTER TO DEVELOPERS FROM JEFF SCHERB, COMMODORE'S VICE
PRESIDENT-COMMODORE APPLICATION AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT (CATS)
The following is a letter to developers from Jeff Scherb in response to an
erroneous report regarding the company's support for CDTV — the company's
CD-ROM product — currently in development.
August 9, 1990
Dear Developer:
A small news item appeared recently in Video Games and Entertainment
Magazine which had all of West Chester in quite an uproar. The headline was
"Commodore Pulls The Plug On Entertainment Software." This article claimed
that Commodore had recently sent letters to all entertainment software
houses currently developing software for the Amiga "game machine" (CDTV),
informing that we were concentrating not on entertainment, but only on
education.
NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. As you all know, the Amiga has
achieved the level of popularity it has (1.8 million machines as of June,
1990) because it is the best home entertainment and game machine on the
market, regardless of price. The main target audience for CDTV is the group
of adults who want to provide their families with interactive multimedia
information, education, and entertainment. Clearly, entertainment and game
software will be a key reason for buying the CDTV machine.
Gail Wellington and the entire CDTV crew are very interested in hearing
from you regarding development projects for CDTV. They are looking for
education, information, entertainment and game titles which will provide
compelling reasons for consumers to adopt this new technology.
As always, the applications will drive the market for the machine, and
Commodore is very interested in working with Amiga developers in exploring
this new market.
Sincerely,
Jeff Scherb,
Vice President Applications and Technical Support
Commodore Online Relations
Was this as big a tempest as one might think? It makes me wonder, when
CATS has nothing better to do than send out a letter to all developers,
reassuring us that Commodore really, really stands behind their game
developers. Can we expect CATS to defend every slur or misrepresentation
of Commodore? Sheesh.
I would imagine that some large game company which is developing for
CDTV gave Commodore a nasty phone call about the article and that spurred
them on.
— Ethan
Considering that Commodore lost money last quarter, think of the cost of
mailing that trash to all the developers. We get one or two mailings a
month. Include it with one of them at least.
-Greg
But Greg, don't you remember that *other* separate mailing, the one that
said CBM really has their act together, and that they're really supporting
their non-game developers?
Greg,
Figure there are about 3,000 developers, figure it costs perhaps $1
to mail a letter…but let's be generous and call it $2 just to err on the
side of safety. That'd make the mailing cost about $6,000.
Now figure your accountant said you lost 1.5 million last quarter,
would you be any happier if he said, "Whoops…it was only 1.494 million."
To be honest, I like getting these little tidbits from CATS because
it says they're interested in keeping the developers informed. That's
good.
Dtch on
it. Can anyone tell me if it's possible on my 500? And if yes, HOW?
Thank You.
P.S. I DO have the new Super Agnus!
Dave,
I wonder if you could post an address (E-Mail or Postal) for Gail. I am a
teacher (I run a gifted & talented program for grades 6-9) and have been
involved with personal computers since my first 4K (that's 4K not 4meg!)
TRS-80 Model I.
As a training exercise I am developing an Amigavision application on the
aces of World War One. This baby including all the original art,
animations, text, and sound files will weigh in at about 10-15megs when
finished (about 6 months)! So CDTV seems to be the best way to distribute
large AV applications. (Come on I know you guys had this in mind when you
released this puppy!) I also have ideas floating around in my head about
disection, microscope, and other simulations (I taught science before
switching to G/T). When these projects are close to being finished I would
like to explore distribution possibilities.
BTW as the project develops I will upload orignal art and animations here
to give all a taste of it, but unless CIS decides to give users some sort
of special rate for downloading huge AV applications, this will not be the
media used for their distribution.
-Paul-
Paul,
There is a way to send Email to the people at Commodore through CIS Email.
It goes something like:
>INTERNET:person@cbmvax.commodore.com
Problem is, I'm not really sure of Gail Wellington's machine name. You
might try
>INTERNET:gwellington@cbmvax.commodore.com
Your ideas sound great. I taught a class for gifted math students for many
years, and had developed many projects and presentations for that level. I
wish I could have had AMigaVision while I was doing them. Would have been
great fun.
.Betty
Thanks again Betty.
-Paul-
I heartily agree that the online services will want to rethink pricing
strategies for transfer of these soon-to-be massive files that'll be
popular. I think ISDN and optic fiber technology will go a long way toward
making that kind of thing more affordable, though. Best wishes for your
project!
=Tom=