The AGA Experience 2/agavol2.iso/software/diskmags/alg/alg_issue2/latest_escom.txt

Text File | 1995-07-24 | 17KB | 394 lines

             RESULTS OF THE ESCOM/U.S. DISTRIBUTOR MEETING
         HELD IN PHILADELPHIA, PA USA ON FRIDAY JULY 21, 1995

                      REPORTED BY SHANE R. MONROE
    REPRESENTING DARK UNICORN PRODUCTIONS AND BETTER CONCEPTS, INC
                       (EMail: [e-mail])

NOTE:  A NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT WAS ESTABLISHED AT THIS MEETING
AND THEREFORE CERTAIN ITEMS CANNOT BE DISCUSSED HERE.

This is Shane Monroe reporting on the conference held in Philly
regarding the distribution and pricing of the Amiga computer
platform in the United States.

I will organize this in several parts, so if there is a part that
you are not interested in you may skip over it by looking for the
next header flanked by asterisks.

                        ** WHO WAS THERE **

Those attending the conference are listed below.  The number of
representatives present is indicated by parenthesis.

Petro Tyschtschenko (1) - Senior Vice President Escom and General
                          Manager of Amiga Technologies.

Ed Goff (1) - Attorney, more or less leading the U.S. side of
              Amiga Technologies.  The man we have all grown to
              love over the last several months! ;)

Jeff (1; missed his last name) - Amiga Technologies' Engineer and
                                 the only one missing a tie.

Better Concepts, Inc. (3) - Hardware/Software dealer

Software Hut (3) - Hardware/Software dealer

Lively Computers (2) - Hardware/Software dealer

Micropace (1) - Hardware/Software dealer

Metropolitan Computers (1) - Hardware/Software dealer

CEI (2) - Hardware/Software/Misc. Amiga dealer/distributor

Centaur Development (2) - Makers of the Opalvision and the most
                          verbose people at the table.

Several companies that were invited didn't make it, according to Mr.
Goff.  Most of the presentation was given by Petro with commentary
by Ed and Jeff.  Lively & Software Hut were very quiet for the most
part, while Alex Amor of CEI seemed to be the meeting referee to
keep us on topic as the day went on.  Micropace had quite a bit to
say, as did Metropolitan.  The most input came from Centaur
Development who spoke a great deal of the time.  Better Concepts Inc
(BCI) also had a lot to say and generated a lot of comment (as well
as I think a bit of hate and discontent! ;)

                   ** WHAT WAS SAID (OVERVIEW) **

The meeting was really quite open ended, especially after lunch.
The better part of the morning was taken with a very interesting
overview of ESCOM as well as a round-the-table introduction of
everyone present.  A few jokes passed, like some of my previous
comments about him when Ed introduced himself.

We then discussed configuration of the new Amiga 4000T and started
talking about everyone's favorite topic:  price.  Petro solicited a
price from the attendee's and we talked a little about other Amiga
4000T related topics, as well as other machine distribution.

We broke for lunch and returned to have Petro get to the meat of the
meeting and give the distributors a "how do you say it? Bottom of
the line?" price of the machines.

We then discusses numbers of units the attendee's believed could be
sold and gave input in that general topic.

CEI made it VERY plain to this attendee that he was solely there for
the distribution information of the A4000T and really didn't care a
lot about the other topics and didn't want anyone not having some
volume buying power to be involved in the remainder of the meeting.
At that point, distributors interested (and capable) in signing a
distributor contract made appointments to speak with Petro alone
later.

This is where BCI's involvement ended at the meeting.  I doubt that
any of the distributors that stayed after this would be even
SLIGHTLY interested in discussing their end of the meeting, so this
is more or less where the meeting ended.

           ** THE AMIGA 4000T'S FUTURE IN THE U.S. **

I will bring this topic up first, since this seems to be the
question on everyone's lips.  Here are the common questions and the
answers that *I AM ALLOWED TO GIVE*.  None of these are falsehoods,
but on the other hand are as vague as I have to be to keep from
breaking the NDA.

1. Will Amiga 4000T be available in the U.S. for sure?

A. At this point, yes they will.  I think that the major point of
this meeting was to determine the very future of the machine in the
U.S.  Based on the response from the attendee's, I believe
production will continue and machines will indeed be available.

2. When will they be available?

A. The first week of September is what was said.

3. How many will be made?

A. Unknown at this time.  I imagine that has a lot to do with how
many the distributors told Petro they could move.  Petro mentioned
the number 20,000.  I believe that there will be a good deal ready
to go by September.  Pre-sales will have a lot to do with it also, I
bet.

4. Will they be available to everyone or just video guru's and big
companies?

A. The distributors seemed to have plans to sell them to any dealer
who wanted them, so companies like BCI, Software Hut, etc. should be
carrying them.

5. How much!!!!?????

A. The question on everyone's lips, isn't it?  It is also one of the
very few bits of information I cannot divulge.  The bottom of the
truth is this.  Distributors and dealers will be determining the
final costs.  Everyone at the table was revealed the 'distributors
price' for the A4000T (that is NOT negotiable and volume will have
no impact on).  Without disclosure, I can tell you that every person
at the table could *very easily* live with the quoted price (and
they were ALL really pissed at the $3500 tag too).  That should help
you a bit.  The street price, in my humble opinion, will be under
$3000 but I cannot be quoted.  It is out of everyone but the
distributor's hands.

6. Specifications???

A. Another big question.  Here is the layout.  A4000T with an 040 or
060 processor, 512 MB or gig drive (this changed throughout the day,
so I never got it quite right - assume it is a half gig), with 6
megs of RAM.  Basically, what we already knew.

7. Is the bottle-necked memory handling of the original A4000 still
there?

A. Unfortunately so.  However, it was my impression that the 060
board would rectify that problem.

8. Who is making the 060 card?  Is it a Cyberstorm?

A. This was not disclosed to the group and no one asked.

9. Is it the machine we are seeing on the Internet and in the latest
Amazing Computing?

A. No sir.  The machine that is going around in picture is what I
would call an Artist's Rendition and it is NOT what the machine
actually looks like.  Apparently the real machine is in a converted
PC tower case.  The interesting thing I heard was that the turbo
button normally used for the PC is now an audio cutout switch.

10. Why the hell is this machine costing more now than an A4000 did
at the end of the Commodore reign?

A. This is the answer we got over and over again.  This is also the
answer to the 'why are the CD32s sitting in Philly being sold for
$400?' question.  The parts being put together just cost that much.
This is what Jeff and Ed continued to tell us (mainly BCI who just
can't believe it still) about the price tag.  Apparently they are
going into the old Phillipean factory and pulling certain parts off
the motherboards for the newer model.  Price, I suspect, will go
down after the first 6-12 months or so, when the ramp up costs are
paid, etc.

11. Where are they being made?

A. They are all being made and assembled here in the U.S.  As of
now, the European market is not interested in the machine and Petro
says that there are no orders placed there for the A4000T.  If the
machine IS brought in to Europe, they will be made in U.S.A. and
assembled in Europe.

GENERAL INFO

The feeling I got was that the entire party was mainly interested in
getting A4000T's to the people who already own Amigas and want more
power or for existing Amiga 4000s who need the space.  The primary
reason for this feeling is that there are to be ZERO dollars spent
on advertising in the U.S. by ESCOM/AT.  Absolutely none.  This was
said by Petro himself.  If this doesn't scare you, it should.
However, NONE of the rest of the attendees other than BCI seemed to
give a single care to this lack of marketing.  Jeff even said that
there was no way we could possibly take on the PC market.  Pretty
bad when your own engineer says there is no chance.  This leads me
to believe that the Amiga platform in the U.S. will remain a very
isolated and unrespected niche market and once the demand is filled
for immediate needs, that the market here will simply die.  I could
be wrong but that is how I see it.

All attempts by myself and BCI to improve the machine's
configuration to bring it to the 90's failed.  The addition of even
a cheap 2x speed CD-ROM STANDARDIZED into the Amiga 4000T failed
miserably.  I don't understand why these guys aren't interested in
entering the 90's generation.  Adding the equipment as an addition
later won't demonstrate a commitment to the machine's future.
Again, my humble opinion.

                           ** THE A1200 **

This meeting was directed mainly at the A4000T in U.S.A. but at the
same time, we have a lot of info here for you on the A1200 as well.
Again, we will put it in Q&A form.

1. Is the U.S. going to get A1200s?

A. This was the most infuriating part of the conference.  Ed said
"There is no market in the U.S. for A1200s".  Jeff and seemingly
Petro seemed to agree.  To this, BCI told all of them they needed to
come to our offices and answer the phone for about a week and then
tell us again that there is no market.  This wasn't well received.
In any event, there are no plans to bring this machine to the U.S.
Ed assured us that if we needed machines we could get them, but the
overall impression was that there is not going to be anything done
with it here.  Sad.

2. Are there any new specs for the A1200?

A. Well, we all got to look at the new tech sheets (which was neat),
but alas, there were all in German.  My poor German seemed to tell
me that the machine was the same configuration as before.

3. How many are to be made?

A. The number of 100,000 was put out.  40,000 of which have ALREADY
been sold (to whom was not revealed).  Basically, it is assumed that
30,000 or so are for Germany, 30-40,000 for U.K., and 10,000 for
Italy.

4.  Where are they being built?

A. This will likely be new news for most of you.  They are being
made in a factory near Bordeaux, France.  The company who owns it,
SELECTRON (if I understood his pronunciation) is a U.S. based
company that has factories all over the world.  Interesting note is
that this factory also makes Silicon Graphics workstations too, as
well as lots of other things from dental parts to automobile parts.
The factory is handling every aspect of the A1200s including
assembly, boxing, etc. etc.  ESCOM has a sweet deal there, and IMHO,
will not be changing anytime soon.

5.  The cost?

A.  Not mentioned at the meeting.

6.  Where will they be available and when?

A. September, as the A4000T.  They are planned to be in over 1200
stores throughout Europe (a breakdown was shown, but that isn't
really important here).  They will also be available in very popular
catalogs that have everything from frying pans to electronics in
them.  The European market will be SATURATED with A1200s.  I love
it.  At least the U.K. developers (you listening OCEAN and TEAM
17???) will have a good reason to stay/come back.

7. What is the word on the A1200CD unit that C= U.K. halted
production on before it was released?

A. Not a priority (take that however you want to; I know how *I* am
taking it).  There was a mostly working prototype at the end, but
the lack of FMV adaptability (and other things, I suspect) stopped
it from hitting the market.  Don't expect to ever see it, so stop
waiting and get a Squirrel and drive 3rd party.

8. What about the A1300, and 030 based A1200s, etc.?

A. Not divulged at the meeting.  I really doubt that they exist at
this time.

GENERAL INFO

The A1200, IMHO, will be a landmark success with the ESCOM chain and
marketing power there in Europe (they send out almost 40 MILLION
what they call high-flyers to the public every year for
advertising).  They owned over 50% of the Pentium market for their
PC based side.  These guys are rocking over there and what they tell
the market to buy, the market will buy.  Damn shame it isn't
happening over here.

As for the end of the A1200 in U.S.A., get your comments and letters
ready and send them to me and I will forward them to Mr. Goff.
Perhaps then they will see.  The attractive price tag and
performance of the A1200 (especially with some RAM and a nice drive)
is exceptional.  This is the market I think they should break open
the U.S.A. with and I told them all so.  Negative.

                             ** CD32 **

God, this is the worst part of all.  Q&A time.

1. How many CD32s are we looking at getting this year?

A. Absolutely none.  Zilch.  "No market for the CD32" either.  This
is both U.S. and Europe.  I really like the CD32 and I will miss the
development for it dearly.  Even with the 70,000+ units that have
been sold, I doubt that there will be much more use for it.  Ed said
that it isn't dead, but 'not a priority'.  Figure it out.

2. So I should just throw my machine out the door?

A. No, there is still the SX-1 avenue to get a basic A1200 and you
can always network it to your existing Amiga (or even the new A4000T
since they won't make a CD-ROM in it).  I would suspect support for
another 6 months at best (Dark Unicorn Productions has several
projects on the way so there will be at least one developer -
blatant advertising plug).  I just hope more developers will take
the CD-ROM route and force Amiga people to get CD-ROM drives to be
competitive.  You guys like Softwood and Digita need to take note.

3. What about the 'new' CD32 we were told about in 1st Quarter 1996?

A. As Norman Bates' mother would say "Its ALL LIES!".  According to
Jeff, there is no new CD32 on the shelf, nor was there ever.  The
Amiga console days are PROBABLY over (read on).

4. What is all this talk about CD32s for kiosk use?

A. This seems to be the only thing ESCOM is willing to admit the
CD32 is good for.  I believe that they will continue to make the
boards for the CD32 if nothing else for this purpose.

5. Who is Visacorp and what do they have to do with the CD32?

A. You can read about this company and their plans in detail in
Amiga Report Issue 313.  The only thing wrong with this article
(sorry Jason), is that there is NO OFFICIAL licence yet.  There are
discussions only at this point.  The basic thing is that Visacorp
will be making a set top box with some very exciting features out of
the CD32 box.  Apparently a prototype is completed.  Every developer
should contact them and see what we can do to support them in this
endeavor.  They are likely to be the only one's successful in the
U.S. with Amiga technology.

GENERAL INFO

For those of you who know me well, you realize that this was the
most depressing part of the meeting.  The CD32 while CURRENTLY isn't
up to snuff with the latest consoles had a lot of selling points.
In its early days, it could have owned the market. Now...Sigh.
After all, CD-I is still selling.

                    ** Interesting Points **

Here are some very interesting tidbits I picked up from the
conference.  Take a peek.

1. Alex Amor told us that NewTek is no longer going to be making the
Video Toaster for the Amiga once the current 140 or so are sold.
This is due to lack of certain parts (you buy that crap?) and Alex
said that they are working with NewTek to reverse this game plan.
Until then, if you ever wanted one, you better get it now.

2. Centaur Development stated that the Video Processor/Roaster chip
is DONE and ready to go, pending the results of the conference and
the outlook for the future of the Amiga.  ALthough they didn't say
it, I believe that it will indeed ship now that there is a
commitment to the A4000T's future.  This should healthily assume the
position of the Video Toaster in U.S. and Europe.

3. FMV seems to be a dead issue.  Unless the third party developers
such as CEI and the unknown U.K. company I mentioned in my previous
periodicals continue development on FMV cards (looking unlikely now,
eh?), FMV is an entirely dead issue.  The rumored FMV Zorro
compatible card of C= is also 'low priority' although a working
prototype exists/existed, I doubt it will ever see the light of day.

4. Petro had the most best hotel room of all with no windows...

5. Service Management Group, the people responsible for some of the
excellent service we received with the Amiga's past warranty
service, will once again be handling warranty and repair service for
ALL Amigas, including the new A4000T.  Parts for the older machines
should be available soon.


That is about it.  If you all have any other questions, feel free to
send them to my EMail address at the top of this document.

                                    Shane Monroe, DUP/BCI