Amiga CD32

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

The Amiga CD32 is a game console made by Commodore International, which was both the last game console and overall product released by the company. It was released in Europe, Australia, Canada and Brazil around 1993. The system was one of the first 32-bit consoles, and had similar specifications to the Amiga 1200 computer; it could be upgraded to a mini-1200 of sorts using an additional hard drive, RAM, keyboard, floppy drive, and mouse. The console did well in the United Kingdom, selling 100,000 units during its brief lifetime, but the release of other CD consoles such as the 3DO, Sega CD and later the PlayStation, as well as its library of just 71 games (almost none of which were well-known titles or particularly acclaimed), decreased its performance. Making matters worse, the Amiga CD32's American release was cancelled due to unpaid patent royalties (though some American stores sold it as an import). The European sales weren't enough to save Commodore, who at the time were dealing with multiple troubles, and on April 29, 1994, the console was discontinued and Commodore declared bankruptcy.

Logo (September 16, 1993-April 29, 1994)


Visuals: Set in space, a compact disc flies down from the right side of the screen to the center. The word "CD", in a silver Eurostile font, then twirls into place above the disc as "AMIGA" (in the corporate font) and "32" (also in Eurostile) fade in via rainbow-colored celestial lights above and below the CD. Once finished, "AMIGA" and "32" turn rose. The logo continues to loop with different celestial light animations, as well as the shining of the CD and "CD". When a disc is loaded in, the background fades to black barring the logo, and "CD" starts spinning again, signaling that it's reading the disc. When it finishes, it moves to the right to push off "32", and flies to the left, wiping away "AMIGA".

Variants:

  • If you turn the system on with a disc already inside, it starts with the 2nd half.
  • An unused prototype variant exists on pre-production units. The logo starts on a different space background, complete with zooming stars, and "AMIGA" appears via the celestial lights like before, only turning red with a white drop shadow after it finishes. Then, a disc that's cut out to resemble "CD" flies in from the right and rests in the middle, spinning while on its way. "32" then fades in and glows in a different red font, and the celestial lights come back for a bit. The logo loops with the celestial light, which have only the single animation, and "AMIGA" shining with the rainbow gradient from time to time.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A twinkling chime sounder at the beginning, culminating in a synthesized orchestra fanfare (like an old Pokémon episode title card). It remains silent for the rest of the time.

Availability: Seen when an Amiga CD-32 is turned on.

Legacy: Music and visual wise, many that grew up with it consider it an advanced logo for it's time.

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