So, as the CPC goes into its 30th year, I realised that the first dedicated CPC magazines appeared in January '85. Did Amstrad/Amsoft have anything out earlier than that to support the newly-launched 464? Were they just relying on third-party efforts? Here in Greece Amstrad Hellas launched their own magazine, but I don't know how soon after they got the dealreship...
There was issue 1 of CPCUSER which I think was given away at the launch of the CPC464, I bought issue 2 off the news stands the following month, I did get issue one later but I cannot remember how I got it.
I had a few Amstrad Computer Users from 1984 (was it Amstrad User then?), including that pamplet-mag with the 3D goblet type-in.
Amstrad did a good thing by creating Amsoft (was it 50 bits of software they wrote/ported?) and that magazine prior to the launch, to fix the chicken-and-egg issue that killed a lot of the other platforms that didn't get much software.
I am not sure of the name, it was 30 years ago! :laugh:
CPC464 User (later Amstrad Computer User) was the official Amstrad magazine and the first two issues were only available to members of the Amstrad User Club. The first issue (http://cpcwiki.eu/index.php/ACU_Issue_01_%28Aug/Sep_1984%29) is dated August/September 1984.
I bought Amstrad Action issue 4 around December 1984 as it had a covertape, and that got me into buying every issue after that until I sold my 464. I presume it was released monthly before that, so the first issue would have been September 84.
EDIT: oh, I just realised you wanted to know about "official" magazines...
@Ralferoo: December '84? Issue 1 was out on October '85! Amstrad Action - CPCWiki (http://cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Amstrad_Action),_Issue_1,_Oct_1985
(no, my question was not about official mags only, but it doesn't matter :) )
@Steve: Was CPC User the Amstrad CPC464 User, later ACU (Amstrad Computer User - CPCWiki (http://cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Amstrad_Computer_User))?
Thanks for the replies, guys. I must have been SERIOUSLY sleepy or on gin when I looked it up and missed that... Oh well. Feeling better now :D
I remember seeing Amstrad Action #1 in the local shop and it had a 100 game review or something on the cover of it so I choose not to buy cus I was into 'serious' computing that week :-[
Bought most of the rest of them, even had a letter printed a some point :laugh: [size=78%] [/size]
"Serious computing", eh? Was Amsword the first program you loaded? :D
Quote from: Gryzor on 21:27, 10 January 14
"Serious computing", eh? Was Amsword the first program you loaded? :D
You joke, but yeah, Tasword was the only tape to grace our 464 apart from the welcome tape until I got Amstrad Action issue 4. And I had to beg and plead for about a week to be allowed to try it out... :)
Once I'd made a dent into that iceberg though, I got to use the 464 more and more whenever it wasn't being used for serious things (my Dad was a freelancer copywriter) so just late evenings and weekends... until finally at some point it became more my machine than his... 8)
Before Amstrad Action commenced, there was another magazine called Personal Computer Games which dealt with numerous home computer systems and it was from that magazine a group of people decided to launch AA. Lots of people think AA was the first magazine to have a cover mounted covertape, though PCG actually gave away a covertape before AA even existed. I'm not sure if they were the first and I'm not sure if they had any Amstrad material on it, though because they were dealing with a number of computer systems, the tape would of no doubt had a range of programs for various computers.
Before the Amstrad started getting it's own dedicated magazines, there were magazines in 1984 which had Amstrad stuff in them, PCG I think had some stuff in it as did Your Computer, of course they weren't official Amstrad Publications, simply magazines which catered for a number of computer systems. I guess if anyone wanted to send their programs to those magazines they would publish them. In Australia "The Amstrad User" I think was the first Amstrad specific magazine which came out February 1985, though we also had our own edition of Your Computer and it's possible that other magazines like Australian Personal Computer (which are still going today), might of had Amstrad material in it, I certainly found signs of it in later editions of APC.
Quote from: Gryzor on 15:52, 09 January 14
@Steve: Was CPC User the Amstrad CPC464 User, later ACU (Amstrad Computer User - CPCWiki (http://cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Amstrad_Computer_User))?
Yeah, that's the one, my memory is ......... what was I saying?
LOL, and there was me thinking ACU was all serious and boring...
http://cpcwiki.eu/index.php/ACU_Issue_1 (http://cpcwiki.eu/index.php/ACU_Issue_1),_1984#The_Surprise_Listing
Looks like the formatting messes up, so you'll have to manually cut and paste the whole link...
Yeah at 12 I was already sick of Ronald On the Ropes :)
Quote from: ralferoo on 16:01, 12 January 14
LOL, and there was me thinking ACU was all serious and boring...
http://cpcwiki.eu/index.php/ACU_Issue_1 (http://cpcwiki.eu/index.php/ACU_Issue_1),_1984#The_Surprise_Listing
Looks like the formatting messes up, so you'll have to manually cut and paste the whole link...
Ooh, risqué!!! :D