The CD32 went on the market in August '93 and since that day has
sold more than 75,000 units.  It was the first 32bit console ever, and
hopes were extremely high.  It was perceived as the machine that would
either destroy Commodore, or return it to some of it's former glory.  It
was Commodore's first entry into the console market since the days of the
C-16 console.  Although greeted with great enthusiasm by the press,
existing Amiga users were much more sceptical.  After spending many
years trying to convey the Amiga as something more than a games machine,
it was felt that Commodore had gone and produced something of exactly
that nature.  It soon became apparant though that it was more than a
games machine, although Commodore did their best to cover this up, the
CD32 was an A1200 in disguise.
With the use of the  Microbotics SX1 Expansion Card, you can turn your
CD32 into an A1200, with the added bonus of a CD drive, and full CD32
game compatability.

By February 94, Gallup were reporting that CD32 software was the highest
selling product on the CD format, easily outselling both Sega Mega CD,
and PC CD ROM.  This is a trend which is set to continue with the
imminent arrival of some eagerly awaited games like TFX and Rise Of The
Robots.

As for existing Amiga owners who want to play CD32 games, well, there is
good and bad news.  A4000 owners will soon be able to buy a CD32 module
for their machine.  It will come with FMV on board, and will allow you
all the benefits of both worlds.  That it, quality applications, and
also very high quality games.  It will undoubtably open up the world of
CD based media to many users, as all ISO960 standard CD's can be used.
It will allow Amiga users to access the already huge catalogue of
utilities etc that exist on CD, something which CD32 users will not be
able to do unless they purchase the SX1 add-on module.  The unit is
expected before the end of spring, and should not cost too much
considering that most of the needed chips are already on the 4000's
motherboard.
As for A1200's, there will not be CD32 compatability unless a third
party developer produces a unit.  Commodore have abandoned all work
concerning the unit due to too high production costs (the unit would
cost more than the CD32 itself), and the inability to have Full Motion
Video on-board.  A matter which Commodore feel is vitally important.

Anyway, that about covers everything on the rumour mill at the moment.
Future editions will deal with the matter of the Vapour-ware CD-64.
Will it ever exist?????  To find out, see the next issue of CD32Bits.