Changes
/* The genesis of Arnold */ Amsoft>AMSOFT
This showed in two ways. Firstly, the CPC was a one-box solution: take it out the box, plug it in, and away you go. The tape drive was built in, so there was no more faffing around with adjusting volume levels before a game would load – standard practice on Sinclair’s machines. The power supply was in the dedicated monitor: the CPC’s competitors needed an external unit and the use of your telly. By selling the computer, tape deck and monitor combination together, Sugar’s baby commanded a higher price – higher profits – yet seemed good value to the customer.
Secondly, there was [[AmsoftAMSOFT]], Amstrad’s software arm. It didn’t program much itself, preferring to commission outside programming teams or small software houses. But it ensured that, when you bought a CPC, there was a ready- made library of games, educational programs, and even the odd word-processor to choose from. Instantly, the CPC had eclipsed the Enterprises and Lynxes, and was on a par with the Spectrum and C64. The less said about the actual games, the better.
And that, with one or two refinements, is the same CPC we know today. Expansion kits (disc drives, Amstrad-branded printers, serial interfaces and modems) followed in due course. The disc drive was soon incorporated into the main computer, resulting in the short-lived (but [[twiffic]]) [[664]] and the perennial [[6128]] – intended to spearhead Amstrad’s failed drive into the American market, but soon revived as the flagship CPC back home.
