Already the trade is talking about price cuts being needed on Amiga software if it is not to go down the toilet. Users need to keep their Amigas active. The machine's main weapon against consoles Is its versatility, but if games-playing remains a part of its appeal, so much the better. At the moment, all the ‘must have' games are on Sega or Nintendo machines. Not the best games necessarily, but the biggest even though some such as Streetfighter 2 do filter through to the Amiga eventually. ON THE WHOLE, however, this is not a battleground where Amiga games can feel comfortable - Zoo versus Sonic! They've stopped taking bets. So, the Amiga market must concentrate on quality and value. Some of the best programmers in the world still write some of the most original games on offer specifically for the Amiga. That's quality taken care of. But value? Well £30 is a tad pricey. It's not that much less than cartridge games as Nintendo has a new average price point of £39.99 and Sega has stepped up its commitment to 'budget' carts at under £20. Should Amiga publishers respond? Would lower prices revitalise the marketplace? Krisalis boss Tony Kavanagh says: "It's a dead issue". The Amiga floppy games market is, he insists, beyond saving. And this from a man enjoying a hit with Soccer Kid. “If we'd just relied on Amiga sales, we wouldn't have made any money.” This is because despite there being a total Amiga installed base of four million, sales of 50,000 of an Amiga game is exceptional, 10,000 constitutes a very big hit and 5,000 is acceptable. Kavanagh believes that "90 per cent of Amiga owners in the UK have Soccer Kid - and about one per cent paid for it over the counter".
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