3 ms·
Of course PC's were expensive, but most people at the time bought PC's for those fancy new word processors and spreadsheets. A small price increase for added so
by bzzzt 4y ago
Of course PC's were expensive, but most people at the time bought PC's for those fancy new word processors and spreadsheets. A small price increase for added sound capability is an easier sell than a dedicated gaming console which also competes with the family TV. Also, PC games were effectively free due to widespread piracy.
IDK about the Soundblaster AdLib emulation, my first SB card had the same OPL-3 synth chip as was found on the original AdLib board so should sound about the same.
- vintermann 4y agoYes, in other words, IBM compatibles became a gaming platform by chance because of its success in the business world, not because of the FM sound. Piracy I think is a wash. Sure, it let us play more of the games that existed for the platform, but probably limited investment, in ports in particular. Yes, in the beginning Sound Blaster cards had the same chip, but eventually they switched to a clone/emulation. But quite possibly it didn't matter much, since most general midi soundtracks made so poor use of the chipset.
- bzzzt 4y agoI wouldn't underestimate the amount of PC enthousiasm generated by piracy in the late-80's and 90's, especially here in the EU where imported games were priced way above something kids could afford with pocket money. Didn't know about the OPL3 clones, agree it didn't matter much since by that time CD-ROM became common and most games got digital soundtracks instead of MIDI/synth stuff.
- adql 4y agoRight but every single other platform that had writable media(tapes/floppies) had plenty of piracy too. Nobody bought PC over Amiga "coz it's easier to pirate games"
- bzzzt 4y agoNope, people bought a PC because it was good for learning/office and they were even subsidised here. Amiga had a reputation for being more a kind of fancy game machine in the EU.
- vintermann 4y agoIf anything it would probably be the other way around, since all the major cracking groups started on Commodore computers.