Random Access

MAKING SENSE OF THE PRICE WARS: In the wake of Texas Instrurr1ents1 $100 rebate on the TI 99/4A home computer and Atari’s $150 software giveaway (for purchasers of the Atari 400), many consumers are working themselves into a frenzy not Seen since the Great Calculator Price Wars of the mid-‘70s. Yes, We’ve finally reached that confusing moment when the prices of home computers are being slashed to levels comparable to those of VCS machines with add-ons. In other words, there’s a glut of hardware in the $199-$399 range and it’s difficult to decide whether to upgrade your Odyssey² or just say, “Forget about it,” and buy a full-fledged computer like the Commodore VIC-20 or the aforementioned products from TI and Atari.

While it’s important to keep abreast of the late-breaking news regarding price cuts, it’s even more important to know why you’re being offered all these gizmos at substantially reduced prices, before the advent of the Bic throwaway razors, there used to be a marketing slogan that went, “Give away the razors and make your money on the razorblades.” And that is essentially what the computer companies are planning to do in 1993. The manufacturers’ profit margins on the CPUs (the “brains” of the computer) are pretty good to begin with. For example, Radio Shack’s Color Computer—now selling for around $399—reportedly costs just under $200 to produce. Many industry insiders estimate that Commodore’s VIC-20 costs as little as $90 to produce, so look for that machine’s list price to come down steadily…

NEC ADDS “DEADLINE”: Today’s private eyes are cut from the Magnum P.I. mold rather than Humphrey Bogart material, but that won’t stop you from enjoying the 194Ds-style mystery game called Deadline, now available on NEC PC-8000 home computers as well as the Apple II (48K required). Unless you’ve spent a good deal of time hanging out in San Francisco pool halls, it’ll probably take you at least 12 hours to solve this top-notch whodunit. Suggested retail price for the NEC version is $49.75…

SICKO SOFTWARE: All you computerists who have 48K memory have probably noticed a sudden abundance of computer games that are psychotic enough to have been written by the Manson Gang. This month’s Antisocial Award goes to a game called Firebug (Muse, $24.95), which has to do with arsonists and their victims trapped in burning buildings. Then there’s Pig Pen (Datamost, $29.95), where the slow-of-hand get gored to death by rampaging wild boars. If you’re needing an occasional break from all the violence, reach for Beer Run (Sirius, $29.95), a game which makes the quest for a stinkin’ six-pack seem almost as noble as climbing Mt. Everest!

Now don’t get us wrong—we’re not crying out for computerized versions of “College Bowl” and other scholarly software. We just want some reassurance that our games software is being written in Silicon Valley offices, not in federal penitentiaries!…

32K-MART: Everyone is getting into computers these days. That’s the hardware and the software of it. And K-Mart is no different. The discount chain now offers four lines of home computers. There among the polyester you’ll find Sinclair/Timex, Atari, Commodore and Texas Instruments…

HOW GOOD IS SINCLAIR SOFTWARE?: The Sinclair ZX81 and Timex TS 1000 are selling at such a blistering pace internationally that it makes you wonder whether Sinclairmania will be this decade’s version of Beatlemania. Even though “Uncle” Clive Sinclair is chairman of the British chapter of MENSA (an organization of people with IQ’s of 145 and over), there are some critics who feel that Sinclair software isn’t being written by geniuses. Our opinion is that the jury is still out. Game software for the Sinclair is lagging far behind Atari and Apple and Sinclair’s intergalactic-game arsenal would put even Harrison Ford to sleep. But if Sinclair programmers can start writing games that are more exciting, they’ll begin to gain ground on the folks from Apple and Atari…