COLOUR!
Welcome to an all-singing all-dancing
real colour version of PAGE 6! To celebrate Atari's new machines we have
thrown caution to the wind to produce an issue which may well become a
collectors item! Treasure it. You may never see another like it! There
again if Atari can produce and market the new machines as well as they
can design them, who knows? We may finally see the British public,
retailers and press take proper notice of Atari and you may at last be
able to read about your Atari and buy software other than through PAGE
6. There are strong rumours at present that THE ATARI USER will be
launched soon, possibly with Atari's backing, and that it will be
available nationally through your newsagent. If it comes to pass, and I
hope it does, then I wish it every success. Even though it may be
competition for PAGE 6 I am sure that we will all benefit from the
increased awareness it will bring. I am glad somebody is willing to take
the gamble. 1985 looks like it may well turn out to be the most exciting
year for Atari owners since that amazing Atari 400 burst on the scene a
few years ago.
Thank you to everybody who returned the
Readers Poll and Survey from the last issue and there were hundreds of
you. The Survey confirms suspicions that very few Atari owners bother to
read the U.K. computing press with only two magazines getting more than
a 50% readership and of that the majority being occasional only.
Computer & Video Games comes out as a clear favourite, despite
dropping Atari listings in recent issues, with a 36% regular readership.
The next most popular has only a 14% regular readership and from there
on it is downhill all the way with between 50% and 90% of you who NEVER
bother! It is no wonder that many people who have advertised software or
products for the Atari over the past couple of years have sunk without
trace or gone on to other pastures. There are (supposed to be) hundreds
of thousands of Atari owners in the U.K. but the big problem has always
been reaching them. Maybe the answer lies in the hands of Atari
themselves who could take a leaf out of Acorn's tree. The BBC machine
has an independent users magazine (not a patch on PAGE 6!) which BBC
buyers have been made aware of through a card included with every
machine. The result is a 20,000 circulation and the opportunity for many
small companies to advertise at reasonable rates to a committed
readership. If they can reach their customers, small companies grow into
big companies and so a whole range of support for a machine grows up.
Now with a 20,000 circulation you could have colour every issue!
We were fortunate recently to acquire a
goodly supply of Atari games and applications packages and will
therefore be giving these away over the coming year to contributors and
in competitions. Look out for how you can increase your software
collection in this and future issues.
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