From: cinnanum@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Philip Crain)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: First Report from Dusseldorf !!!!!
Date: 22 Aug 92 21:10:25 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center


 
 GEnie/Z*NET NEWS REPORT
 Copyright 1992 by GEnie, ST RoundTables, and Z*Net News Service
 
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 Z*NET NEWS SERVICE
 8/21/92
 
 
 
 FIRST REPORT FROM DUSSELDORF
 ----------------------------
 
 Nathan Potechin of DMC Publishing, Inc., filed this first report of
 the huge Atari show in Germany.  The information came via telephone
 from the floor of the Atari Messe ("Fair") in Dusseldorf, Germany, and
 was transcribed by John Nagy of the Z*Net News Service at Nathan's
 request, and has been uploaded by Z*Net to GEnie.  This news
 release may be reprinted, excerpted, or re-posted on any other
 telecommunication service ONLY with this notice intact.  The Atari
 Roundtables on GEnie are *official* information services of Atari
 Corporation.


 ------------------------------------------
 ATARI AT ATARI MESSE - THE NEW WAVE BEGINS
 ------------------------------------------
 
 Every year, Atari holds a huge trade show in Dusseldorf, Germany. 
 Spanning roughly four football fields of floor space, the show this
 year is similar in size and attendance to last year's event.
 
 The announcement of the Falcon 030 to the largest Atari show in the
 world was the first order of business.  According to Nathan Potechin,
 "there are Falcons all over the floor of the show, in almost every
 booth."  Clearly, the nearly-accurate profile of the coming machine
 offered by most of the Atari media across the last months was not
 missed by the showgoing Atari Messe audience, and the excitement in
 the crowd was high as they saw it firsthand.
 
 Many vendors had new applications that expose the power and features
 that are new on the Falcon 030.  DMC Publishing (Calamus) again had
 the largest booth on the floor, spanning 4,000 square feet with about
 40 people working in it alone.  Other large booths included TMS,
 Matrix, 3k, and Maxxon.  Many new products were shown, and we will
 report on them in detail in a later release.
 
 MARKETING PLANS, PRICE FOR FALCON IN USA
 
 The hottest news at 5:00 PM Friday evening in Germany after the close
 of the first day of Atari Messe was the unveiling not only of the
 Falcon, but of the plans that Atari has to market the new machine in
 the USA.
 
 The "base" Falcon 030 will retail for $799 in the USA in a one-
 megabyte configuration.  The next option up the scale will be a four-
 megabyte RAM with 65 megabyte hard drive Falcon at $1,399.
 
 Sam Tramiel told dealers and developers at an afternoon meeting that
 the US launch will begin immediately with regional marketing build-
 ups.  Individual regions of the USA will be targeted, one at a time,
 with major "dog and pony shows" to both woo and educate computer
 dealers.  "Serious" co-op advertising money will be offered to dealers
 who join in the roll-out.  Once enough regions are served by an
 operating dealer network, Atari will launch a national advertising
 campaign.
 
 Industry observers suggest that this plan will make the most of
 Atari's cash and production resources.  By serving a small but growing
 dealer network with product, on-board Falcon dealers can be more
 assured of delivery of product during the build-out stages of the
 plan.  Dealers will help and be helped in promotional costs, enabling
 Atari to make a bigger splash in smaller ponds with less of their own
 money, and allowing Atari's resources to go towards increasing
 production of Falcon computers.  As production and sales increase, so
 will revenues with which to attack new regions.  Meanwhile, Falcon
 specific software will mature and present a solid base for the later
 national marketing efforts.
 
 More details from Germany will be coming later in the weekend.  Look
 for more special reports on GEnie, a service of GEnie and the Z*Net
 News Service.
 
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