Amstrad GX4000: A Brief Overview

The Amstrad GX4000

Amstrad is an England-based electronics manufacturer founded by Lord Alan Sugar in 1968 which originally produced affordable Hi-Fi's and TV's throughout the 1970s and early 80s. The Amstrad name is never bore on electronics nowadays as they have been manufacturing Sky Interactive boxes since the 2000s, but the company was once popular during the British home computer explosion of the 1980s

In 1984, Amstrad, seeking another market to profit from, released the CPC (Colour Personal Computer) and would release variants of the system in the following years. With the success of the CPC, the company had become an established giant in the home computer market alongside Commodore and Sinclair, who were battling it out in steady competition prior to the CPC's release.

Amstrad CPC 464

In 1986, Amstrad purchased the rights to sell and manufacture the ZX Spectrum range from Sinclair Research with the brand names intact. With this, the ZX Spectrum +2 and +3 models saw release later on in the 1980s but by then, the appetite for home computers was beginning to fade away with the re-emergence of consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Master System. Some slight variants of the Spectrum models, the +2A, +2B and +3B, were also produced. More information on those specific models can be found over on the ZX Spectrum's Wikipedia article.

ZX Spectrum +2 128K

 To initiate a fresh start in the ailing home computer market, Amstrad launched the CPC Plus series in 1990, along with its first and only attempt to break in to the console market: The GX4000. The system was essentially a Plus crammed into a console shell, only with a standard controller in place of a keyboard. It also had a small dedicated library of games but was compatible with Plus titles.

Unfortunately for the former home computer great, the 8-bit GX4000 was no match for the Sega Mega Drive and Super NES, both of which were spearheading the 16-bit era of gaming, and thus was forced to take a seat in the back row and wallow in its obsolete status while the console giants fought it out. The CPC Plus range didn't receive much fanfare at all and the GX4000 went virtually unheard of upon release, receiving very little coverage or support in magazines and other forms of media at the time. Shortly after its release, stores were selling it for only £30. The plug was pulled just a year after it hit the shelves.

CPC 464 Plus

It isn't all doom and gloom for the GX4000, however, as it appears to have become a revered treasure among collectors since then, with some enthusiastically praising its obscurity. It has also received some degree of favourable coverage in the Retro Gamer magazine over the years. While it may have failed to take on the console giants of the time, it lives on as an obscure darling among its owners and dedicated collectors.

Amstrad pulled out of the home computer and console market altogether following the Plus and GX4000's failure to pique consumer interest. Regardless, the Amstrad name is far from forgotten in the hearts of those who played the hours away on its computers back in the day.