Released in September 1993 in Europe, Australia, Canada, and Brazil, it was marketed as the "first" 32-bit games console and is essentially a keyboard-less Amiga 1200 personal computer without the I/O ports, but with the addition of a CD-ROM drive in place of floppy and a modified Advanced Graphics Architecture chipset for improved graphical performance.

[2] While it had sold middingly in European markets, the console was withdrawn from sale after only a short time as Commodore filed for bankruptcy in April 1994.

[3] Codenamed "Spellbound",[4] Commodore first announced the Amiga CD32 at the Science Museum in London on July 16, 1993 amid great fanfare from the British media.

Computer Gaming World reported in November 1993 that "a significant amount of software will be available immediately" for the console, based on the Amiga 1200.

The SX-1 appears to have been designed around Commodore's mechanical specs and not the actual production units – it did not fit very well and requires an internal "modification" to equip it properly.

Not wishing to repeat its earlier mistake of offering a way to turn a CD32 into an enhanced A1200 as it did with the A500-based CDTV,[citation needed] Commodore itself made no hardware available for that purpose.

One of its last hardware designs, however, was an external CD-ROM drive for the A1200 that featured the CD32's Akiko chip, thus turning any A1200 into a CD32-compatible system.

After this tune ends, the user can press the blue button on the game pad to enter a language selection menu.

The user can also press the red button to access a menu where they can view the contents of the internal Flash ROM.

A later pack includes the one-on-one fighting game Dangerous Streets, a move by Commodore that was met with derision by the press.

Despite the naming, the menu really only allows a choice of 60 Hz or 50 Hz video output; a PAL system booted in NTSC mode will still output a video signal using PAL color encoding, which will usually result in a black-and-white picture when connected to an NTSC television.

1 KB non-volatile EEPROM[20] memory for game saves Additional Akiko chip (CD-ROM controller and performs chunky to planar graphics conversion) Up to 256 on-screen colours in indexed mode 262 144 on-screen colors in HAM-8 mode Resolutions from: 28 kHz maximum DMA sampling rate Left: Back: Computer Gaming World magazine in January 1994 stated that "in spite of Commodore's earlier efforts to disguise the fact—the Amiga is a great gaming platform", but wondered if the company could successfully market the console in the US; "The CDTV fiasco certainly isn't reassuring.

[29] Inside these machines, stock CD32s were hooked up to an external circuit board which essentially acted as a converter to route all the input and output into a standard JAMMA connector for use in an arcade cabinet.

In the mid to late 1990s, some vehicle registries in Canada used CD32 systems for interactive multimedia testing for drivers license applications.

Main features include software with voice tone recognition and interactive activities very focused on listening.