Commodore International: Difference between revisions

From RetroWikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Newer edit →
VisualWikitext
imported>TheRedXD
removed a sentence that was difficult to verify and correct
 
Replaced content with "{{Short description|American computer company, revived in 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox company | name = Commodore International, Inc. | logo = Commodore logo 2025.svg | type = Private | industry = Computer hardware, consumer electronics | founded = 1954 (as Commodore Portable Typewriter Company)<br>2024 (revived) | founder = Jack Tramiel (original) | fate = Bankrupt..."
Tag: Replaced
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Home computer and electronics manufacturer}}
{{Short description|American computer company, revived in 2024}}
{{redirect-distinguish|1=C=|2=(= (disambiguation){{!}}(=}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
 
{{Infobox company
{{Infobox company
| name = Commodore International Corporation
| name             = Commodore International, Inc.
| logo = Commodore logo.svg
| logo             = Commodore logo 2025.svg
| image =
| type              = Private
| image_caption =
| industry          = Computer hardware, consumer electronics
| founded = {{start date and age|1976}}<br />[[Nassau, The Bahamas|Nassau]], [[The Bahamas]]
| founded           = 1954 (as Commodore Portable Typewriter Company)<br>2024 (revived)
| founders = [[Jack Tramiel]] and [[Irving Gould]]
| founder          = Jack Tramiel (original)
| defunct = {{end date and age|1994|5|6}}
| fate              = Bankrupt (1994); brand revived (2024)
| fate = [[Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] and [[Liquidation]]; inventory and intellectual property acquired by [[Escom AG]] on April 22, 1995
| key_people       = Christian Simpson (President & CEO)
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| products         = Commodore 64, Amiga, VIC-20, Commodore 64 Ultimate
| traded_as = {{Unbulleted list|[[NYSE American|AMEX]]: CBU|{{NYSE was|CBU}}|[[NYSE American|AMEX]]: CDRL}}
| website          = {{URL|https://www.commodore.net|commodore.net}}
| successor = [[Escom AG]]
| hq_location = 1200 Wilson Drive
| hq_location_city = [[West Chester, Pennsylvania|West Chester]], [[Pennsylvania]]
| industry = [[Electronics]]<br />[[Computer hardware]]<br />[[Computer software]]
| key_people = {{unbulleted list|[[Jack Tramiel]]|[[Irving Gould]]|(Main investor and Chairman)}}
| products = [[Commodore PET]]<br />[[VIC-20]]<br />[[Commodore 64]]<br />[[Commodore 16]]<br />[[Commodore 128]]<br />[[Amiga]]<br />[[Amiga CD32|CD32]]
| subsid = [[Amiga Corporation]]<br />[[MOS Technology#Commodore Semiconductor Group|Commodore Semiconductor Group]]
| area_served = Worldwide
| hq_location_country = United States
}}
}}


'''Commodore International Corporation'''{{Efn|Other names include Commodore International Limited}} was a [[home computer]] and electronics manufacturer with its head office in [[The Bahamas]] and its executive office in the United States founded in 1976 by [[Jack Tramiel]] and [[Irving Gould]]. It was the successor company to Commodore Business Machines (Canada) Ltd., established in 1958 by Tramiel and Manfred Kapp. Commodore International (CI), along with its U.S. subsidiary '''Commodore Business Machines''', Inc. (CBM), was a significant participant in the development of the [[home computer]] industry, and at one point in the 1980s was the world's largest in the industry.
'''Commodore International, Inc.''' is a historic American technology company best known for pioneering personal computing during the 1980s. Founded in 1954 by [[Jack Tramiel]], the company rose to prominence with the release of the [[Commodore 64]], one of the best-selling personal computers of all time. Commodore went bankrupt in 1994. In 2024, the brand was revived by actor and retro computing enthusiast [[Christian Simpson (Perifractic)|Christian "Perifractic" Simpson]].
 
The company released its first home computer, the [[Commodore PET]], in 1977; it was followed by the [[VIC-20]], the first ever computer to reach one million units of sales. In 1982, the company developed and marketed the world's best selling computer, the [[Commodore 64]];<ref name="cnn.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/05/09/commodore.64.reborn/|title=The Commodore 64, that '80s computer icon, lives again|access-date=November 17, 2014}}</ref> its success made Commodore one of the world's largest personal computer manufacturers, with sales peaking in the last quarter of 1983 at ${{Format price|49000000}} (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|49000000|1983}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}<ref>{{cite news |date=February 15, 1984 |title=Commodore Corp reports earnings for Qtr to Dec 31 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/15/business/commodore-corp-reports-earnings-for-qtr-to-dec-31.html |url-access=limited |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> However an internal struggle led to co-founder Tramiel quitting, then rivaling Commodore under [[Atari Corporation]] joined by a number of other employees. Commodore in 1985 launched the [[Amiga 1000]] personal computer — running on [[AmigaOS]] featuring a full color [[Graphical user interface|graphical interface]] and [[preemptive multitasking]] — which would initially become a popular platform for [[computer games]] and creative software. The company did particularly well in European markets; in [[West Germany]], Commodore machines were ubiquitous as of 1989.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=1990-01-26 |title=Commodore Falls on Troubled Times |url=https://www.afr.com/companies/commodore-falls-on-troubled-times-19900126-kalsw |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en}}</ref>
 
The company's position started declining in the late 1980s amid internal conflicts and mismanagement, and while the [[Amiga]] line was popular, newer models failed to keep pace against competing [[IBM PC–compatible|IBM PC-compatibles]] and [[Apple Macintosh]]. By 1992, [[MS-DOS]] and 16-bit [[video game consoles]] offered by [[Nintendo]] and [[Sega]] had eroded Amiga's status as a solid gaming platform. Under co-founding chairman Irving Gould and president Mehdi Ali, Commodore filed for bankruptcy on April 29, 1994 and was soon [[liquidated]], with its assets purchased by German company [[Escom AG|Escom]]. The Amiga line was revitalized and continued to be developed by Escom until it too went bankrupt, in July 1996.<ref>[http://books.slashdot.org/books/06/11/15/1457205.shtml Slashdot book review – The Rise and Fall of Commodore by Brian Bagnall]</ref> Commodore's computer systems, mainly the C64 and Amiga series, retain a cult following decades after its demise.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 5, 2006 |title=Kidnapper's retro computer offers scant clues |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/05/austria.markoliver |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416212823/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/05/austria.markoliver |archive-date=April 16, 2017 |website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |quote=The beige-coloured machine was popular in the 1980s but is now considered an antique, though some electronic dance acts still use it. It has a cult following among some fans of retro computers.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ced Kurtz's Techman Texts: Andy's Amiga a cult computer favorite |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/business/technology/2014/04/29/Ced-Kurtz-s-Techman-Texts-Andy-s-Amiga-a-cult-computer-favorite/stories/201404290009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018124319/http://www.post-gazette.com/business/technology/2014/04/29/Ced-Kurtz-s-Techman-Texts-Andy-s-Amiga-a-cult-computer-favorite/stories/201404290009 |archive-date=October 18, 2014}}</ref>
 
Commodore's assets have been passed through various companies since then. After [[Escom AG|Escom]]'s demise and liquidation, its core assets were sold to [[Gateway 2000]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Ernie |date=2019-08-07 |title=What Happened to Gateway, the Cow Computer Company? |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-globalization-broke-gateway-the-cow-computer-company/ |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}</ref> while the Commodore brand name was eventually passed to [[Tulip Computers]] of the Netherlands, and remained under ownership by a Dutch company until 2025. Gateway 2000 attempted but failed to market a modern Amiga, and eventually sold the copyrights, Amiga trademark and other intellectual properties to [[Amiga, Inc.]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=United States District Court of Washington at Seattle – Plaintiffs' Opposition to Hyperion Entertainment CVBA's Motion to Dismiss in Part Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint  |url=https://docs.google.com/file/d/1jzdHwTZ28vbMxDpgVOVQzyXSFWyBR2NE/edit |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=Google Docs}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=15 July 2020 |title=C-A Acquisition Corp. renamed to Amiga Corporation |url=https://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2020-07-00032-EN.html |accessdate=15 July 2020 |publisher=Amiga-News.de}}</ref> while retaining the Commodore [[patents]], which are now under [[Acer Inc.|Acer]] since its acquisition of Gateway.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amiga 30 and the Unkillable Machine – IEEE Spectrum |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/amiga-30-and-the-unkillable-machine |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=spectrum.ieee.org |language=en}}</ref> Amiga Corp., a sister company of Cloanto, owns the Amiga properties since 2019. [[Hyperion Entertainment]] of Belgium has continued development of AmigaOS ([[AmigaOS 4|version 4]]) to this day under license, and have released [[AmigaOne]] computers based on [[PowerPC]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Purdy |first=Kevin |date=2022-10-17 |title=37-year-old Amiga platform gets updates to Linux kernel, AmigaOS SDK |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/10/37-year-old-amiga-platform-gets-updates-to-linux-kernel-amigaos-sdk/ |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref>
 
==History==
===Commodore Business Machines (Canada) Ltd. (1954–1976)===
[[File:Commodore196x.svg|thumb|Commodore logo (1965–1984)|334x334px]] [[Jack Tramiel]] and Manfred Kapp met in the early 1950s while both employed by the Ace Typewriter Repair Company in [[New York City]]. In 1954, they partnered to sell used and reconditioned [[typewriter]]s and used their profits to purchase the Singer Typewriter Company. After acquiring a local dealership selling Everest [[adding machine]]s, Tramiel convinced Everest to give him and Kapp exclusive Canadian rights to its products and established Everest Office Machines in [[Toronto]] in 1955.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Commodore's History in the Adding Machine Business – Commodore International Historical Society |url=https://commodore.international/2022/03/11/commodores-history-in-the-adding-machine-business/ |access-date=2022-07-01 |website=commodore.international |language=en-US}}</ref>
 
By 1958, the adding machine business was slowing. Tramiel made a connection with an Everest agent in [[England]] who alerted him to a business opportunity to import portable typewriters manufactured by a [[Czechoslovakia]]n company into Canada. On October 10, 1958, Tramiel and Kapp incorporated Commodore Portable Typewriter, Ltd. in Toronto to sell the imported typewriters.<ref>Bagnall, Brian (2006). ''On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore'', Variant Press. p. xiii. {{ISBN|0-9738649-0-7}}</ref> Commodore funded its operations through [[factoring (finance)|factoring]] over its first two years but faced a continual cash crunch. To bolster the company's financial condition, Tramiel and Kapp sold a portion of the company to [[Atlantic Acceptance Corporation]], one of Canada's largest financing companies, and Atlantic President C. Powell Morgan became the chairman of Commodore. In 1962, the company went public on the [[Montreal Stock Exchange]],<ref>Bagnall, Brian (2006). ''On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore'', Variant Press. p. 532. {{ISBN|0-9738649-0-7}}</ref> under the name of Commodore Business Machines (Canada), Ltd.
 
With the financial backing of Atlantic Acceptance, Commodore expanded rapidly in the early 1960s. It purchased a factory in [[West Germany]] to manufacture its typewriters, began distributing office furniture for a Canadian manufacturer, and sold Pearlsound radio and stereo equipment. In 1965, it purchased the furniture company for which it served as the distributor and moved its headquarters to its facilities on Warden Avenue in the [[Scarborough, Toronto|Scarborough]] district of Toronto.<ref>{{cite web |title=Might's Greater Toronto city directory, 1966 |url=https://archive.org/details/torontocitydirectory1966/page/n37/mode/2up |website=Internet Archive |year=1966 |access-date=19 October 2020}}</ref> That same year, the company made a deal with a Japanese manufacturer to produce adding machines for Commodore, and purchased the office supply retailer Wilson Stationers to serve as an outlet for its typewriters.
 
In 1965, Atlantic Acceptance collapsed when it failed to make a routine payment. A subsequent investigation by a [[royal commission]] revealed a massive fraud scheme in which the company falsified financial records to acquire loans funneled into a web of subsidiaries where C. Powell Morgan held a personal stake. Morgan then pocketed the money or invested it in several unsuccessful ventures. Commodore was one of the Atlantic subsidiaries directly implicated in this scheme. Despite heavy suspicion, the commission could not find evidence of wrongdoing by Tramiel or Kapp. The scandal left Commodore in a worse financial position as it had borrowed heavily from Atlantic to purchase Wilson, and the loan was called in. Due to the financial scandal, Tramiel could only secure a bridge loan by paying interest well above the prime rate and putting the German factory up as collateral. Tramiel worked with a financier named [[Irving Gould]] to extricate himself, who brokered a deal to sell Wilson Stationers to an American company. Commodore now owed Gould money and still did not have sufficient capital to meet its payments, so Tramiel sold 17.9% of the company to Gould in 1966 for ${{Format price|500000}} (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|500000|1966}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}). As part of the deal, Gould became the company's new chairman.[[File:Commodore Calculator Minuteman MM3S-4546.jpg|thumb|Minuteman MM3S]]
 
Tramiel saw some of the first electronic calculators through his Japanese contacts in the late 1960s. He pivoted from adding machines to marketing calculators produced by companies like [[Casio]] under the Commodore brand name. In 1969, Commodore began manufacturing its electronic calculators. Commodore soon had a profitable calculator line and was one of the more popular brands in the early 1970s, producing both consumer and scientific/programmable calculators. However, in 1975, [[Texas Instruments]], the leading supplier of calculator parts, entered the market directly and put out a line of machines priced at less than Commodore's cost for the parts. Commodore obtained an infusion of cash from Gould, which Tramiel used beginning in 1976 to purchase several second-source chip suppliers, including [[MOS Technology|MOS Technology, Inc.]], to assure his supply.<ref name="New Scientist Sep 1976">{{cite magazine|title=Calculator maker integrates downwards |magazine=New Scientist |volume=71 |issue=1017 |page=541 |date=September 9, 1976 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xUAV0VcszIQC&pg=PA541 |issn=0262-4079 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318175222/http://books.google.com/books?id=xUAV0VcszIQC&pg=PA541 |archive-date=March 18, 2015 }}</ref> He agreed to buy MOS, which was having troubles of its own, on the condition that its chip designer Chuck Peddle join Commodore directly as head of engineering.
 
In 1976, Commodore Business Machines (Canada) Ltd. was dissolved and replaced by the newly formed Bahamanian corporation Commodore International, which became the new parent of the Commodore group of companies.<ref>{{cite news | newspaper=The Toronto Star | date=August 18, 1976 | title=Commodore Reorganizes in Bahamas | page=C8}}</ref>
 
===Entry into the computer market and success (1977–1984)===
[[File:Commodore PET2001.jpg|thumb|Commodore PET 2001 (1977)]]
 
[[Chuck Peddle]] convinced Jack Tramiel that calculators were a dead end business and that they should turn their attention to [[home computer]]s. Peddle packaged his [[single-board computer]] design in a metal case, initially with a keyboard using calculator keys, later with a full-travel [[QWERTY]] keyboard, [[monochrome monitor]], and [[Commodore Datasette|tape recorder]] for program and data storage, to produce the [[Commodore PET]] (Personal Electronic Transactor). From PET's 1977 debut, Commodore was primarily a computer company.
 
Commodore had been reorganized the year before into Commodore International, Ltd., moving its financial headquarters to the [[The Bahamas|Bahamas]] and its operational base to [[West Chester, Pennsylvania]], near the MOS Technology site. The operational headquarters, where research and development of new products occurred, retained the name Commodore Business Machines, Inc. In 1980, Commodore launched production for the European market in [[Braunschweig]], [[Germany]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.computerwoche.de/a/commodore-bald-aus-braunschweig,1189763 |title=Computer aus Zonenrandgebiet:: Commodore bald aus Braunschweig |publisher=computerwoche.de |access-date=2015-07-12 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502182823/http://www.computerwoche.de/a/commodore-bald-aus-braunschweig%2C1189763 |archive-date=May 2, 2015 }}</ref> This site once employed up to 2000 employees, and in February 2017 an exhibition room for about 200 Commodore products was opened here to commemorate its past.<ref name="bz">Braunschweiger Zeitung: ''Erinnerung an einen Konzern mit Weltruf'', February 17, 2017</ref>
[[File:Commodore_Werk_Braunschweig.jpg|thumb|Commodore Werk in [[Braunschweig]], West Germany, its large European HQ]]
By 1980, Commodore was one of the three largest microcomputer companies and the largest in the [[European Economic Community|Common Market]].<ref name="hogan19810831">{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rD0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA6 |title=From Zero to a Billion in Five Years |work=InfoWorld |date=August 31, 1981 |access-date=February 15, 2015 |author=Hogan, Thom |pages=6–7 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301153806/https://books.google.com/books?id=rD0EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA44&pg=PA6 |archive-date=March 1, 2017 }}</ref> The company had lost its early domestic-market sales leadership, however by mid-1981 its US market share was less than 5% and US computer magazines rarely discussed Commodore products.<ref name="hogan19810914state">{{Cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mj0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10 |title=State of Microcomputing / Some Horses Running Neck and Neck |last=Hogan |first=Thom |date=1981-09-14 |access-date=2019-04-08 |pages=10–12}}</ref> ''BYTE'' stated "the lack of a marketing strategy by Commodore, as well as its past nonchalant attitude toward the encouragement and development of good software, has hurt its credibility, especially in comparison to the other systems on the market".<ref name="dickerman198208">{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1982-08/1982_08_BYTE_07-08_Logo#page/n365/mode/2up |title=The Commodore 8032 Business System |work=BYTE |date=August 1982 |access-date=January 16, 2016 |author=Dickerman, Harold |page=366 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315220147/https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1982-08/1982_08_BYTE_07-08_Logo |archive-date=March 15, 2016 }}</ref> Writing for ''Programming the PET/CBM'', Raeto Collin West wrote "CBM's product manuals are widely recognized to be unhelpful; this is one of the reasons for the existence of this book."<ref name="west1982">{{Cite book |title=Programming the PET/CBM |last=West |first=Raeto Collin |publisher=Compute! Books |year=1982 |isbn=0-942386-04-3 |location=Greensboro, North Carolina |page=1 |chapter=Introduction and Overview |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/COMPUTEs_Programming_the_PET-CBM_1982_Small_Systems_Services#page/n9/mode/2up}}</ref>
 
Commodore re-emphasized the US market with the [[VIC-20]].{{r|hogan19810914state}} The PET computer line was used primarily in schools, where its tough all-metal construction and ability to share printers and disk drives on a simple [[local area network]] were advantages, but PETs did not compete well in the home setting where graphics and sound were important. This was addressed with the VIC-20 in 1981, which was introduced at a cost of {{US$|299}} (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|299|1981}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) and sold in retail stores. Commodore bought aggressive advertisements featuring [[William Shatner]] asking consumers, "Why buy just a video game?" The strategy worked, and the VIC-20 became the first computer to ship more than one million units, with 2.5 million units sold over the machine's lifetime,<ref>Bagnall, Brian (2006). ''On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore'', Variant Press. p. 221. {{ISBN|0-9738649-0-7}}</ref> which helped Commodore's sales in Canadian schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/run-magazine-30/Run_Issue_30_1986_Jun#page/n63/mode/2up |title=RUN Magazine Issue 30 June 1986 |date=June 1986 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311000847/https://archive.org/stream/run-magazine-30/Run_Issue_30_1986_Jun |archive-date=March 11, 2016 }}</ref> In promotions aimed at schools and to reduce unsold inventory, PET models labeled 'Teacher's PET' were given away as part of a "buy 2 get 1 free" promotion.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}} As of calendar year 1980, Commodore sales were $40 million, behind [[Apple Computer]] and [[Tandy Corporation]] in the market.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Market Place; I.B.M. Threat To Apple |work=The New York Times |date=September 2, 1981 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/02/business/market-place-ibm-threat-to-apple.html |access-date=2024-10-30 |last1=Metz |first1=Robert }}</ref>
 
[[File:Commodore-64-Computer-FL.jpg|thumb|Commodore 64 (1982)]]
In 1982, Commodore introduced the [[Commodore 64]] (C64) as the successor to the VIC-20. Due to its [[integrated circuit|chips]] designed by MOS Technology, the C64 possessed advanced sound and graphics for its time, and is often credited with starting the computer [[demo scene]]. Its {{US$|595}} (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|595|1982}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) price was high compared to that of the VIC-20 but was much less expensive than any other 64K computer. Early C64 advertisements boasted that "You can't buy a better computer at twice the price", with Australian adverts in the mid-1980s using the slogan "Are you keeping up with the Commodore? Because the Commodore is keeping up with you."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/Are_You_Keeping_Up_With_Your_Commodore_1983_Commodore_AU |title=Computer Commercial: Are You Keeping Up With Your Commodore (1983)(Commodore)(AU).mp4 |work=Internet Archive |year=1983 |access-date=November 29, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322033741/https://archive.org/details/Are_You_Keeping_Up_With_Your_Commodore_1983_Commodore_AU |archive-date=March 22, 2016 }}</ref>
 
In 1983, Tramiel decided to focus on market share and cut the price of the VIC-20 and C64 dramatically, starting the [[History of personal computers#Commodore price war and crash|home computer war]]. TI responded by cutting prices on its 1981 [[TI-99/4A]], leading to a price war involving most vendors other than [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer]], including Commodore, TI and [[Atari]]. Commodore began selling the VIC-20 and C64 through mass-market retailers such as [[Kmart (United States)|K-Mart]], in addition to traditional computer stores. By the end of this conflict, Commodore had shipped around 22 million C64s, making the C64 the best-selling computer, until the [[Raspberry Pi]] overtook it in 2019.
 
[[File:C16pi.jpg|thumb|The "heart" of Commodore's philosophy: Early [[Commodore 16]] main PCB (prototype), not used in the regular series model. According to Commodore computer engineer [[Bil Herd]], this single-sided [[Printed circuit board|PCB]] was an extraordinary attempt of cost saving by Commodore, which probably failed due to technical problems.<ref>Plus4world.com: [http://plus4world.powweb.com/forum/34360/ Bil Herd: About the Commodore 16 prototype]. Retrieved August 13, 2017</ref>]]
 
At the June 1983 [[Consumer Electronics Show]], Commodore lowered the retail price of the C64 to {{US$|long=no|300}}, and stores sold it for as little as {{US$|long=no|199}}. At one point, the company was selling as many computers as the rest of the industry combined.<ref name="mitchell19830906">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gn0hAAAAIBAJ&pg=5584%2C3561802 | title=A summer-CES report | work=Boston Phoenix | date=September 6, 1983 | access-date=January 10, 2015 | author=Mitchell, Peter W. |page=4}}</ref> Prices for the VIC-20 and C64 were $50 lower than Atari's prices for the 600XL and 800XL.<ref name="mace19840227">{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gy4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA100 |title=Can Atari Bounce Back? |work=InfoWorld |date=February 27, 1984 |access-date=January 18, 2015 |author=Mace, Scott |page=100 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304173218/https://books.google.com/books?id=gy4EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA15&pg=PA100 |archive-date=March 4, 2017 }}</ref> Commodore's strategy was to, according to a spokesman,{{Who|date=August 2023}} devote 50% of its efforts to the under-{{US$|long=no|500}} market, 30% on the {{val|p=$|500|–|1000}} market, and 20% on the over-{{US$|long=no|1000}} market. Its vertical integration and Tramiel's focus on cost control helped Commodore do well during the price war, with {{US$|long=no|1 billion}} in 1983 sales.<ref name="leemon198405">{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/Ahoy_Issue_05_1984-05_Ion_International_US#page/n43/mode/2up |title=The Future of Commodore? |work=Ahoy! |date=May 1984 |access-date=June 27, 2014 |author=Leeman, Sheldon |page=44 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316115719/https://archive.org/stream/Ahoy_Issue_05_1984-05_Ion_International_US |archive-date=March 16, 2016 }}</ref> Although the company and Tramiel's focus on cost cutting over product testing caused hardware defects in the initial C64, some resolved in later iterations.<ref name="ieee85">{{cite journal|last2=Wallich |first2=Paul |date=March 1985 |title=Design case history: the Commodore 64 |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/ns/pdfs/commodore64_mar1985.pdf |journal=IEEE Spectrum |pages=48–58 |issn=0018-9235 |last1=Perry |first1=Tekla S. |volume=22 |issue=3 |doi=10.1109/MSPEC.1985.6370590 |s2cid=11900865 |access-date=2011-11-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513181613/http://spectrum.ieee.org/ns/pdfs/commodore64_mar1985.pdf |archive-date=May 13, 2012 }}</ref> By early 1984, [[Synapse Software]], the largest provider of third-party Atari 8-bit software, received 65% of sales from the Commodore market,{{r|mace19840227}} and Commodore sold almost three times as many computers as Atari that year.<ref name="kleinfield19841222">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/22/business/trading-up-in-computer-gifts.html?pagewanted=all |title=Trading Up in Computer Gifts |work=The New York Times |date=December 22, 1984 |access-date=February 5, 2015 |author=Kleinfield, N.R. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205110143/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/22/business/trading-up-in-computer-gifts.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date=February 5, 2015 |url-access=limited}}</ref>
 
Despite its focus on the lower end of the market, Commodore's computers were also sold in upmarket department stores such as [[Harrods]].<ref name="commodore_7_6">{{cite journal |author-first=Mikos |author-last=Garamszeghy |date=1987 |title=Commodore in Europe: An International Comparison of Price and Availability |url=http://csbruce.com/cbm/transactor/pdfs/trans_v7_i06.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918043301/http://csbruce.com/cbm/transactor/pdfs/trans_v7_i06.pdf |archive-date=2017-09-18 |url-status=live |journal=[[The Transactor]] |publisher=[[Transactor Publishing]] |volume=7 |issue=6 |pages=21–23 |access-date=December 5, 2015}}</ref> The company also attracted several high-profile customers. In 1984, the company's British branch became the first manufacturer to receive a [[Royal Warrant of Appointment (United Kingdom)|royal warrant]] for computer business systems.<ref name="brk_5_2">{{cite journal |author=<!-- Staff writers; no byline --> |date=1984 |title=News BRK |url=http://csbruce.com/cbm/transactor/pdfs/trans_v5_i02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521042454/http://csbruce.com/cbm/transactor/pdfs/trans_v5_i02.pdf |archive-date=2020-05-21 |url-status=live |journal=[[The Transactor]] |publisher=[[Transactor Publishing]] |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=6–14 |access-date=January 1, 2015}}</ref> [[NASA]]'s [[Kennedy Space Center]] was another noted customer, with over 60 Commodore systems processing documentation, tracking equipment and employees, costing jobs, and ensuring the safety of hazardous waste.<ref name="news_4_2">{{cite journal |author=<!-- Staff writers; no byline --> |date=1983 |title=News and New Products |url=http://csbruce.com/cbm/transactor/pdfs/trans_v4_i02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918044559/http://csbruce.com/cbm/transactor/pdfs/trans_v4_i02.pdf |archive-date=2017-09-18 |url-status=live |journal=[[The Transactor]] |publisher=Canadian Micro Distributors |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=4–9 |access-date=December 5, 2015}}</ref>
 
===Departure of Tramiel, acquisition of Amiga and competition with Atari (1984–1987)===
[[File:Commodore C= logo.svg|thumb|upright=0.5|Commodore's logo, dubbed the "Chicken Lips"]]
 
By early 1984, Commodore was the most successful home computer company, with more than {{US$|long=no|1 billion}} (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|1000000000|1984}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in annual revenue and {{US$|long=no|100 million}} (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|100000000|1984}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in net income, whilst competitors had large losses. The company's revenue of $425 million in the fourth calendar quarter of 1983 more than doubled its revenue of {{US$|long=no|176 million}} a year earlier.<ref name=pollack19840114>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/14/business/founder-of-commodore-resigns-unexpectedly.html |title= Founder of Commodore Resigns Unexpectedly |first=Andrew |last=Pollack |date=14 January 1984 | page=27}}</ref> Although ''[[Creative Computing]]'' compared the company to "a well-armed battleship [which] rules the micro waves" and threatened to destroy rivals like [[Atari, Inc.|Atari]] and [[Coleco]],<ref name="anderson198403">{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/creativecomputing-1984-03/Creative_Computing_v10_n03_1984_Mar#page/n57/mode/2up |title=Commodore |work=Creative Computing |date=March 1984 |access-date=February 6, 2015 |author=Anderson, John J. |page=56 |author-link=John J. Anderson |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405172428/https://archive.org/stream/creativecomputing-1984-03/Creative_Computing_v10_n03_1984_Mar |archive-date=April 5, 2015 }}</ref> Commodore's board of directors, affected by the price spiral, decided to exit the company. In January 1984, an internal power struggle resulted after Tramiel resigned due to disagreements with the board chairman, [[Irving Gould]]. Gould replaced Tramiel with Marshall F. Smith, a steel executive without a computer or consumer marketing experience.<ref name="maher20130728">{{cite web|url=http://www.filfre.net/2013/07/a-computer-for-every-home/ |title=A Computer for Every Home? |work=The Digital Antiquarian |date=July 28, 2013 |access-date=July 10, 2014 |author=Maher, Jimmy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140711193125/http://www.filfre.net/2013/07/a-computer-for-every-home/ |archive-date=July 11, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="DAK54">{{cite news | first = Marty | last = Herzog | date = January 1988 | title = Neil Harris | work = [[Comics Interview]] | issue = 54 | pages = 41–51 | publisher = [[Fictioneer Books]]}}</ref><ref>(1985). {{YouTube|id=NImJFV3wH88#t=9m25s|title=Jack Tramiel Interview}}</ref> Tramiel's departure at the moment of Commodore's greatest financial success surprised the industry.{{r|pollack19840114}}
 
[[File:Sx-64 build crop.jpg|thumb|[[Commodore SX-64]] (1984)]]
In May 1984, Tramiel founded a new company, Tramel Technology, and hired several Commodore engineers to begin work on a next-generation computer design.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Current |first1=Michael D. |title=A History of Tramel Technology / Atari |url=https://mcurrent.name/atarihistory/tramel_technology.html |website=mcurrent.name |access-date=February 2, 2024}}</ref> That same year, Tramiel discovered [[Warner Communications]] wanted to sell Atari, which was rumored to be losing about {{US$|long=no|10000}} a day. Interested in Atari's overseas manufacturing and worldwide distribution network for a new computer, he approached Atari and entered negotiations. After several talks with Atari in May and June 1984, Tramiel had secured funding and bought Atari's Consumer Division (which included the console and home computer departments) in July.<ref>{{cite web|title =Time Warner Companies Inc, et al. · SC 13D/A|publisher =secinfo.com|date= March 29, 1994|url =http://www.secinfo.com/dMESy.bd.htm|access-date = February 2, 2024 }}</ref> In July 1984 Tramiel bought the consumer side of Atari Inc. from [[Time Warner|Warner Communications]] and released the [[Atari ST]] earlier in 1985 for about {{US$|long=no|800}}. As more executives and researchers left Commodore after the announcement to join Tramiel's new company [[Atari Corporation|Atari Corp.]], Commodore followed by filing lawsuits against four former engineers for theft of trade secrets in late July.{{Year needed|date=August 2023}} This was intended, in effect, to bar Tramiel from releasing his new computer. One of Tramiel's first acts after forming Atari Corp. was to fire most of Atari's remaining staff and to cancel almost all ongoing projects to review their continued viability. In late July to early August,{{Year needed|date=August 2023}} Tramiel representatives discovered the original Amiga contract from the previous fall. Seeing a chance to gain some leverage, Tramiel immediately used the agreement to counter-sue Commodore on August 13.{{Year needed|date=August 2023}}
 
The remaining Commodore management sought to salvage the company's fortunes and plan for the future, and did so by buying a small [[startup company]] called [[Amiga Corporation]] in August 1984 for {{US$|long=no|25 million}} ({{US$|long=no|12.8 million}} in cash and $550,000 in common shares). Amiga became a subsidiary of Commodore, called Commodore-Amiga, Inc.<ref>David Needle. "Special Report" p.90 Personal Computing, (August 1985)</ref> During development in 1981, Amiga had exhausted venture capital and needed more financing. Jay Miner and his company had approached their former employer, the Warner-owned [[Atari]], who paid Amiga to continue development work.<ref>{{cite web|title=Top Secret: Confidential Atari-Amiga Agreement |url=http://www.atarimuseum.com/articles/mickey.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723091215/http://www.atarimuseum.com/articles/mickey.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-07-23 |date=November 1981 |work=Atari Historical Society |access-date=2006-07-23 }}</ref> In return, Atari received the exclusive use of the design as a video game console for one year, after which Atari would have the right to add a keyboard and market it as a complete Amiga computer. The Atari-Amiga contract and engineering logs identify the Atari-Amiga product was designated as the 1850XLD. As Atari was heavily involved with Disney at the time, it was later code-named "Mickey", and the 256K memory expansion board was codenamed "Minnie".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.atarimuseum.com/archives/archives.html |title='Confidential Atari-Amiga Agreement' and 'Afterthoughts: The Atari 1600XL Rumor' |publisher=Archives.atarimuseum.com |access-date=2009-08-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415111352/http://archives.atarimuseum.com/archives/archives.html |archive-date=April 15, 2009 }}</ref>
 
Still suffering serious financial problems, Amiga sought more monetary support from investors that entire spring. At around the same time that Tramiel was negotiating with Atari, Amiga entered into discussions with Commodore. The discussions ultimately led to Commodore's intentions to purchase Amiga outright, which Commodore viewed would cancel any outstanding contracts{{snd}} including Atari Inc.'s. Tramiel counter-sued on the basis of this interpretation, and sought damages and an injunction to bar Amiga and effectively Commodore from producing any resembling technology, to render Commodore's new acquisition and the source for its next generation of computers useless. The resulting court case lasted several years.<ref name="Jay Miner">Jay Miner</ref>
 
[[File:Amiga500 system.jpg|thumb|Amiga 500 (1987)]]
Commodore introduced a new [[32-bit]] computer design to market in the fall of 1985 named the [[Amiga 1000]] for {{US$|1295}}, first demonstrated at the CES in 1984. An Atari-Commodore rivalry continued throughout the life of the ST and Amiga platforms. While the rivalry was a holdover from the competition between the C64 and Atari 800, the events leading to the launch of the ST and Amiga served to further alienate fans of each computer, who disagreed as to which platform was superior.{{Additional citation needed|date=August 2023}} This was reflected in sales numbers for the two platforms until the release of the [[Amiga 500]] in 1987, which led the Amiga sales to exceed the ST by about 1.5 to 1,{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} despite reaching the market later. However, neither platform captured a significant share of the world computer market, with only the Apple Macintosh surviving the industry-wide shift to [[Intel]]-based [[x86]] computers using [[Microsoft Windows]].
 
Commodore and Atari both sought to compete in the workstation market, with Commodore announcing in 1988 a [[Transputer]]-driven system based on the Amiga 2000 in response to the [[Atari Transputer Workstation]]. Similarly, a Unix workstation based on the Amiga 2000, featuring the 68020 CPU, was detailed as Atari announced developer shipments of its own 68030-based Unix workstation within a claimed "to or three months".<ref name="byte198806_workstations">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/BYTE-1988-06/page/n17/mode/1up | title=U.S. Firms Show Workstations Overseas | magazine=Byte | date=June 1988 | access-date=20 February 2024 | page=14 }}</ref> Atari's workstation, the [[TT030]], eventually arrived in 1990 without a version of Unix available,<ref name="start199102_tterrific">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/STart-Magazine-Issue-41/page/n21/mode/2up | title=TTerrific! | magazine=STart | last1=Small | first1=Dave | date=February 1991 | access-date=21 February 2024 | pages=22–30, 64–65 }}</ref> this only eventually becoming available to developers in late 1991.<ref name="streport19911101_lee">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/st-report-743/page/n7/mode/2up | title=A Little of This, A Little of That | magazine=ST Report | last1=Lee | first1=Michael | date=1 November 1991 | access-date=21 February 2024 | pages=8–14 }}</ref> Commodore's workstation arrived in 1990 in the form of the [[Amiga 3000UX]].
 
===Decline and later years (1987–1994)===
 
Commodore suffered a poor reputation with its dealers and customers, and upon the 1987 introduction of the Amiga 2000, Commodore retreated from its earlier strategy of selling its computers to discount outlets and toy stores and favored authorized dealers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.philly.com/1988-11-07/business/26247191_1_amiga-commodore-international-jack-tramiel |title=Commodore's Back On Line, And Amiga's The Reason |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112211040/http://articles.philly.com/1988-11-07/business/26247191_1_amiga-commodore-international-jack-tramiel |archive-date=January 12, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue88/AmigaView.php |title=The Great Amiga Reboot |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112231318/http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue88/AmigaView.php |archive-date=January 12, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_z4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA36 |title=1987 Commodore ad in InfoWorld targeted at dealers |date=October 26, 1987 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514032133/https://books.google.com/books?id=_z4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA36 |archive-date=May 14, 2015 }}</ref> [[Adam Osborne]] stated in April 1981 that "the microcomputer industry abounds with horror stories describing the way Commodore treats its dealers and its customers."<ref name="osborne19810413">{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dj4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42 |title=The Portable Osborne |work=InfoWorld |date=April 13, 1981 |access-date=January 1, 2015 |author=Osborne, Adam |pages=42–43 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318054343/http://books.google.com/books?id=Dj4EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP42&rview=1&pg=PA42 |archive-date=March 18, 2015 }}</ref> Commodore under Tramiel had a reputation for [[cannibalization (marketing)|cannibalizing]] its own products with newer ones;{{r|pollack19840114}} [[Doug Carlston]] and others in the industry believed rumors in late 1983 that Commodore would discontinue the C64 despite its success because they disliked the company's business practices, including its poor treatment of dealers and introducing new computers incompatible with existing ones. A Boston reseller said, "It's too unsettling to be one of their dealers and not know where you stand with them."<ref name="wierzbicki1983">{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6C8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24 |title=Longevity of Commodore 64, VIC 20 questioned |work=InfoWorld |date=December 5, 1983 |access-date=January 13, 2015 |author=Wierzbicki, Barbara |page=24 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318062120/https://books.google.com/books?id=6C8EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA23&pg=PA24 |archive-date=March 18, 2015 }}</ref> After Tramiel's departure, another journalist wrote that he "had never been able to establish excellent relations with computer dealers ... computer retailers have accused Commodore of treating them as harshly as if they were suppliers or competitors, and as a result, many have become disenchanted with Commodore and dropped the product line".{{r|leemon198405}} Software developers also disliked the company, with one stating that "Dealing with Commodore was like dealing with [[Attila|Attila the Hun]]."<ref name="chinsoft19850128">{{cite news |last=Chin |first=Kathy |date=January 28, 1985 |title=Atari Promises Software For ST |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6i4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15 |work=InfoWorld |publisher=IDG |page=17 |access-date=March 19, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527224216/http://books.google.com/books?id=6i4EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA15 |archive-date=May 27, 2013}}</ref> At the 1987 [[Comdex]], an informal ''[[InfoWorld]]'' survey found that none of the developers present planned to write for Commodore platforms.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sj0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8 |title=OS/2's Arrival Marks the Dawn of a New Era |date=November 9, 1987 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514012249/https://books.google.com/books?id=Sj0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8 |archive-date=May 14, 2015 }}</ref> Commodore's software had a poor reputation;{{Additional citation needed|date=August 2023}} ''InfoWorld'' in 1984, for example, stated that "so far, the normal standard for Commodore software is mediocrity".<ref name="mace19840409">{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jC4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA50 |title=Atarisoft vs. Commodore |work=InfoWorld |date=April 9, 1984 |access-date=February 4, 2015 |author=Mace, Scott |page=50 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318135131/http://books.google.com/books?id=jC4EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA15&pg=PA50 |archive-date=March 18, 2015 | volume=6 |issue=15 }}</ref>
 
Commodore almost went bankrupt in early 1986, obtaining a one-month extension on repaying $192 million in loans that it had defaulted on in June 1985.<ref name="warner19860210">{{Cite magazine |last=Warner |first=Edward |date=1986-02-10 |title=Commodore gets one-month reprieve on $192 million debt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VIcNk5bRkEC&pg=PA144 |access-date=2025-06-08 |magazine=Computerworld |page=144 |volume=XX |issue=6}}</ref> Tramiel's successor, Marshall F. Smith, left the company in 1986, as did his successor [[Thomas Rattigan]] in 1987 after a failed [[boardroom coup]]. The head of [[Blue Chip Electronics]], a former Commodore employee, described the company as "a well-known revolving door".<ref name="carroll19870501">{{cite news| last1 = Carroll| first1= Paul B.| date= May 1, 1987| url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/398082524/| title= Commodore's Gould Seizes the Spotlight| work= The Wall Street Journal| publisher= Dow Jones & Company| issn= 0099-9660| page= 1|id={{ProQuest|398082524}} }}</ref> Commodore faced the problem when marketing the Amiga of still being seen as the company that made cheap computers like the C64 and VIC.<ref name="dvorak198509">{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/Ahoy_Issue_21_1985-09_Ion_International_US#page/n3/mode/2up |title=Image |work=Ahoy! |date=September 1985 |access-date=June 27, 2014 |author=[[John C. Dvorak|Dvorak, John C.]] |page=5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315050902/https://archive.org/stream/Ahoy_Issue_21_1985-09_Ion_International_US |archive-date=March 15, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.technologizer.com/2010/07/23/amiga/ |title=Amiga: 25 Years Later |date=July 23, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101180504/http://www.technologizer.com/2010/07/23/amiga/ |archive-date=January 1, 2015 }}</ref> The C64 remained the company's [[cash cow]] but its technology was aging.{{r|carroll19870501}} By the late 1980s, the personal computer market had become dominated by the IBM PC and [[Apple Macintosh]] platforms. Commodore's marketing efforts for the Amiga were less successful in breaking the new computer into an established market compared to the success of its 8-bit line. The company put effort into developing and promoting consumer products that would not be in demand for years, such as an [[Amiga 500]]-based [[HTPC]] called [[CDTV]].
 
[[File:Commodore C286-LT laptop (1).jpg|thumb|Commodore C286-LT (1990)]]
As early as 1986, the mainstream press was predicting Commodore's demise,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,960694-1,00.html |title=Adios, Amiga? |magazine=Time |date=February 24, 1986 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111204030018/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C960694-1%2C00.html |archive-date=December 4, 2011 }}</ref> and in 1990 ''Computer Gaming World'' wrote of its "abysmal record of customer and technical support in the past".<ref name="cgw19900708">{{cite news|url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1990&pub=2&id=73 |title=The Maturation of Computer Entertainment: Warming The Global Village |magazine=Computer Gaming World |date=July 8, 1990 |access-date=November 16, 2013 |page=11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203063559/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1990&pub=2&id=73 |archive-date=December 3, 2013 }}</ref> Nevertheless, as profits and the stock price began to slide, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer's'' Top 100 Businesses Annual continued to list several Commodore executives among the highest-paid in the region and the paper documented the company's questionable hiring practices and large bonuses paid to executives amid shareholder discontent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.philly.com/1990-11-02/business/25929550_1_irving-gould-proxy-statement-mehdi-ali |title=Pay Went Up As Profits Plunged Proxy Reveals Big Salaries At Commodore |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112171447/http://articles.philly.com/1990-11-02/business/25929550_1_irving-gould-proxy-statement-mehdi-ali |archive-date=January 12, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.philly.com/1989-11-03/business/26140777_1_thomas-rattigan-irving-gould-commodore |title=Executive Benefits Questioned Commodore Hurting, But Officials Aren't |quote=Ali's minimum $2 million annual combined salary and bonus will certainly earn him a place among the most richly rewarded technology company executives in the country. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112171702/http://articles.philly.com/1989-11-03/business/26140777_1_thomas-rattigan-irving-gould-commodore |archive-date=January 12, 2015 }}</ref>
 
[[File:Commodore PC20.jpg|thumb|Commodore PC20 (1992)]]
 
Commodore failed to update the Amiga to keep pace as the PC platform advanced.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lowendmac.com/orchard/06/amiga-origin-commodore.html |title=The Amiga Story: Conceived at Atari, Born at Commodore |quote=Commodore began to falter in the early 90s as Windows PCs became more advanced. The multimedia features that wowed audiences in 1985 were commonplace in inexpensive computers of the early 90s. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112181517/http://lowendmac.com/orchard/06/amiga-origin-commodore.html |archive-date=January 12, 2015 }}</ref> CBM continued selling the [[Amiga 2000]] with 7.14&nbsp;MHz [[Motorola 68000|68000]] CPUs, even though the [[Amiga 3000]] with its 25&nbsp;MHz [[68030]] was on the market. Apple, by this time, was using the [[Motorola 68040|68040]] and had relegated the 68000 to its lowest-end model, the black and white [[Macintosh Classic]]. The 68000 was used in the [[Sega Genesis]], one of the leading [[game consoles]] of the era,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue125/A32_Whats_hot_Amiga_or.php |title=What's hot: Amiga or Sega? |quote=Still, Amiga owners could take consolation in the fact that their system played the best games around. But that's no longer the case. New videogame systems, NEC TurboGrafix, and SNK's NeoGeo--have surpassed the Amiga as a game machine. Another up-and-comer, the Nintendo SFX (known in Japan as the SuperFamicom), will blow it away. Meanwhile, after seven years, the Amiga still has the same palette, the same eight sprites, and the same four audio voices. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112200456/http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue125/A32_Whats_hot_Amiga_or.php |archive-date=January 12, 2015 }}</ref> Computers fitted with high-color [[Video Graphics Array|VGA]] [[graphics card]]s and [[SoundBlaster]] (or compatible) [[sound card]]s had also caught up with the Amiga's performance,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amigareport.com/ar132/p1-8.html |title=Taking the PC Plunge! |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228232121/http://amigareport.com/ar132/p1-8.html |archive-date=December 28, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/04/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-9-the-demo-scene/2/ |title=A history of the Amiga Part 8: The demo scene |date=April 29, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704093424/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/04/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-9-the-demo-scene/2/ |archive-date=July 4, 2017 }}</ref> and Commodore began to fade from the consumer market.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~wyllys/multmed/mm03.html|title=Multimedia and Telecommunications, 1997–2002: Perspectives and Recommendations}}</ref>
 
Although the Amiga was originally conceived as a gaming machine, Commodore had always emphasized the Amiga's potential for professional applications,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LxMCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15 |title=Looks great, Manny, but will it sell? |date=August 5, 1985 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514005820/https://books.google.com/books?id=LxMCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15 |archive-date=May 14, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/30/science/peripherals-commodore-introduces-new-amiga.html |title=Peripherals; Commodore Introduces New Amiga  |work=The New York Times |date=July 30, 1985 |quote=...as a new, untested machine from a company that has previously sold its products in toy stores, Amiga faces a tough challenge in cracking the conservative business market. Commodore officials vow that Amiga is the flagship of an armada of business products that will transform the company into a major international technological force. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023061020/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/30/science/peripherals-commodore-introduces-new-amiga.html |archive-date=October 23, 2016 | url-access=limited|last1=Lewis |first1=Peter H. }}</ref> but the Amiga's high-performance sound and graphics were irrelevant to [[MS-DOS]]-based routine business word-processing and data-processing requirements, and the machine could not successfully compete with computers in a business market that was rapidly undergoing [[commoditization]]. Commodore introduced a range of [[Commodore PC compatible systems|PC compatible systems]] designed by its German division, and while the Commodore name was better known in the US than some of its competition, the systems' price and specifications were only average.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/run-magazine-42/Run_Issue_42_1987_Jun#page/n29/mode/2up |title=RUN Magazine issue 42 |date=June 1987 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403030408/https://archive.org/stream/run-magazine-42/Run_Issue_42_1987_Jun |archive-date=April 3, 2016}}</ref>
 
Sales of the PC range were strong in Germany, however, seeing Commodore acquire a 28% share of this market segment in 1990, second only to [[IBM]].<ref name="amigauser199508_escom">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/amiga-user-international-vol-9-8/page/n4/mode/1up | title=The Men from ESCOM | magazine=Amiga User International | date=August 1995 | access-date=19 August 2024 | last1=Jacobson | first1=Antony | last2=Blackham | first2=Mark | pages=5, 16–18 }}</ref> Things were less rosy in the United States, where Commodore had a 6% share in the market segment as of 1989, down from 26% in 1984. ''[[Forbes]]''<nowiki/>'s Evan McGlinn wrote regarding the firm's decline, citing management as the source cause: "the absentee-landlord management style of globe-trotting chairman and chief executive Irving Gould."<ref name=":5" /> With the Amiga only representing less than 20% of the company's sales in the 1987 fiscal year, product lines such as PC-compatibles and Commodore's 8-bit computers remained important to the company's finances even as the Amiga's share of total sales increased. In 1989, with the Amiga accounting for 45% of total sales, the PC business showed modest growth to 24% of total sales, and the Commodore 64 and 128 products still generated 31% of the company's revenues.<ref name="commodore1989">{{ cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/cil-1989-annual-report/page/n4/mode/1up | title=Commodore International Limited 1989 Annual Report | publisher=Commodore International Limited | date=7 August 1989 | access-date=19 August 2024 | page=3 }}</ref>
 
Commodore attempted to develop new chipsets during the early 1990s, first the [[Advanced Amiga Architecture chipset|Advanced Amiga Architecture]] and later the [[Amiga Hombre chipset|Hombre]]. Funding problems meant that they did not materialize as ultimately the company would go bust. In 1992, the [[Amiga 600]] replaced the Amiga 500, which removed the numeric keypad, Zorro expansion slot, and other functionality, but added [[Integrated Drive Electronics|IDE]], [[PCMCIA]], and intended as a cost-reduced design. Designed as the Amiga 300, a non-expandable model to sell for less than the [[Amiga 500]], the 600 became a replacement for the 500 due to the unexpectedly higher cost of manufacture. Productivity developers increasingly moved to PC and Macintosh, while the [[console wars]] took over the gaming market. David Pleasance, managing director of Commodore UK,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.philly.com/1994-09-01/business/25838657_1_amigas-commodore-international-newtek |title=A Multimedia Gem Commodore Is Dead. Long Live The Amiga. Suddenly, It's A Hot Item. |quote=David Pleasance, joint managing director of Commodore's United Kingdom subsidiary... |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112210928/http://articles.philly.com/1994-09-01/business/25838657_1_amigas-commodore-international-newtek |archive-date=January 12, 2015 }}</ref> described the Amiga 600 as a "complete and utter screw-up".<ref>Tim Smith and Chris Lloyd (1994), "Chewing the Facts", 'Amiga Format' Annual 1994, 106–111, 107.</ref> In the same year, Commodore released the Amiga 1200 and Amiga 4000 computers, which featured an improved graphics chipset, the [[Advanced Graphics Architecture|AGA]]. The advent of PC games using 3D graphics such as ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]'' and ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'' spelled the end of Amiga as a gaming platform.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z-blqZH2gWwC&pg=PA249 |title=The Future Was Here: The Commodore Amiga |isbn=9780262300742 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514002912/https://books.google.com/books?id=z-blqZH2gWwC&pg=PA249 |archive-date=May 14, 2015 |last1=Maher |first1=Jimmy |date=April 13, 2012 |publisher=MIT Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.natami.net/concept.htm|title=Natami Project Home Page|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150118223918/http://www.natami.net/concept.htm|archive-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref>
 
[[File:Amiga-CD32-wController-L.jpg|thumb|Amiga CD32 (1993)]]
In 1993, Commodore launched a 32-bit [[CD-ROM]]-based [[game console]] called the [[Amiga CD32]], described as a 'make or break' system, according to Pleasance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/amigashopper-magazine-46/AmigaShopper_46_Feb_1995_djvu.txt |title=Amiga Shopper Feb 1995 |date=February 1995 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401193354/https://archive.org/stream/amigashopper-magazine-46/AmigaShopper_46_Feb_1995_djvu.txt |archive-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> The [[Amiga CD32]] was not sufficiently profitable to return Commodore to solvency, however this was not a universal opinion at Commodore, with Commodore Germany hardware expert Rainer Benda stating "The CD32 was a year late for Commodore. In other words, here, too, it might have been better to focus on the core business than jump on a console and hope to sell 300,000 or more units quickly to avoid bankruptcy."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Forum / Interview / Rainer Benda|url=http://www.amigagadget.de/45/f.int.rainerbenda.html|access-date=2020-06-21|website=Amigagadget.de}}</ref>
 
{{quote box
| align = left
| width = 25em
| quote = "Commodore's high point was the Amiga 1000 (1985). The Amiga was so far ahead of its time that almost nobody – including Commodore's marketing department – could fully articulate what it was all about. Today, it's obvious the Amiga was the first multimedia computer. Still, in those days, it was derided as a game machine because few people grasped the importance of advanced graphics, sound, and video. Nine years later, vendors are still struggling to make systems that work like 1985 Amigas."
| source = —&nbsp;''[[Byte Magazine]],'' August 1994
}}
 
In 1992, all UK servicing and warranty repairs were outsourced to [[Wang Laboratories]],{{citation needed|date=September 2014}} which was replaced by [[International Computers Limited|ICL]] after failing to meet repair demand during the Christmas rush in 1992.<ref>CTW August 16, 1993</ref> Commodore International's Canadian subsidiary authorized [[3D Microcomputers]] of Ontario to manufacture IBM PC clones with the Commodore brand in late 1993.<ref name="Staff_writer1993">{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=December 27, 1993 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/202749411/ | title=3D to make, distribute DOS-based Commodores | journal=Computer Dealer News | publisher=Plesman Publications | volume=9 | issue=26 | page=2 |id={{ProQuest|202749411}} }}</ref> Commodore exited the IBM PC clone market entirely during the 1993 fiscal year, citing the low profitability of this market. PC sales had remained relatively stable and, accounting for 37% of revenue from sales in 1993, had grown modestly as declines in both unit sales and revenues were recorded for the Amiga and Commodore 64 product lines.<ref name="commodore1993">{{ cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/commodore-annual-report-1993/page/n3/mode/1up | title=Commodore International Limited 1993 Annual Report | publisher=Commodore International Limited | date=17 December 1993 | access-date=17 November 2024 | page=2 }}</ref>
 
By 1994, only Commodore's operations in Canada,<ref name=Staff_writer1994a>{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=April 20, 1994 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/202752243/ | title=Commodore's financial woes leave it facing uncertain future | journal=Computer Dealer News | publisher=Plesman Publications | volume=10 | issue=8 | page=6 | id={{ProQuest|202752243 }} }}</ref> Germany, and the United Kingdom were still profitable.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} Commodore announced voluntary bankruptcy and [[liquidation]] on April 29, 1994,<ref>{{cite journal | last=Schofield | first=Jack | date=May 5, 1994 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/293408265/ | title=Adios Amiga? Commodore is going into voluntary liquidation. Will its products survive? | journal=The Guardian | publisher=Guardian Newspapers |id={{ProQuest| 293408265 }} }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=Burgess | first=John | date=May 9, 1994 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/05/09/adios-amiga-and-commodore/eb099967-0bc6-47bd-aac5-b0068ac58a23/ | title=Adios, Amiga and Commodore: From a Bang to a Whimper, PC Maker Closes Its Doors | newspaper=The Washington Post | page=F17}}</ref> causing the board of directors to "authorize the transfer of its assets to trustees for the benefit of its creditors", according to an official statement.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Commodore Sinks|magazine=[[GamePro]]|issue=60|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|date=July 1994|page=168}}</ref> With Commodore International having reported a {{nowrap|$8.2 million}} quarterly loss in the US, hopes were expressed that European divisions might be able to continue trading and even survive the demise of the parent company, with a management buyout considered a possibility. Other possibilities included the sale of profitable parts of the company to other parties, with [[Philips]] and [[Samsung]] considered "likely choices". However, no sale was ever completed.<ref name="pcw199407_commodore">{{ cite magazine | title=Commodore International goes into voluntary liquidation | magazine=Personal Computer World | date=July 1994 | last1=Magee | first1=Mike | page=214 }}</ref>
 
== After Commodore (1994–2025) ==
 
=== Sale to Escom and bankruptcy ===
Commodore's former assets went separate ways following [[liquidation]], with none of the descendant companies repeating Commodore's early success. Subsidiaries Commodore UK and Commodore [[Besloten vennootschap|B.V.]] (Netherlands) survived bankruptcy. The UK division filed a buyout proposal to the Supreme Court in the Bahamas and was considered the front runner in the bid due to press exposure at the time;<ref name="Reimer">{{Cite web |last=Reimer |first=Jeremy |date=2017-11-13 |title=A history of the Amiga, part 11: Between an Escom and a Gateway |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/11/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-11-between-an-escom-and-a-gateway/ |access-date=2020-06-21 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref> the other initial bidders were Samsung, Philips and [[Amstrad]] in mid-1994.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The Amiga or the multimedia revolution |url=https://pcmuseum.tripod.com/multirev.html |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=pcmuseum.tripod.com}}</ref> Commodore UK and Commodore BV stayed in business by selling old inventory and making computer speakers and other types of computer peripherals, however Commodore BV dissolved in early 1995. Commodore UK withdrew its bid at the start of the auction process after several larger companies, including [[Gateway, Inc.|Gateway Computers]] and [[Dell|Dell Inc.]], became interested, primarily for Commodore's [[patents]] relating to the Amiga. The only companies who entered bids at the end were Dell and Escom;<ref name="Reimer" /> the successful bidder was German PC maker [[Escom AG]] on April 22, 1995, beating Dell's bid by $6.6 million.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Stets | first=Dan | date=April 22, 1995 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1840821214/ | title=Escom Bid for Assets Triumphs over Dell: The German company doubled a $6.6 million bid for Commodore after Dell forced up the price | journal=Philadelphia Inquirer | publisher=Philadelphia Media Network | page=C1 | id={{ProQuest|1840821214 }} }}</ref> Escom paid US$14 million for the assets of Commodore International.<ref>{{cite web |title=Commodore Auction Report |url=http://www.amigareport.com/ar307/news1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223240/http://www.amigareport.com/ar307/news1.html |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |access-date=November 29, 2015}}</ref> Commodore UK went into [[liquidation]] on August 30, 1995.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}
 
Escom separated the Commodore and Amiga operations into separate divisions, the latter becoming Amiga Technologies [[GmbH]], and quickly started using the Commodore brand name on a line of PCs sold in [[Europe]] while concepting and developing new Amiga computers. They also debuted a brand new logo for Amiga.<ref name=":1" /> However, it soon started losing money due to over-expansion, declared bankruptcy on July 15, 1996, and was [[Liquidation|liquidated]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Writer |first=CBR Staff |date=1997-06-27 |title=Commodore is Alive and Well and Now Part of Tulip in Holland  |url=https://www.techmonitor.ai/technology/commodore_is_alive_and_well_and_now_part_of_tulip_in_holland_1 |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=Tech Monitor |language=en-US}}</ref> Escom's Dutch arm, Escom B.V., survived bankruptcy and went on to purchase the Commodore brand from its bankrupt parent. The company then renamed itself to Commodore B.V.<ref name=":2" /> Meanwhile, a deal for [[Chicago]]-based VisCorp to purchase Amiga Technologies GmbH fell through, and instead it was acquired by [[Gateway 2000]] in March 1997, taking both the Amiga properties and the Commodore patents.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Reimer |first=Jeremy |date=2017-11-13 |title=A history of the Amiga, part 11: Between an Escom and a Gateway |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/11/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-11-between-an-escom-and-a-gateway/3/ |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref>
 
[[File:Commodore 64 Web-it PC (modified).jpg|thumb|Commodore 64 Web-it PC, made by Tulip Computers c. 1998, with an [[AMD Élan]] processor]]
 
==== Brand name ====
In September 1997,<ref name=":4" /> Dutch computer maker [[Tulip Computers]] acquired the Commodore brand name from Commodore B.V.<ref name=":2" /> and made a number of [[Wintel]] computers under subsidiary Commodore International B.V.,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Commodore computer brand sold |url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/2231164/commodore-computer-brand-sold.html |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=InfoWorld |language=en-US}}</ref> although it did not find much success.<ref name=":4" /> In July 2004, Tulip announced a new series of products using the Commodore name: fPET, a flash memory-based [[USB flash drive]]; mPET, a flash-based [[Portable media player|MP3 Player]] and digital recorder; eVIC, a 20 GB music player. Tulip also licensed the Commodore trademark and logo to the producers of the [[C64 Direct-to-TV|C64 DTV]], a single-[[Integrated circuit|chip]] implementation of the [[Commodore 64]] computer with 30 built-in games.
 
In late 2004, Tulip sold Commodore International B.V. to Yeahronimo Media Ventures (YMV), a digital music software startup<ref>{{Cite web |title=Commodore brand sold to music distributor |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/commodore-brand-sold-to-music-distributor/ |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=CNET |language=en}}</ref> providing legal music downloads in the Netherlands,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-03-16 |title=About CIC |url=http://www.commodorecorp.com/corporate/the+company/01+About+CIC.aspx |access-date=2024-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070316011645/http://www.commodorecorp.com/corporate/the+company/01+About+CIC.aspx |archive-date=March 16, 2007 }}</ref> for €22 million, to be paid in instalments over several years until 2010.<ref name=":4">{{cite web|url=http://www.theregister.com/2004/12/29/tulip_sells_commodore/|title=Tulip offloads Commodore brand|access-date=November 29, 2015}}</ref> The sale was completed in March 2005 after months of negotiations; YMV would not become the sole owner until 2010 after buying the remaining shares from Tulip (by then renamed to Nedfield Holding B.V.) which had gone bankrupt.<ref>[http://www.afm.nl/registers/kgi_documents/201002090000000012_Nedfield%20persbericht%20090210%20%28finaal%29.PDF Nedfield Persbericht] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202164258/http://www.afm.nl/registers/kgi_documents/201002090000000012_Nedfield%20persbericht%20090210%20%28finaal%29.PDF|date=February 2, 2014}} [[Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets]], February 9, 2010</ref> YMV soon renamed itself to Commodore International Corporation (CIC) — its operational office was in the Netherlands but had headquarters in [[California]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-03-12 |title=Commodore International Corporation |url=http://www.commodorecorp.com/corporate/systemwide/Contact.aspx |access-date=2024-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312164403/http://www.commodorecorp.com/corporate/systemwide/Contact.aspx |archive-date=March 12, 2007 }}</ref> — and started an operation intended to relaunch the Commodore brand in the [[video gaming]] field.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Commodore Finalizes Game Partnership Agreement |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/commodore-finalizes-game-partnership-agreement |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=www.gamedeveloper.com |language=en}}</ref> The company then launched its Gravel line of products: Gravel in Pocket [[Portable media player|personal multimedia players]] equipped with Wi-Fi and the Gravel in Home, hoping the Commodore brand would help them take off, introduced at [[CeBIT]] 2007<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-03-16 |title=The Commodore ecosystem spreads to GPS and widescreen video |url=https://www.engadget.com/2007-03-15-the-commodore-ecosystem-spreads-to-gps-and-widescreen-video.html |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=Engadget |language=en-US}}</ref> with a media "entertainment platform" called CommodoreWorld,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Commodore's Booth : CeBIT Hannover 2007 (Part 9) |url=https://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feature-cebit-hannover-2007-part-9/commodores-booth |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=www.hardwarezone.com.sg |date=March 25, 2007 |language=en}}</ref> and also launched gaming PCs running [[Windows Vista]] 64-bit.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miles |first=Stuart |date=2007-03-15 |title=CeBIT 2007: Commodore launches 64-bit gaming PCs |url=https://www.pocket-lint.com/games/news/79955-commodore-launches-64-bit-gaming-pc/ |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=Pocket-lint |language=en}}</ref> However the company did not find success with these products. On June 24, 2009, CIC in the United States renamed itself to Reunite Investments, Inc., with the Commodore brand retaining under ownership by its subsidiary CIC Europe Holding B.V. (which would later be renamed into C= Holdings B.V.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-16 |title=Commodore International Corporation |url=http://www.commodoreworld.com/ |access-date=2024-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716213055/http://www.commodoreworld.com/ |archive-date=July 16, 2012 }}</ref>), trading as Commodore Consumer Electronics (CCE).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2009/06/24/idUS193371+24-Jun-2009+MW20090624 |work=Reuters |title=Commodore International Corporation Changed Its Company Name to Reunite Investments, Inc. |date=June 24, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924142341/http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/06/24/idUS193371%2B24-Jun-2009%2BMW20090624 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 }}</ref>
 
CIC's founder, Ben van Wijhe, bought a [[Hong Kong]]-based company called Asiarim.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1415813/000145786009000002/0001457860-09-000002-index.htm |title=EDGAR Filing Documents for 0001457860-09-000002 |publisher=Sec.gov |access-date=November 29, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015130640/http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1415813/000145786009000002/0001457860-09-000002-index.htm |archive-date=October 15, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="NY Court">{{cite court
|litigants=C=Holdings BV v. Asiarim Corp.|court=United States District Court, Southern District of New York|date=December 16, 2013|url=http://www.crisona.com/iplaw/cases/12-cv-928.pdf}}</ref><ref name="GMW Advocaten">[http://www.curatoren.nl/fo/affilliate_verslag.php?a=130&b=14260935 Faillissements verslag Commodore Licensing B.V.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121042251/http://www.curatoren.nl/fo/affilliate_verslag.php?a=130&b=14260935 |date=January 21, 2014 }}</ref> Reunite Investments then sold the brand to Commodore Licensing B.V., a subsidiary of Asiarim, later in 2010.<ref name="GMW Advocaten" /> It was sold again on November 7, 2011. This transaction became the basis of a legal dispute between Asiarim — which, even after that date, made commercial use of the Commodore trademark, among others by advertising for sale Commodore-branded computers, and dealing licensing agreements for the trademarks — and the new owners, that was resolved by the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York]] on December 16, 2013, in favor of the new owners.<ref name="NY Court" /> Since then the company holding the brand name turned into Polabe Holding [[Naamloze vennootschap|N.V.]], then Net B.V., and is currently named Commodore Corporation B.V.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kickstarter  {{!}} The All New Commodore® 64x Back and Better Than Ever! |url=https://myretrocomputer.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CCmyretrocomputers20220615letter.pdf |website=myretrocomputer.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=transfirm.nl |title=Commodore Corporation B.V. {{!}} Roosendaal (83289348) |url=https://www.transfirm.nl/nl/organisatie/832893480000-commodore-corporation-b.v. |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=transfirm.nl |language=nl}}</ref>
 
==== Copyrights and patents ====
Ownership of the remaining assets of Commodore International, including the copyrights and patents, and the Amiga trademarks, passed from bankrupt Escom to [[Gateway, Inc.|Gateway 2000]] in 1997. Jim Collas became director of Amiga Technologies and he assembled a new team to work on a new generation of Amiga computers and other products on a new platform, prototyping one called the Amiga MCC and planning a potential [[tablet computer]]. However when Jeffrey Weitzen was chosen to become CEO of Gateway, who was not convinced of Collas's plans, he informed that Amiga Technologies division will be sold.<ref name=":3" /> On the final day of 1999, Gateway sold the copyrights and trademarks of Amiga to Amino, a Washington-based company founded, among others, by former Gateway subcontractors Bill McEwen and Fleecy Moss; Amino immediately renamed itself to [[Amiga, Inc.]] Gateway retained the patents but gave a license to Amiga, Inc. to use the patents.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gateway sells Amiga to ex-Amiga employee |url=https://www.theregister.com/1999/12/31/gateway_sells_amiga_to_examiga/ |access-date=2024-10-30}}</ref> Gateway itself was acquired by Taiwanese [[Acer Inc.|Acer]] in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2007-08-27 |title=Taiwan's Acer Plans to Acquire Gateway for $710 Million |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2007/08/27/taiwans-acer-plans-to-acquire-gateway-for-710-million.html |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>
 
On March 15, 2004, Amiga, Inc. announced that on April 23, 2003, it had transferred its rights over past and future versions of the AmigaOS (but not yet over other intellectual property) to Itec, LLC, later acquired by KMOS, Inc., a [[Delaware]]-based company.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amiga, Inc. Sells the Amiga Operating System, to focus on AmigaDE and the Mobile Market. |url=https://www.hyperion-entertainment.com/index.php/news/38-corporate/91-amiga-inc-sells-the-amiga-operating-system-to-focus-on-amigade-and-the-mobile-market |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=www.hyperion-entertainment.com}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, based on loans and security agreements between Amiga, Inc. and Itec, LLC, the remaining intellectual property assets were transferred from Amiga, Inc. to KMOS, Inc. On March 16, 2005, KMOS, Inc. announced that it had completed all registrations with the State of Delaware to change its corporate name to Amiga, Inc. The Commodore/Amiga copyrights, including all their works up to 1993, were later sold to Cloanto in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cloanto confirms transfers of Commodore/Amiga copyrights |publisher=amiga-news.de |url=http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2015-02-00027-EN.html |access-date=2015-02-20 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221054319/http://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2015-02-00027-EN.html |archive-date=February 21, 2015 }}</ref> A number of legal challenges and lawsuits have involved these companies and [[Hyperion Entertainment]], the Belgian software company that continues development of [[AmigaOS]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=amiga-news.de – Legal battle: Amiga Inc. resurrected from the dead |url=https://www.amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2018-10-00056-EN.html |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=www.amiga-news.de}}</ref>


==== Semiconductor subsidiary ====
== History ==
The Commodore Semiconductor Group (formerly [[MOS Technology|MOS Technology, Inc.]]), the silicon [[Wafer (electronics)|wafer]] foundry and [[integrated circuit]] manufacturing unit of Commodore International, was bought by its former management in January 1995 and resumed operations under the name GMT Microelectronics,<ref>{{Cite web |date=1999-04-22 |title=GMT Microelectronics – Corporation |url=http://www.gmtme.com/corp/corphome.htm |access-date=2024-09-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990422030823/http://www.gmtme.com/corp/corphome.htm |archive-date=April 22, 1999 }}</ref> utilizing a troubled facility in [[Norristown, Pennsylvania]] that Commodore had closed in 1992. In 2001, the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] shut the plant down, and GMT ceased operations and was [[Liquidation|liquidated]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}


==== Developments before 2025 ====
=== 1954–1982: Origins and early growth ===
{{primary|section|date=June 2025}}
Commodore was established in Toronto as the '''Commodore Portable Typewriter Company''' by Jack Tramiel. In the 1970s, the company transitioned from mechanical typewriters and calculators to digital electronics, acquiring [[MOS Technology]] in 1976. This led to the development of the [[Commodore PET]], released in 1977, one of the first successful personal computers aimed at the education and business markets.
[[AmigaOS]] (as well as spin-offs [[MorphOS]] and [[AROS]]) is still maintained and updated by [[Hyperion Entertainment]].<ref name=":0" /> Enthusiasts continue to make software and games for both AmigaOS and the [[Commodore 64]] computer.<ref>{{Cite web |author1=Gerald Lynch |date=2021-12-24 |title=A new Sonic the Hedgehog game quietly released this week... for the Commodore 64 |url=https://www.techradar.com/news/a-new-sonic-the-hedgehog-game-quietly-released-this-week-for-the-commodore-64 |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=TechRadar |language=en}}</ref>


The brand was acquired under license in 2010 by two young entrepreneurs to become [[Commodore USA]] in Florida, until 2013. On December 26, 2014, two Italian entrepreneurs licensed the brand and founded Commodore Business Machines Ltd. in London, to manufacture smartphones.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Pesce |first=Maurizio |title=Commodore Is Back, Baby, With a ... Smartphone? |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/07/commodore-smartphone/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Commodore Business Machines – Commodore Company |url=https://www.commodorecompany.com/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=www.commodorecompany.com}}</ref>
Commodore’s popularity expanded with the release of the [[VIC-20]] in 1980, a low-cost color computer for home users.


==== Planned revival (2025–present) ====
=== 1982–1994: Peak and decline ===
On June 7, 2025, in a YouTube video released by Christian Simpson of the YouTube channel Retro Recipes, Commodore Corporation B.V. optioned the possibility of selling the Commodore brand to Simpson and others.<ref>{{cite web | last=Tyson | first=Mark | date=June 8, 2025 | url=https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/commodore-shocks-retro-techtuber-with-option-to-buy-the-whole-company | title=Commodore shocks retro TechTuber with option to buy 'the whole company' | work=Tom's Hardware | publisher=Future plc | archiveurl= | archivedate=}}</ref> On June 28, 2025, Simpson posted a follow-up video confirming that a share purchase agreement had been signed, and that he and other members of the Commodore community had been recognized as the acting executives of the company, with Simpson himself in the role of acting CEO.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stanton |first=Rich |date=2025-07-01 |title=Commodore's been bought by a YouTuber who's re-assembling key execs and already teasing new hardware |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/commodores-been-bought-by-a-youtuber-whos-re-assembling-key-execs-and-already-teasing-new-hardware/ |access-date=2025-07-04 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tyson |first=Mark |date=2025-06-29 |title=Commodore acquired for a 'low seven figure' price — new (acting) CEO comes from the retro community |url=https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/commodore-acquired-for-a-low-seven-figure-price-new-acting-ceo-comes-from-the-retro-community |access-date=2025-07-04 |website=Tom's Hardware |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McFerran |first=Damien |date=2025-06-30 |title=This Man Now 'Owns Commodore', But His Use Of Generative AI Has Some Fans Worried |url=https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/06/this-man-now-owns-commodore-but-his-use-of-generative-ai-has-some-fans-worried |access-date=2025-07-04 |website=Time Extension |language=en-GB}}</ref>
The 1982 launch of the [[Commodore 64]] cemented the company’s legacy. With an estimated 12–17 million units sold, the C64 offered advanced graphics and sound at an affordable price and became a cornerstone of home computing in the 1980s.


In an attempt to help raise funds for the Commodore acquisition, there has been a new product launched, dubbed the Commodore 64 Ultimate (or C64U), which is expected to ship in October or November, 2025, and is currently up for [[pre-order]]. The C64U uses a complete [[Field-programmable gate array|FPGA]] recreation of the original C64 motherboard. As such, it should be fully compatible with all or nearly all C64 software. It is said to come with 128MB of [[DDR2 SDRAM|DDR2 memory]] (as opposed to the original's 64KiB), and the FPGA being used is the AMD Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA. The C64U comes in three different models:
Later systems included the [[Commodore 128]] and the [[Amiga]] series, the latter of which was notable for its graphics and multitasking capabilities. However, despite its innovations, Commodore faced increasing competition and internal corporate struggles.


* Commodore 64 Ultimate: Starlight Edition
Tramiel resigned in 1984, and the company faced declining market share by the early 1990s. Commodore filed for bankruptcy on April 29, 1994.
* Commodore 64 Ultimate: Founders Edition
* Commodore 64 Ultimate: BASIC Beige


All of the aforementioned models feature the same hardware, apart from the lighting, transparent PCB and casing available in the Starlight Edition and Founders Edition models.
=== Post-1994: Dormancy and brand fragmentation ===
After the 1994 bankruptcy, Commodore’s assets were sold to German firm Escom AG, which itself went bankrupt in 1996. Over the next two decades, rights to the Commodore brand and trademarks were fragmented among various companies, leading to limited and often unofficial uses of the name.


==Product line==
== Revival (2024–present) ==
The product line consists of original Commodore products.
In 2024, actor and YouTuber Christian Simpson, known online as "Perifractic," began discussions to license the Commodore brand. By mid-2025, Simpson and a team of retro computing advocates finalized a share purchase agreement to acquire full rights to the Commodore name and officially reboot the company.<ref>{{cite web |title=Beloved Commodore May Rise from the Ashes |url=https://hothardware.com/news/beloved-commodore-may-rise-from-the-ashes |website=HotHardware |date=June 29, 2025 |access-date=July 25, 2025}}</ref>


===Calculators===
Simpson emphasized that the new venture was not a merchandising effort but a full revival with original values. He announced the relaunch through his ''Retro Recipes'' YouTube channel and took on the role of President and CEO.<ref>{{cite web |title=Commodore Is Back! The Ultimate 8-Bit Reveal |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SBoBTor1hE |website=YouTube |date=April 2024 |access-date=July 25, 2025}}</ref>
[[File:Commodore PR-100 3q.jpg|thumb|Commodore PR-100 programmable calculator]]


774D, 776M, 796M, 9R23, C108, C110, F4146R, F4902, MM3, Minuteman 6, P50, PR100, SR1800, SR4120D, SR4120R, SR4148D, SR4148R, SR4190R, SR4212, SR4912, SR4921RPN, SR5120D, SR5120R, SR5148D, SR5148R, SR5190R, SR59, SR7919, SR7949, SR9150R, SR9190R, US*3, US*8 and The Specialist series: M55 (The Mathematician), N60 (The Navigator), S61 (The Statistician).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.datamath.net/Leaflets_Others/C76_US.pdf |title=Commodore calculator catalog |access-date=2014-06-07 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714165747/http://www.datamath.net/Leaflets_Others/C76_US.pdf |archive-date=July 14, 2014 }}</ref>
The revived company also announced a panel of legacy advisors and collaborators, including former Commodore engineers and executives such as Bill Herd, Michael Tomczyk, Jeri Ellsworth, David Pleasance, and others.


[[File:Commodore 64 at its 25th anniversary event (Computer History Museum).jpg|thumb|Commodore 64 at its 25th anniversary event at [[Computer History Museum|The Computer History Museum]]]]
The company’s stated goal is to combine the authenticity of original Commodore hardware and values with modern usability, while also navigating complex IP rights related to the Commodore and Amiga platforms.


=== 6502-based computers ===
== Commodore 64 Ultimate ==
''(listed chronologically)''
The first major product under the revived brand is the '''Commodore 64 Ultimate''', launched in July 2025. It combines the original C64's form factor with modern technology, including:
* [[KIM-1]]{{snd}} [[single-board computer]] '''(1976)'''; was produced by [[MOS Technology]], which was bought by Commodore
* HDMI output
* [[Commodore PET|Commodore PET/CBM]] range '''(1977)'''
* SD card and USB ports
* [[VIC-20]]{{snd}} a.k.a. VIC-1001 '''(1980''' [VIC-1001] '''– 1984)''' (CBM);
* Built-in Wi-Fi
* [[Commodore CBM-II]] range{{snd}} a.k.a. B-range a.k.a. 600/700 range '''(1982–1984)'''
* Cycle-accurate emulation of the C64, C128, and Amiga
* [[Commodore 64]]{{snd}} including C64C '''(Aug. 1982–1994)'''
* A retro-style mechanical keyboard in a redesigned "breadbin" case
* [[MAX Machine]]{{snd}} Japan-only game console utilizing the C64 chipset '''(Dec. 1982)'''
* [[Commodore Educator 64]]{{snd}} 64 in a PET 40xx case '''(1983)'''
* [[Commodore SX-64]]{{snd}} all-in-one [[portable computer|portable]] C64 including screen and disk drive '''(1984–1986)'''
* [[Commodore 16]]{{snd}} including C116, incompatible with C64 '''(1984)'''
* [[Commodore Plus/4]]{{snd}} compatible with C16 '''(1984–1985)'''
* [[Commodore LCD]]{{snd}} [[liquid crystal display|LCD]]-equipped [[laptop computer|laptop]] (never released)
* [[Commodore 128]]{{snd}} including 128D and 128DCR '''(1985–1989)'''
* [[Commodore 65]]{{snd}} C64 successor (never released, an unofficial recreation was released as MEGA65)
* Commodore 64 Ultimate{{snd}}C64 rerelease dubbed the C64U, using an [[Field-programmable gate array|FPGA]] recreation of the C64, expected to ship in October or November, 2025 '''(2025–Present)'''


=== Z8000 Based ===
The system has been praised by retro computing communities for its fidelity to the original Commodore experience, combined with modern usability.<ref>{{cite web |title=Commodore 64 Ultimate |url=https://www.commodore.net/c64-ultimate/ |website=Commodore.net |access-date=July 25, 2025}}</ref>
* [[Commodore 900]] workstation (never released)


=== Amiga ===
Within the first weeks of launch, over 4,000 units were sold, generating more than $1.5 million in revenue.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Risky Business of Bringing Commodore Back to Life |url=https://www.wired.com/story/the-risky-business-of-bringing-commodore-back-to-life/ |website=Wired |date=July 2025 |access-date=July 25, 2025}}</ref>
{{Further|Amiga models and variants}}
* [[Amiga 1000]] '''(1985–1987)'''
* [[Amiga 500]]{{snd}} incl. [[Amiga 500 Plus|A500+]] '''(1987–1991)'''
* [[Amiga 2000]]{{snd}} incl. A2000HD '''(1987–1991''')
* [[Amiga 2000#Amiga 2500|Amiga 2500]] '''(1988–1991)'''
* [[Amiga 2000#Аmiga1500|Amiga 1500]] '''(1987–1991)'''
* [[Commodore CDTV]] '''(1990)'''
* [[Amiga 3000]]{{snd}} incl. Amiga 3000UX & Amiga 3000T '''(1990–1992)'''
* [[Amiga 4000]]{{snd}} incl. [[Amiga 4000T|A4000T]] '''(1992–1994)''', rereleased by [[Escom AG|Escom]] '''(1995–1997)'''
* [[Amiga 600]] '''(1992–1993)'''
* [[Amiga 1200]] '''(1992–1994)''', rereleased by Escom '''(1995–1996)'''


===x86 IBM PC compatibles===
A fully authentic hardware reissue of the original Commodore 64 was also announced in July 2025, with expected shipping in Q4 2025.
* [[Commodore PC compatible systems]]{{snd}} Commodore Colt, PC1, PC10, PC20, PC30, PC40 '''(1987–1993)'''
* Commodore PC laptops{{snd}} Commodore 286LT, 386SX-LT, 486SX-LTC, 486SX-LTF, '''(–1993)''' Pentium P120i Ultramedia, P166i Ultramedia and the P200i Ultramedia '''(1996–1997)'''


===Game consoles===
== Leadership ==
* Commodore TV Game 2000K/3000H '''(1975–1977)''' ({{ill|Commodore TV Game 2000K/3000H|it|vertical-align=sup}}, [[List of first generation home video game consoles|1st-gen home consoles list]])
* '''Christian Simpson''' – President and CEO. A retro computing advocate, Simpson is known for producing the ''Retro Recipes'' YouTube channel and for voice acting roles in major franchises. He led the 2025 acquisition and reboot of the Commodore brand.<ref>{{cite web |title=Perifractic: Behind Commodore’s Revival |url=https://tedium.co/2025/06/19/peri-fractic-retro-recipes-commodore-profile/ |website=Tedium |access-date=July 25, 2025}}</ref>
* [[MAX Machine]]{{snd}} Japan-only game console utilizing the C64 chipset '''(Dec. 1982)'''
* [[Commodore 64 Games System]] '''(1990)'''
* [[Amiga CD32]] '''(1993)'''


===Monitors===
== Legacy ==
1000, 1024, 1070, 1080, 1081, 1083S, 1084, 1084S, 1084ST, 1085S, 1201, 1402, 1403, 1404, 1405, 1407, 1428, 1428x, 1432D, 1432V, 1701, 1702, 1703, 1801, 1802, 1803, 1900M/DM602, 1901/75BM13/M1, 1902, 1902A, 1930, 1930-II, 1930-III, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1936ALR, 1940, 1942, 1950, 1960, 1962, 2002, A2024, 2080, 76M13, CM-141, DM-14, DM602<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gona.mactar.hu/Commodore/monitor/Commodore_monitors_by_model_number.html |title=Commodore monitors |publisher=Gona.mactar.hu |access-date=2019-07-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.c64-wiki.com/index.php/Computer_Monitor |title=Computer Monitor |publisher=C64-Wiki |date=2018-02-20 |access-date=2019-07-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.bigbookofamigahardware.com/bboah/CategoryList.aspx?id=26 |title=Big Book of Amiga Hardware }}</ref>
Commodore’s original contributions to the personal computing revolution remain foundational. The company helped democratize computing for a generation and inspired a lasting legacy in software, gaming, and digital creativity.


===Printers===
The 2024–2025 revival has been widely welcomed by the retro computing community and has helped reintroduce the brand to new audiences while preserving its historical importance.
====VIC 1520 plotter====
The VIC 1520 plotter used the [[Alps Electric|ALPS]] mechanicals and four-color rotary pen setup that scrolled a 4¼" roll of paper. The ALPS mechanism was shared with several other 8 bit computers of the era, including Tandy, Atari, and Apple.


===Software===
== See also ==
* [[AmigaOS]]{{snd}} 32-bit operating system for the Amiga range; multitasking, micro kernel, with GUI
* [[Commodore 64]]
* [[Amiga Unix]]{{snd}} Operating system for the Amiga, based on [[Unix System V|Unix System V Release 4]]
* [[Commodore PET]]
* [[Commodore BASIC]]{{snd}} BASIC interpreter for the 8-bit range, ROM resident; based on [[Microsoft BASIC]]
* [[Commodore Amiga]]
* [[Commodore DOS]]{{snd}} Disk operating system for the 8-bit range; embedded in disk drive ROMs
* [[Jack Tramiel]]
* [[KERNAL]]{{snd}} Core OS routines for the 8-bit range; ROM resident
* [[Perifractic]]
* [[Magic Desk]]{{snd}} Planned series of productivity software for the C64; only the first entry was released
* [[Retrocomputing]]
* [[Simons' BASIC]]{{snd}} BASIC extension for the C64; cartridge-based
* [[Super Expander]]{{snd}} BASIC and memory extension for the VIC-20; cartridge-based
* [[Super Expander 64]]{{snd}} BASIC extension for the C64


==References==
== References ==
{{notelist}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
== External links ==
{{commons}}
* [https://www.commodore.net Official Commodore website]
* [http://www.c64.com/ Software Archive]
* [https://www.youtube.com/@RetroRecipes Retro Recipes YouTube channel]
* [https://CSDb.dk The Commodore Scene Database]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SBoBTor1hE Commodore revival announcement video]
* [http://Lemon64.com Lemon64] – Commodore Fanbase
* [http://zimmers.net/commie/docs/cbm-products.txt The Canonical List of Commodore Products] – by Jim Brain, maintained by Bo Zimmerman
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150112163043/http://articles.philly.com/keyword/irving-gould Philadelphia Inquirer articles about Irving Gould]
* [https://thecommodorestory.com/ The Commodore Story] – documentary crowdfunded on [[Kickstarter]]
{{Commodore International}}
{{Electronics industry in Canada}}
{{Portal bar|Amiga}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Commodore International| ]]
{{Commodore}}
[[Category:1954 establishments in Ontario]]
[[Category:Computer hardware companies]]
[[Category:1994 disestablishments in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Retrocomputing]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1954]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1994]]
[[Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct computer hardware companies]]
[[Category:Companies established in 1954]]
[[Category:Defunct computer systems companies]]
[[Category:Companies disestablished in 1994]]
[[Category:Electronics companies of Canada]]
[[Category:Companies established in 2024]]
[[Category:Electronic calculator companies]]
[[Category:Privately held companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Home computer hardware companies]]
[[Category:Computer companies established in 1954]]
[[Category:Electronics companies established in 1954]]
[[Category:Technology companies established in 1954]]
[[Category:Computer companies disestablished in 1994]]
[[Category:Technology companies disestablished in 1994]]
[[Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1994]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:West Chester, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Re-established companies]]
[[Category:Computer companies established in 2005]]
[[Category:British royal warrant holders]]
[[Category:Canadian companies established in 1954]]
[[Category:Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:Companies formerly listed on NYSE American]]
[[Category:Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange]]

Revision as of 17:35, 26 July 2025

Commodore International, Inc.
Company typePrivate
ISINScript error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
IndustryScript error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
PredecessorScript error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
IncorporatedScript error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
FoundedScript error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
FounderScript error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
DefunctScript error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
FateBankrupt (1994); brand revived (2024)
SuccessorScript error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
Headquarters
Script error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
,
Script error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
Key people
Christian Simpson (President & CEO)
ProductsCommodore 64, Amiga, VIC-20, Commodore 64 Ultimate
RevenueScript error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
Script error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
Script error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
Total assetsScript error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
Number of employees
Script error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
ParentScript error: The module returned a nil value. It is supposed to return an export table.
Websitecommodore.net

Commodore International, Inc. is a historic American technology company best known for pioneering personal computing during the 1980s. Founded in 1954 by Jack Tramiel, the company rose to prominence with the release of the Commodore 64, one of the best-selling personal computers of all time. Commodore went bankrupt in 1994. In 2024, the brand was revived by actor and retro computing enthusiast Christian "Perifractic" Simpson.

History

1954–1982: Origins and early growth

Commodore was established in Toronto as the Commodore Portable Typewriter Company by Jack Tramiel. In the 1970s, the company transitioned from mechanical typewriters and calculators to digital electronics, acquiring MOS Technology in 1976. This led to the development of the Commodore PET, released in 1977, one of the first successful personal computers aimed at the education and business markets.

Commodore’s popularity expanded with the release of the VIC-20 in 1980, a low-cost color computer for home users.

1982–1994: Peak and decline

The 1982 launch of the Commodore 64 cemented the company’s legacy. With an estimated 12–17 million units sold, the C64 offered advanced graphics and sound at an affordable price and became a cornerstone of home computing in the 1980s.

Later systems included the Commodore 128 and the Amiga series, the latter of which was notable for its graphics and multitasking capabilities. However, despite its innovations, Commodore faced increasing competition and internal corporate struggles.

Tramiel resigned in 1984, and the company faced declining market share by the early 1990s. Commodore filed for bankruptcy on April 29, 1994.

Post-1994: Dormancy and brand fragmentation

After the 1994 bankruptcy, Commodore’s assets were sold to German firm Escom AG, which itself went bankrupt in 1996. Over the next two decades, rights to the Commodore brand and trademarks were fragmented among various companies, leading to limited and often unofficial uses of the name.

Revival (2024–present)

In 2024, actor and YouTuber Christian Simpson, known online as "Perifractic," began discussions to license the Commodore brand. By mid-2025, Simpson and a team of retro computing advocates finalized a share purchase agreement to acquire full rights to the Commodore name and officially reboot the company.[1]

Simpson emphasized that the new venture was not a merchandising effort but a full revival with original values. He announced the relaunch through his Retro Recipes YouTube channel and took on the role of President and CEO.[2]

The revived company also announced a panel of legacy advisors and collaborators, including former Commodore engineers and executives such as Bill Herd, Michael Tomczyk, Jeri Ellsworth, David Pleasance, and others.

The company’s stated goal is to combine the authenticity of original Commodore hardware and values with modern usability, while also navigating complex IP rights related to the Commodore and Amiga platforms.

Commodore 64 Ultimate

The first major product under the revived brand is the Commodore 64 Ultimate, launched in July 2025. It combines the original C64's form factor with modern technology, including:

  • HDMI output
  • SD card and USB ports
  • Built-in Wi-Fi
  • Cycle-accurate emulation of the C64, C128, and Amiga
  • A retro-style mechanical keyboard in a redesigned "breadbin" case

The system has been praised by retro computing communities for its fidelity to the original Commodore experience, combined with modern usability.[3]

Within the first weeks of launch, over 4,000 units were sold, generating more than $1.5 million in revenue.[4]

A fully authentic hardware reissue of the original Commodore 64 was also announced in July 2025, with expected shipping in Q4 2025.

Leadership

  • Christian Simpson – President and CEO. A retro computing advocate, Simpson is known for producing the Retro Recipes YouTube channel and for voice acting roles in major franchises. He led the 2025 acquisition and reboot of the Commodore brand.[5]

Legacy

Commodore’s original contributions to the personal computing revolution remain foundational. The company helped democratize computing for a generation and inspired a lasting legacy in software, gaming, and digital creativity.

The 2024–2025 revival has been widely welcomed by the retro computing community and has helped reintroduce the brand to new audiences while preserving its historical importance.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Beloved Commodore May Rise from the Ashes". HotHardware. June 29, 2025. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Commodore Is Back! The Ultimate 8-Bit Reveal". YouTube. April 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Commodore 64 Ultimate". Commodore.net. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  4. ↑ "The Risky Business of Bringing Commodore Back to Life". Wired. July 2025. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Perifractic: Behind Commodore's Revival". Tedium. Retrieved July 25, 2025.

External links

Template:Commodore

Retrieved from "https://retrowikipedia.com/index.php?title=Commodore_International&oldid=4855"