Commodore VIC 20, 40 years ago the computer entered the houses

It was 1980 - The Commodore VIC-20 was one of the most representative computers in the history of the eighties both for the very wide diffusion that it reached and because with it it was offered to all families the possibility of having a computer of acceptable size and a affordable price.

If the Apple II was the first color computer sold at an affordable price even in the amateur market, the Commodore VIC-20 was certainly the first color home computer at a really affordable price: in fact, it made its debut only cost $ 300, one negligible figure for a computer in those days, which led him to become the first of many best-sellers among the home computers produced by Commodore.

The VIC 20 made its debut in June 1980 at the Computer Electronics Show, but its development began almost by accident two years earlier. Commodore was designing and building the "Video Interface Chip 6560" or VIC1 for the video game market which was however beginning to collapse. Having failed to sell the chip, Commodore decided to use it on an inexpensive home computer.

Due to the rather limited hardware, the Commodore VIC-20 was never successful in the professional field, but it was inexpensive, in color and had a joystick port that made it the perfect machine for video game enthusiasts. Soon many budding programmers ventured into writing programs and games for this machine, creating a remarkable software fleet.

Commodore produced more than one million VIC-20s from 1981 to 1985 and even 9,000 computers a day were produced during peak periods. The VIC-20 was equipped with the famous MOS 6502 8bit 1Mhz microprocessor which equipped most of the personal computers of the time. Apple and Atari also used this microprocessor extensively. Commodore itself produced this microprocessor and many of the other chips of its computers, thus succeeding in significantly reducing production and research and development costs so as to be able to offer products of good technological quality at decidedly unbeatable prices.

Eventually the VIC 20 found itself with 5.5k of RAM, 2 of which used by the BASIC operating system. To really develop something in such a small space, the only way for programmers was to work in machine language.

But unfortunately 3.5k wasn't even enough to load a decent compiler and therefore developers were often forced to write machine code "by hand". Fortunately for them, Commodore will later distribute additional 3k, 8k and 16k memory cartridges

Indiscretions report that during its development the VIC 20 was called MicroPET and there is also a long debate about the origin of the number "20" in the name.

VIC development officials and "The Home Computer Wars" author Michael Tomczyk claim that the number "20" was only a choice dictated by chance and by the fact that "the name sounded good".

VIC 20 added other firsts to the Commodore: The Commodore KIM1, intended for the hobbyist market, was the first single plate computer. The Commodore PET, intended for the business market and for beginners, was the first complete computer. The commodore VIC20, for the home market, was the first color computer that was sold as a "computer for the masses" to

a price less than $ 300

In the past, Commodore had distributed PET through highly selected channels made up of authorized dealers and points of sale.

This gave PET an image of an object for professionals at the expense of a mass sale. When the VIC arrived, Commodore completely changed its strategy: The goal was to sell the VIC 20 everywhere!

In a very short time practically all the shops and large chains set up a corner dedicated to the VIC. Even businesses that never dreamed of selling computers offered VIC 20 computers ... including hardware!

Obviously the authorized dealers and points of sale remained, but were mostly used as qualified service centers and not as points of sale.

However, late 1982 was the beginning of the end: the more expensive but much more powerful Commodore 64 was announced.

As the VIC 20 established itself as a mass commodity and many shops and many national and international chains were acquiring large stocks, news about the production of a new one began to leak from unofficial channels.

Commodore. This obviously caused great excitement from consumers, but endless worries for shopkeepers who feared losing the money (several) invested in the VIC.

When the Commodore 64 went on the market, the price of the VIC-20 dropped, as expected, ruinously. Retailers with large ground stocks of VIC 20 tried not to sell off

the product, but with poor results. There was now no place for the venerable VIC on Commodore assembly lines and buyers were clamoring for the Commodore 64.

When the Commodore 64 came out, sales of the VIC-20 plummeted, the price dropped to just $ 100, finally the VIC-20 stopped being produced and marketed because it was now obsolete. Despite this, the computer remained widespread for all the eighties.

By 1984 a myth was over, but a new, bigger one was about to be born: The Commodore 64.