Maker of the Commodore 64 — the best-selling computer ever — and the Amiga, mismanaged into bankruptcy at the dawn of the PC era.
Born
1954 CE
Died
1994 CE
Lived
40 years
Dead for
32 yrs
At its peak
C64 sold ~12.5–17 million units; ~$1 billion+ revenue mid-1980s
Cause of death
Replaced
The Obituary
Commodore began in 1954 as a typewriter repair business and, under Jack Tramiel, became a home-computing powerhouse. The Commodore 64, launched in 1982, sold somewhere between 12.5 and 17 million units — the best-selling computer model in history. Its later Amiga set the standard for multimedia and graphics. But boardroom turmoil, Tramiel’s 1984 departure, and a failure to follow up its hits left Commodore adrift as IBM-compatible PCs took over. Bleeding money and unable to compete, the company filed for bankruptcy in April 1994 and was liquidated, its assets bought by the German firm Escom.
Worth remembering
The Commodore 64, launched in 1982, sold an estimated 12.5–17 million units, the best-selling computer model ever.
Its Amiga line led the market in multimedia and graphics in the late 1980s before mismanagement squandered the lead.
Gallery
The Commodore 64 home computer, Commodore's best-selling 8-bit machine of the 1980sshane doucette from Saskatoon, CA · CC BY-SA 2.0A Commodore Amiga 500 with monitor and mouse — Commodore's graphics-and-sound machine of the late 1980sBill Bertram · CC BY-SA 2.5The Commodore PET 2001 of 1977 — the all-in-one machine, with built-in monitor and tape deck, that launched the company into computingTomislav Medak · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sources
Commodore International, maker of the Commodore 64 and Amiga, filed for bankruptcy and was liquidated in 1994 Wikipedia
The Commodore 64 is widely cited as the best-selling single computer model of all time Wikipedia
Commodore, maker of the best-selling Commodore 64 and the Amiga, filed for bankruptcy on 29 April 1994 after newer models lost ground to IBM PC compatibles and game consoles; its assets were bought by the German firm Escom. Computer History Museum
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.
Buried nearby — by shared fate or a neighbouring lifespan.
