Commodore VIC-20 — A computer born from a chip

The Commodore VIC-20 was introduced at the June 1980 Consumer Electronics Show. But its development had actually begun two years earlier, almost by accident. Commodore had engineered and produced the "Video Interface Chip 6560" or VIC1 for the collapsing video game market. After failing to sell the chip to other companies for game console manufacturing, Commodore developed the VIC-20 as a low-cost color home computer.

MOS Technology engineers Robert Yannes, Al Charpentier, and Charles Winterble began with a design project called TOI from Chuck Peddle and Bill Seiler, whom we met in the previous chapter. The TOI was apparently never meant to hit the market because it required expensive static RAM chips and an 80-column display that wasn't financially practical at the time. Yannes, Winterble, and Charpentier showed their cost-reduced version of TOI to Commodore CEO Jack Tramiel in the fall of 1979, and he immediately approved it.

Jack knew Apple was a small player, but the newly released Apple II — which used Commodore's 6502 processor — was making significant profits. So he insisted that the new low-cost home computer be ready to show at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 1980. Immense pressure was placed on the three-person MOS engineering team. They worked around the clock, seven days a week, on "Project Vixen" to bring the project to completion.

Jack Tramiel — The man who always won the game

But what they had shown Jack wasn't even at the early prototype stage and practically couldn't be built. This "Vixen" display was nothing more than a concept computer. To meet Jack's expectations, everything had to start from scratch and costs had to be drastically reduced. The bigger problem was that the rest of the company didn't take them seriously.

Jack Tramiel told his engineers they could only use 1-kilobit memory chips in the new device because Commodore had a massive inventory that couldn't be used in other products. After much internal discussion, it was decided that the VIC-20 would receive 5.5 kilobytes of RAM, with 2 kilobytes used by the system's main operating system.

But cost wasn't the VIC's only advantage. The VIC-20 appeared to display clearer images than its competitors because it used composite connection to a computer monitor. Atari and TRS-80 used an old RF modulator adapter (from the 1950s!) for TV and monitor connection. The VIC shipped with a free RF modulator that could also be used for TV connection, but Commodore showed the VIC with higher quality displays.

Game cartridges — Commodore's source of additional revenue

If you recall, earlier pages mentioned that Commodore had negotiated a crazy deal with the newly founded Microsoft in 1977, giving Commodore the right to use unlimited copies of Microsoft BASIC as an operating system for a flat fee. This meant Commodore never worried about which operating system to use. Commodore BASIC was nothing more than Microsoft BASIC. This deal generated virtually no revenue for Microsoft but accidentally gave Microsoft the legitimacy and scale that would prove crucial for becoming the standard developers flock to today.

The question arose of which version of Commodore BASIC to install in the VIC-20. It was decided that the (very) old Commodore Basic 2.0 from the early PET 2001 days was the best choice because it had fewer features — and with time being short, being limited was a lower-risk choice. Jack also liked the idea that Commodore could offer an additional cartridge containing more commands and programs. This would generate additional future revenue and could further entice consumers to buy the device.

Commodore VIC-20 — An almost unused original from the 80s

Between early 1981 when the VIC actually hit store shelves and the first months of 1985 when the last VIC production line shut down, over 2.5 million units had been sold. The peak daily production of 9,000 units was remarkable, and it became the first computer to sell over one million units. This success paved the way for the Commodore 64 — the best-selling computer in history.

Most VICs were sold in supermarkets and many other businesses that had never expected to sell computers before. In Canada, Commodore even sold VICs through Canadian Tire automotive and parts chain stores!

Commodore VIC-20 — The first computer to sell one million units

But the VIC-20 was the first to sell 1 million units, and 800 massive software titles were written for it. The VIC wasn't just a commercial success. Financially, it was a modest, homegrown achievement for Commodore, but it expanded the fledgling home computer industry for all companies and drove hundreds of thousands of customers into programming. Later, the TED series machines tried to continue the VIC's path, but met a different fate.