A SHORT HISTORY OF THE COMMODORE AMIGA

The history of the Commodore Amiga begins in the early ’80s when a small team of engineers at Amiga Corporation, Jay Miner, RJ Mical and Dale Luck, set out to create a cutting-edge home computer with advanced graphics and sound. Their vision was to deliver a multimedia machine, unlike anything else on the market. A breadboard prototype was completed in late 1983 and shown at the 1984 CES trade show.

It was a turbulent time. Atari was working on its ST range of 16-bit computers, and in 1984, Jack Tramiel resigned from Commodore, along with a few other protest resignations. This knowledge vacuum forced Commodore to fund Amiga Corporation’s development and in 1985, Commodore International acquired Amiga Corporation, bringing the Amiga technology under its banner.

The first Amiga computer, the Amiga 1000, was released in 1985 and it quickly gained a following among enthusiasts and creative professionals, the Amiga 500 being the most popular and identifiable of the range.

The Amiga 600 introduced a bold redesign for the home computer, but it was the release of the Amiga 1200 in 1992 that would be a highlight in Amiga’s history. The A1200 featured a compact design, enhanced (AGA) graphics and sound. It was a popular choice for gaming and productivity. The inclusion of faster 68EC020 CPU and IDE hard drive options helped it compete with the PC market, but it still wasn’t enough.

Commodore’s financial troubles led to the company’s demise in 1994, marking the end of the Amiga’s official production. Machines fell under the ESCOM banner, but that time was short and the Amiga disappeared from retail.